good evening everyone and welcome to the March 6th 2025 meeting of the Jersey City Zoning Board of Adjustment This meeting is held in accordance with NJSA10 col4-12 the open public meetings act I
would like to call this meeting to order Mr Beasley if you can take attendance at this time Yes I see Commissioner Zablicki present Commissioner Patel here Commissioner Baron here Commissioner
Bole here Commissioner Burns here Commissioner Allen here and Chair Coyle present We have a quorum Thank you Are there any sunshine announcements that you need to share with us at this time Yes In accordance with the open public's meeting act notice has been provided to
the Bergen record um LS Bito as well as posted with the city clerk Okay Can we please stand for the flag salute I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the
republic for which it stands one nation under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all Okay Uh Tony can you please swear in any staff members that are present tonight Okay Okay Mr Beasley is there any
correspondence that you need to share as well Yes So under uh on the agenda number six um under adjournments uh the first item uh listed as a Z20-043201 Newark Avenue is requesting
to carry to a special meeting uh March 27th and item B under adjournments as well um case number Z 2024- 0066 D tow street is requesting to carry to April 10th regular
meeting And item C case number Z24-000074 address 137 Arlington Avenue is also requesting to carry to April 10th regular meeting Okay Thank you So our first order of business will be case
Z2025-00003 But before we begin um I just have two announcements Um when it comes to the public section of the meetings where we have comment uh all comments will be held to three minutes um for each of those individuals who would like to speak Also we will have a
stop time of 9:45 Uh security and the building is closed at 10:00 So at 9:45 we will wrap up and have to hear the cases that were not heard this week at another time and I'm sure Mr Beasley will help reschedule those Okay So
without further ado it is case Z2025-00003 It's a site plan extension and the attorney is Vincent Veramo Good evening Is this on Yeah So I'm the Richard Uh unfortunately Vincent Buramo uh is very sick today I'm from his
office Yes Okay Ver and Yes So unfortunately Nick have to be sworn in Okay Yeah I'm good Okay Yeah So unfortunately Nick Flor was unable to the Yeah So this this
committee uh this board granted a variance back in March of 2021 for this uh 67 clip in place and unfortunately he was unable to act on it at that time and he's now able to act on it and he would
like an extension so that he can proceed with it Okay Um do does the committee have any of the commissioners have any questions concerning this Is there anyone from the public that has any comments to make Okay Uh no questions
Yes Excuse Yes Um just uh wanted out the applicants team are they willing to accept the conditions that were gi conditions of approval given from the original site plan approval and variance Yes Then yes uh staff recommends approval Thank you Okay Um Mr Beasley
can you take roll call Yes Motion to approve Um Commissioner Zlicki Yes Commissioner Patel yes Commissioner Baron yes Commissioner Bole yes Commissioner Burns yes Commissioner
Allen yes And Chair Coyle yes Motion carries Um seven in favor none opposed Thank you Thank you Okay Our next case is Z2025-000013 uh site plan amendment for 80 Broadway
Um okay Hi Good evening Madam Chair Good evening commissioners My name is Gerard Pizzillo I'm an attorney with Gova Burns appearing this evening on behalf of the applicant Aanir Westside Square LLC Excuse me May I approach I have a question It's a technicality I think
it's appropriate to present this at this time Um where's um Yeah let's I need the advice of our attorney It's regarding a notice this evening
on this case That is correct Oh okay Well let's hear it then Yes Can I present it to the board to review Are you the one who should have gotten noticed No My neighbors did and we're having a meeting tomorrow to discuss
this for the meeting for the 9th and somehow it's not going to work if we're having a hearing tonight Oh I have no ide I I properly noticed this application for everyone within 200 ft I have a tax assessor's list here I
uploaded my affidavit of publication and mailing to the portal I'm sorry This is your uh notice Correct This is not his notice Correct It's a notice that he supplied to one of the property owners within 200 ft But not you Not me So he has no standing to be here tonight to
challenge and challenge a notice that he didn't receive He's not a lawyer Well if but he's saying that a notice went out from your office to the neighborhood saying we're having a meeting on March 9th That's a couple days from now Isn't
today uh Can they see that Well if you look at the entire notice it says I'm right on the first there is it's a typo I acknowledge there's a typo in this notice but if you look please take notice on that on Thursday March 6 2025 it's on the first line That is
correct And it says if there's any objections to voice your concern on March 9th this is what was published as well in the newspaper Yes it was Would you think it would be better to Well notice perhaps but I
would also suggest that this board has already established jurisdiction We are on an administrative amendment here Uh you know so the board has already heard testimony on this Um so the the notice is
essentially you know a a belt a belt and suspender situation because notice you know jurisdiction has already been established here and the the amendments the administrative amendments that we're seeking are
interior revisions Objections are objection That's correct based on based on the the the the application that's pending before the board It's not a it's not a you know there's no variances here Uh
there's there's no way an objector could be heard because the notice is improper The notice the notice says the hearing date and the notice says any objections Let's have the meeting March 9th and voice your concerns Please come up and
state your name for the record sir Michael Manzo 82 right Avenue Jersey City New Jersey But however you did notice and you're sending out the wrong notice And so he has a point And so the the real question
becomes wouldn't it behoove you to put this off till the next meeting so everybody is here on April 10th If that's the next meeting you don't have to renotice if we're just putting it out today that it's April 10th Well that'll
save you that expense No I agree with that That on the expense side I'm just trying to save you a problem I'm not saying he's going to win You know let's assume everything goes your way The board approves this He appeals
and then the f that's going to hold you up and the next thing you know is that some some judge might say "Well you know what What was the harm of carrying it to April 10th because you sent out a notice to the community?" The community might have a problem with this If they do they don't But they might
Well better be safe than sorry don't you think Of course Of course But did you start this off by saying belt and suspend it You did Or did I did I Well the the the the fact of the notice Yes Um Yeah You know because it's it's not
required for an administrative amendment I know that Um that it's it's the policy of this board the other boards So an administrative amendment is not required to be noticed Um I did it out of an abundance of caution Obviously there
there I I you know I have no re I can't dispute that there is a typo in it but I think jurisdiction has been established already Notice is not required for the application and I I think we can proceed
Uh but you did send a notice that carried in it right And there could have been people here that would like to voice their opinions tonight and are not here because they're saying to speak on the night I I I I acknowledge that Madam Chair However Mr Mens was here and so
anyone who got a notice could have still came regardless of whether it says the 9th on the last portion The the the the not the hearing is the hearing right The date is on there The date for the tonight's hearing
is there The fact that the line and it's a form line in every notice that says any person who wants to potentially appear and provide testimony or put testimony on the record can show up The the the notice is statutoily compliant
as is It has the date of the hearing It has the time of the hearing It has the address of the matter pending before the board and what's pres being proposed before the board The fact that there's one typo on the bottom of the notice
should not invalidate the entirety of it Could we know it was received You're presuming that that somebody who's reading this is presuming that the first line is correct and the second line is wrong What do the opposite What if they think that the meeting is March
9th and the first one's a typo right The specific instruction is if there are objections to come to the meeting at March 9th They wouldn't be here tonight Not specific instructions No it the line
says any person interested in this application will have the opportunity to address the board at the hearing of March 9th Correct I see that Yes I I acknowledge that But I don't think that invalidates this I don't Well let's put it this way You
know in my opinion as an attorney I would say you better be safe than sorry and postpone it But that's my opinion What do you What is it What is the board's pleasure Let let me just ask you a question So yes procedurally for the application itself There's nothing that
would have bearing on the merits of whatever is in the application itself because his argument is the attorney's argument is that it's okay Whatever The problem is however you're leaving open for after this meeting So it's really
their thing We're not necessarily we shouldn't be affected by the vote because of the notice If he's saying that it wasn't necessary and you sort of agree it's really the fact that whatever we do you're potentially leaving it wide open for a challenge So the risk is on
the the applicant That has nothing to do with our vote per se in terms of the merits of the case Well I I'm I'm I'm actually asking that's is that correct Let's put it this way The risk is never on the border Exactly That's what I'm saying We just make a determination then
it's up to them to deal but but is is that you know are we going to put the public at risk to say that you know maybe a lot of people were going to come I have no idea what this application is about Okay So so my suggestion as one as
the one board member is that we postpone this until a notice is done correctly and the dates are um noticed correctly to the individuals That's my suggestion Well we can we don't have to do that We can carry this case Carry it and and you
don't have to renotice Mr Manzo is here You're telling people on the 9th if you want to send out another not you know another letter But but aren't we running into the same issue Because if there is someone that has an objection who's not here tonight and that is not
communicated to that person by Mr Manzo or if the individual does not watch the YouTube video or check the action agenda that this was carried isn't it the same concern that Mr Manzo is raising right now that we're going to run into in the
next hearing Well because the vote wouldn't have taken place yet At least you'll allow for the input and then have a vote based on the input and facts exchange You want to vote now and then have a potential objection or change and
then you have to take another vote anyway afterwards That doesn't sound right to me No what what Mr Priscilla was saying is that since I'm saying that we just carry this for a date certain and he doesn't have to renotice to save
his applicant that expense He's saying "Well then what's the difference?" Because if I'm not renoticing if people are going to show up on the 9th there's nothing on the 9th He's going to have the same thing But I'm trying to I'm trying to suggest that if if if
somebody's somebody who's going to come here on the 9th they're going to find out that there was no hearing It was the hearing on the 6th And then they're going to say "Well let's look at what happened the 6th." And they're going to see it was carried to April 12th Understood April 10th whatever the date is But
but if they don't do that then the person's going to come and say the same thing No if they don't do that they're going to be here the 9th And when they come here the 9th they're going to find out there's no meeting And then they're going to find out why And then they're going to say "Well a little due diligence you'll find out that it was
supposed to be for the 6th and it wasn't carried it wasn't uh uh uh noticed the right way so it was carried to April 10th." Yeah I I I'm just trying to save you No I understand that And and and what I'm trying to do these revisions are so minor This is a project that's
under construction There's been Yeah I understand what you're saying Years of issues You know you know what I'm saying in effect is that sometimes when you come in with a belt and suspenders probably was better if you didn't have any either a belt or a suspenders and you could just you know give the
amendment the way it was Understood And and and the reason I sent the notice is to give the community opportunity I know And you and and the fact is there is a member of the community here The notice was sent in ample time My number is
there on the bottom I didn't get any calls saying which what's right what's wrong So you know the member of the community the member of the community came because the notice he didn't get one and the dates were different That's
why he's here I I understand that But he doesn't have standing to challenge the notice because he's not within 200 ft No we're having a meeting tomorrow in the community Okay But he's not he he doesn't have standing to challenge the defectiveness potentially of my notice
because he was never supposed to get notice in the first place because he doesn't live within 200 ft of the property Okay I get it But so all right so let's we could we can go back and forth like a ping pong game all night So what's what's the board's pleasure Okay let's can I have a can I have a a vote
Um Eric can you take a vote um to on this matter to postpone until the next meeting Yes I just want So I think what he's saying is that and just so we're clear that you told him he doesn't have to renotice or anything else right And I
think what he's saying is if he comes back on the 10th and you don't renotice that people show up saying "Well nobody notified me about the 10th There's no obligation for that right?" So that's done Nobody shows up Too bad right I mean that's that's it Exactly So because it's on record now Is that what we're
saying Absolutely That's what we're saying Okay So the next suitable meeting for this application would actually be April 24th Okay Um why do we have to carry it that long Well just squeeze it in April 10th We can squeeze
it in April 10th Okay All right We can uh squeeze it in April 10th So list it first so he doesn't have to Okay Okay But that's the board's pleasure Is that the board's pleasure We can make a motion to carry Okay to April 10th Right
I have a motion to carry this till April 10th Can I get a second Commissioner Zlicki Commissioner Patel Yes Commissioner Baron yes Commissioner Bole yes Commissioner Burns yes Commissioner
Allen no Chair Coyle yes Okay Motion carries Six in favor One No No Thank you Thank you See you then Uh I don't know where it went Oh here it is
Okay Um Vinnie do we need to mark that as evidence Excuse me The evidence that Mr Manzo presented Does that have to be that has to be marked and filed away Okay Yeah
Can you take Yeah Can you take a picture of it so that he can have it back Yeah All right Um check the picture Make sure it's good It's good It's good Um so this should be marked as Do we have to enter 01 if I'm correct
Yeah we can mark this into evidence as 01 but we can all picture is fine Thank you Mr Manzo Thank you Okay Okay Our next case is Z2023 00019 It's 136 Delaware Avenue Um an
amended final site plan Um Mr Harrington Yes Uh good evening Uh for the record Charles Harrington of Connell Foley On behalf of the applicant I do have the public notices that I can provide to Mr Leaglia This is a case that has been
dates on them Yes this this is a case that has been carried some time Okay Yes Yes So why don't we we have this notice affidavit proof of service and notice of publication So why don't we mark this as
A1 This is case I did that It was the extension which we did That's done Yeah Okay So one second I'm sorry Okay Good Okay So I just want to give a
little bit of a background on on um the project uh that's before you tonight because it's uh it's uh has somewhat of a a history Um it was a phase project when it was originally approved Um meaning that the first the first phase
of it was uh the adaptive reuse of the convent that's located uh just behind St Als Kensington and that um that building uh has been renovated and and uh it was sold as condominium units So that phase one is
complete This is phase two which was a brand new construction ground up that was approved as part of the same approval uh some years ago So that's what we're here before you tonight for is to change that uh somewhat Um uh we
it has been adjourned a number of times because we have been working with the uh community and the neighbors on a on a number of uh issues Uh we have made some changes to try to address uh their concerns and I believe they're they're here tonight too Um and I I wanted to
point out a few well first the um the overall what we're doing is is we're essentially uh um we are reducing the parking Um and the initial approval had below grade parking So we're going we're
proposing to remove that Um the reason for that is uh we have a shared parking agreement with St St in Alawishas um uh in the grammar school and they don't need as many parking spaces as they thought when we got the initial approval So as a result of that we could reduce
the number of parking I believe it went from 85 now the proposed is 52 So now you're you're just at grade Um the unit count stays the same Uh we have uh reconfigured the building uh somewhat Uh you'll see uh during the presentation uh
that one portion of the building bumped out a little bit at the at the ground floor Uh and that's a really a direct result of we need the drive aisle space um for for the parking Uh we have an area where we have stacked share parking
within the garage but it's open air that was originally closed but um in working with the the neighbors we we uh took the the closed instruct closed structuring out Uh now it's open air because that
was located directly behind what I'm referring to as a chapel unit There's a there's a the chapel that was part of the convent was converted into a a condominium unit So that building structure would have been directly next to it So that is now open air uh be um
next to uh that building Um we've also then pushed back the building in the most recent amendments and our architect can take you through this uh in in more specifics but we pushed it back uh about 3 feet so that it's off off the lot line
Uh we've removed not removed we've moved the the uh rooftop deck further away uh from the the convent uh towards Gautier uh is Gartier Street or Avenue I forget Um but uh that's you know kind of the
long and short of it and and Mr can can walk you through that But there are a few things that I wanted to state on the record that we talked to the community about I wanted to make clear because in our discussions with them we said we agreed to that One of the reasons that
that we uh pushed this off was there was an an issue about a transformer the placement of a transformer whether whether it was going to be uh partly in our property partly on the condominium um property and whether there's a prior
agreement or easement The application before you tonight has nothing to do with that transformer We're our proposal is to have the transformers on utility poles Um so that I just want to make it clear for for the public and for the board that's not something we're asking
for tonight It's not part of our application So in the event uh a uh of the approval and in the event PSG says I'm sorry we can't put it on the polls then we will have to come back to this board uh to seek that approval and we
can't get that approval now because there's certain calculations that the the architect needs to do um during construction u to see you know where where that works So I just want to make that clear going forward Um also uh we've agreed um to have a reciprocal
access easement uh with the the neighbors and that's the condominium building the convent because of the proximity of the two properties and our our lot line uh will be uh close to the chapel uh unit Uh so we want to make
sure that they have access um when when they need it We're also providing you you'll see you'll see as part of the garage We're providing for uh a fence that can be opened in the event they need to have access through our fence in
addition to their sideyard Uh so we will have uh an access agreement for with reasonable notice and in the event an immediate access is is agreed is is needed as a result of an emergency that would be acceptable too So I want to make sure those those are on on the
record Um let me see I think those are the major points but uh you know if I missed anything when the community comes up I'll you know certainly address those at that time Oh one other thing is yeah they asked us to to confirm that none of
our drainage is going to be be uh directed towards their property We're not allowed to do that in the first instance Uh so we just wanted to confirm that on the record that's not going to happen Uh in the event we need to move any wiring that uh into the chapel unit
or otherwise in a convent that would be our responsibility to take care of uh and to take care of it you know expeditiously Um and I think that's it There is there's one other gate issues that that we're we'll have to talk offline with them Um but uh with that
long- winded um summary uh I'm gonna bring bring up our architect so he can uh walk you through the project Check Sure Ahmed Amara E the truth
I do Mr Mr Omar has been uh Yes Yeah His license is in effect and we still accept his credentials Correct Yes Thank you Thank you And before you begin if we could mark this as A2 your slide
deck for for the presentation Great Thank you Um please email the presentation to staff I will Thank you You got it Sorry I just um advised Mr Amara and Mr Harrington they should email this piece
of evidence to staff All right Good evening Um I'll take you through the presentation And I know Chuck did a good job summarizing it so this is just going to be I'm going to be much faster than him Um so um okay let me do
this Uh just to remind everybody of the location it's it's on the corner of Goier A and Delaware Avenue That's the site right there The school is the bigger building behind us in the church And then on this side here on Delaware AB is the convent and the chapel unit
which is down here which is that's that's phase one that Chuck referred to Again this is just a a 3D of the site so you can get a visual That's the school and the church And then this is the convent and chapel unit right behind
us here This is the updated site plan Um just to confirm the entrance to the building is on Delaware which was originally designed to be on Delaware But when I say originally I'm talking about the prior approval Uh because um just to also to clarify to the board there's a
prior approval and then we submitted an application with an amendment That amendment had then been amended a couple of times after talking to the neighbors So last time we came you mentioned chair that we needed to go back and submit the drawings So the drawings that are
submitted now are the I'm going to refer to those as the amended drawings and then the original drawings were the ones that were previously approved So the previous approval had the entrance for the residential building on Delaware which we're keeping The entrance for the parking garages was
also on Delaware which we're also keeping and and then what we did we put the again the previously approved plans along with the uh proposed plans So on the left side of the screen is the
proposed plans and the right side was the uh previously approved You'll see that the entrance for the garage is almost at the same location and then there was a ramp in the middle of the garage to take you down which is no longer being is needed as Chuck mentioned because the 25 spaces for um
the church now went down to uh 10 uh and their shared parking uh spaces The this is the typical this is the second floor uh plan On the right side was what was previously approved on the left side again is what's proposed
You'll notice that we overlaid so the red dash line on the left side is the footprint for the previously approved u uh building Um this area we labeled as on the right side is labeled as public patio area So this used to be public for
everyone in the building to be able to come to So if you lived on the third or fourth or fifth floors you could come down elevator or the stairs and through the hallway take a door out and be in that area In the in the current proposal that space is a private green area that
can only be used by the um tenants of the units that are facing that um green area So that's that's a that's a big change because now instead of having 54 units being have access to that space this is only those uh five or six units
that have access to that space That's designed specifically as a green area So we don't anticipate a lot of people spending actually time on the green area because behind those you'll see we're labeling private patios So each unit now has a private patio and then there is
basically a green roof in front of them In terms of the footprint um as u our attorney mentioned the footprint on the left side of the is is the is the proposed current proposal on the right side is the previously approved and the overlay of the red line You'll see that
the building actually was uh larger and came down towards the school and we pulled that back We thought this was more appropriate for residential building to just step away It's not too close to the stu school's uh uh windows and playground
These are the typical floors So this would be the third fourth and fifth floors They have they they match the same layout So I won't uh you know talk about this too much but it's basically again that comparison between the two footprints The roof deck in the
previously approved as well reached um the back towards the chapel So you can see is was basically at the at the roof line or the parapet line and then in the front it was on goier in the in the current proposal on the left side of the screen We've reduced that footprint to
stay away from the basically the visual from the street on goier and then we moved it away from the convent and the um chapel building uh on the bottom of the screen This is the area here that um our attorney was referring to So this in one
of the discussions and one of the iterations we did was a covered parking area We removed it and we created this We have this now as an open space and I'll just go to the floor plan above that to show it This is now an open to below This is
open air space and and and the reason for this is to give access to the convent and and and the chapel unit to access their building in need in if you know if there's any need for maintenance or or replacement or uh repairs of any
sort So under the building this area here is parking but it would be open And I'm not just going to go back one more time So this is the space here between the two buildings We would have a fence along this wall here and a fence along
this wall here This fence would have um gates in it or it would be a removable fence to allow for access for for the buildings basically both ways Um why removable because the property line basically the the convent comes up to
the I'm sorry the chapel unit comes up to the property line and between the the the chapel and the building and the property line here is also just 5 ft So in talks with our neighbors we agreed to to this area to basically have um larger
u gates that would open to allow access if they're bringing in any machinery tools or somebody has to access it um which I think is works for both of us Um the setback that uh Chuck was mentioning again it was it was in um one
of the iterations we did The building came out to here at the property line for about maybe 30 ft and now this is um and again in discussions with the neighbors we understood the concern So we moved the building back So this line is now set back from the property line
Uh this is just a comparison between what was previously approved and what's proposed You'll notice that all the numbers are um for the coverage for the building coverage and the lot coverage are staying the same Uh the setbacks are staying mostly the same The unit count
is the um is the chain is the is the same but the unit mix is different Uh we had um uh um no three bedrooms and mostly um one bedrooms and two bedrooms Uh we've added
some three bedrooms Again during our discussions with the neighbors they wanted a more family oriented building and this is one of the changes that we made Um these are the this is the proposed design for the the building Um
so the building massing as I I showed before stayed largely the same The back is where the changes are but the front it went from red brick and uh stone to uh more of a panelized facade I would say just to break down the mass a little
bit It doesn't look like one big um one color or one big um finish Uh the lighting was also discussed with the neighbors One of the comments and and we uh admittedly didn't update the renderings yet but one of the comments was about the lighting on the
cornice Uh they don't really want the cornice to be highlighted as much since a lot of the buildings around them are lower density So that something we agreed to and we would we would remove that U the lighting along the sidewalk that's something that uh we wanted and
the neighbors wanted just for a security um and u and lighting up the sidewalk This is a view from um Delaware side and you'll see the garage and the building entrance right
there And this is a the view from Goier um Avenue And with that I conclude if I missed anything Uh I mean the you already mentioned there would be no uh uh storm
water runoff from our side to their property Certainly uh the um one of them one of the I have to mention this because I we did I see people in the crowd that we talked about this Um we did agree with the Lincoln Park
Association that um the the uh roof deck would be um accommodate some of their gatherings uh just prior notice and the management team would allow them into the building uh to use that space Um and I have to also mention that 126
uh Delaware which is the convent building um they have parking in the building and so those parking spaces would remain that was part of the previous approval they would remain with this approval and they would be uh those spaces would be uh labeled for them uh
the shared parking between the school uh and the and um and the building is something that we worked with the school on and I believe there's a representative of the school and church here today to speak about that as well Um I think I've covered everything If
not then I'm happy to take any if not somebody will probably correct me or something and I'm happy to take any questions We'll hold questions till the end Okay Thank you So yeah that's that's all we we have uh tonight We have our traffic engineer here in the event there are any questions about that but it's really you
know it's all about the garage there Um and then we'll defer to the board Okay So at this time is there anyone um in from the public who would like to comment Okay I'll ask you to come up to the microphone You'll be limited to 3 minutes Uh Commissioner um Allen will
time you He'll let you know when you have 1 minute left Um so you'll have to state your name spell your name um for uh for Tony Hi Robin Alco A L C O C K
126 Delaware I do Good evening I'm an owner of 126 Delaware and as mentioned our building is the former St Alawishas Convent which is a 99-year-old structure that's part of the West Bergen East Lincoln Park
Historic District I want to bring the commissioner's attention to changes from the original 2016 site plan that I find to be a detriment and those are the changes that were made to the ground level footprint There's been a reduction in the setback
distances between our buildings On our north side it was reduced to 5 1/2 ft from an original 10 ft in the 2016 plan And on an eastern portion of our building as you saw there was previously an open space but there's now just 4 in
between us and the proposed parking The mostly rectangular footprint of the development now has that extra nose jutting southward and six cars are allotted to be parked there That parking area is also mere inches from our
historic masonry loia And on the opposite side of us the St Alawishas Catholic School which is also a property of the Lincoln Park Historic District As you know the developer um has chosen to remove that underground level of parking from their previous plan and the
33 spaces that were contained there Um and it now seems that they're seeking to expand the footprint to eek out as many spaces as possible on the ground level I personally feel the need to push back on this choice especially to swish to squish six cars in a 30- foot wide area
which is bound on three sides by historic properties with just inches of clearance I do appreciate the many meetings that the developer architect Mr Amara held with our community our association and other owners He thoughtfully presented
compromises to address the HOA's concerns which are reflected in tonight's plans However there wasn't a compromise um on the subject of the ground level footprint And by extending parking into that exe section it one minute remaining
to completely walk around our condo building It adds extra noise and extra burden to our maintenance to arrange for the moving of six cars and fencing And what if there's a vehicle fire in that section that's 4 in from where I sleep at night That section of the chapel unit
is my primary bedroom So I'm speaking in objection of this amendment change not because I object to the long-awaited development of this land but because I feel that this new construction building with its own giant should be making different choices with regards to the
footprint Thank you Thank you Uh good evening ladies and gentlemen I'm William Hamill I'm a member of St 's church H A M I L L
I do Uh good evening I'm a William Hamill I'm a member of St Alawishas Church I'm currently one of two trustees of the parish and uh a member of the finance council
u in both capacities in an advisory role to the pastor Reverend Wancho DeLeon and the parochial vicor uh Reverend Jesus Ramos Uh I'm also a graduate if you spell those names Yes Wancho de Leon J u
n C H O DeLon D E L E O N and Jesus Ramos R A M O S You're welcome Okay I'm also a graduate of the elementary school quite some time ago
Uh I'm here tonight representing both the church the parish and the school to voice our wholehearted support for the project Uh I have two letters uh written by the pastor and by the principal of
the elementary academy um Mr Jorge Rivera R I V E R A uh dated in June of 2024 uh to our ward B council woman
uh Mera Prince Ari uh underscoring our support Um they indicate the um cooperation we've had from Mr PZA and his team uh tell giving us updates about the project answering our questions and
uh responding to our concerns including as you've heard an agreement to allow shared parking for the staff and the teachers of our elementary school and the um letters indicate our support for that agreement Uh we do feel as has been
mentioned that the project uh enhances safety and security in the neighborhood We feel that the mix of units will encourage uh both singles couples and families which we feel has the potential
to one minute remaining uh add members both to our uh church community and to the school So we look forward to uh this project moving forward I'd like to ask the board if it would be possible for me to submit these letters as a part of the
record of our support for the project Would that be appropriate It's normally not appropriate to submit letters from somebody who's not here Okay But we'll take your representation as to what they say and that's good enough for now Fine Again these are letters written to the
local council woman 30 seconds Uh okay And I thank you Thank you Thank you Hello my name is David Lions Uh I am a resident of 126 Delaware LY NS correct I do Hi I am another owner in the uh
phase one building uh at the convent Uh first I just want to say that I I fully support my uh neighbor and wife's comments uh that preceded me Uh I also want to reiterate what she said about uh Mr Amara and Mr Harrington who took time
uh especially after the previously scheduled zoning meeting to meet with the community and talk to us in 126 Uh and we appreciate a lot of the changes that they've made Um I just wanted to expand a little bit on the question of
the uh the space between the chapel unit and the borders of this property Uh the chapel has a roof that is approximately 100 years old It still has the I believe original copper Yankee gutters The masonry work for the most part is
original Uh it is a building that has and I expect will continue to need quite a bit of maintenance as a historic property in the historic district This is one of the reasons we are so concerned about the setback and about the access to the exterior as it is
required and will continue to require uh maintenance to preserve the historic character of the neighborhood Um while we appreciate the changes made we are still concerned about in reality how practical this is going to be with this
fence with having to move the shared the cars in the shared parking out of the way If we need to repair say the slate and copper work that is around the back of the chapel where the sacry was um which was removed by the developer
Um and and these are generally where we have been trying to uh find some common ground to assure us that we can do that work Um we are still not 100% confident that this is going to be adequate for
that Uh one minute remaining But um we in the original plans we did not think that this was going to be necessary because there was not going to be any extension into the back of the property towards the Loia between the
school and the chapel unit Uh thank you for your time Thank you Uh good evening My name is Ryan Lewig and I'm a owner in 126 Delaware Rav Lewig L U D W Yeah Yes sir
I do Um I will make it short and sweet I um again want to thank the architects and attorneys for Mr Karasa for working with the board to uh make some changes to their initial plan
to allow us some amount of ability to work on our building um in the future We are but I also want to say that I support the comments of the other owners who have spoken here today I still have reservations about our ability to manage
our building going forward And that is all Thank you very much Thank you Hi Kayla Burl Uh first name K A Y L A last name B as in boy U R E L L I
do Good evening Uh thank you for the opportunity to speak I'm the vice president of the Lincoln Park North Neighborhood Association and I'm here tonight to represent our members and voice a few concerns regarding the proposed development of 136 Delaware
First we would uh like to acknowledge the developer and his architect Mr Amara's efforts in engaging with the community We appreciate that some of the concerns raised by residents have been addressed such as the changes to the building's facade Those modifications
demonstrate a willingness to align the project more closely with the character of our neighborhood and we do commend that effort One thing uh that I didn't hear mentioned uh during the presentation might have been overlooked was the use of um the glass that prevents bird strikes Um so I would just
like to get that agreement on the record Um however despite these adjustments a significant portion of our community remains deeply concerned about the overall scale and density of the proposal Delaware Avenue is a quiet narrow residential street primarily made
up of one and two family homes and low-rise buildings The proposed development in terms of its height and bulk feels out of proportion with the surrounding properties and risk disrupting the neighborhood's established character We're also concerned about the added pressure this project would place on already strained
infrastructure Parking is limited traffic flow is already challenged and access for emergency services could be compromised These issues are compounded by the development's proximity to local schools where congestion during drop off and pickup times is a regular concern
Introducing additional vehicles and disruptions to an area already dealing with heavy school uh related traffic would exacerbate these problems and undermine the safety and quality of life for our residents We also have reviewed the traffic study uh submitted as part of this proposal
and frankly we find it unconvincing given the existing traffic challenges between Kensington and Duncan avenues especially during school hours We believe the study does not accurately reflect the real world impact this development would have One minute remaining The anticipated traffic flow
as outlined in the study does not take into account the cumulative effects of existing congestion newly installed bike lanes and the additional strain of increased parking In our view the study underestimates the scale of the disruption this project could cause and fails to account for the broader concerns to the community Additionally
we support our neighbors at 126 Delaware and their asks as they pertain to the effects this amendment would have on the use and enjoyment of their property We understand this application and amendment to a prior approval and that these variances regarding size bulk
and density were granted many years ago by a different board As a result we recognize the final approval of tonight may be influenced by these earlier decisions However we feel it is important to state on the record that the prior approval of this project could be considered an exception and not the standard for future development in our
neighborhood On behalf of Lincoln Park North Neighborhood Association I want to thank you for your time and attention this evening We trust that the board will fully consider our concerns as it evaluates its application and hope any decisions will prioritize the long-term well-being of our community Thank you
Thank you Good I just addressed some of the comments for the board So first uh yeah we will provide uh the glass that that I guess uh helps to prevent bird strikes That that was agreed to Um and just to
be clear we're not changing the scale or the density of of the project This is the same as what was approved you know years ago Same same number of units same same height Um we're actually bringing the the building back uh in moving it
backwards at the at the back of the building as as Mr uh provided And then um and on on the ground floor the reason we pushed we pushed it out was to provide for the proper parking uh the drive aisle space within within the
garage That's that's why we we moved that Um I'm sorry And and then um and the upper floors as we we noted we we pushed the building back three feet um on on that that one
side And I think it's important to to remember and and I don't discount their their concerns here but uh the project always always envisioned a fence on a property line So it wasn't going to be an open area uh next to their property
or the chapel We're always going to have a fence So on the north side of the chapel unit I believe there's a five-foot area between the chapel unit and the property line Uh and then you would have had a fence Now you're going to have the building there It's actually
going to be open with that this gate or fence that that Mr Air referenced So it's it's open air It's not it's not a a a concrete block from the floor up It's it's actually um that that area is going to be open Um so the air flows through
And then the purpose is you can open that that fence in the event they need that extra space to move something in there Uh and the same with the with behind behind the chapel um where the parking is proposed that was always going to have a fence So that wasn't
going to be open where you could just walk behind your house and and access the back of of the building And and and in that sense too you know nobody has the right to just go on somebody else's property to to work on your property
right um you you would need an agreement uh in place to do that So we're not um you know that what we're what we're doing tonight is we're affirmatively agreeing that we're going to provide you this access because we're going to enter into
a a a reciprocal maintenance agreement So when you do have have uh any um anything comes up that you have to uh work on the building we're going to have that in place you you don't we're not we're never going to say no because it's
going to be in in place and that that you know we've agreed to that that can be a condition of approval Um but I think that's an important thing that you know uh that that that we're affirmatively agreeing with our neighbors that that that we're going to have provide access uh for for each
other uh to to maintain the respective buildings Okay Um at this time if there is no other public comment thank you for your comments I'd like to ask the commissioners if they have any questions that they would like to propose at this time Yeah Um just again someone said
before 4 in between the buildings What's the actual space That's kind of hard to do any work if something ever happens in between buildings I've seen people do it in a foot but 4 in Give me one second
So um I I think this I'm going to answer this and clarify this point because I I totally understand their point and I had these conversations Um and maybe I didn't do a good job of explaining this and Chuck just did What we're talking about is is is that unit at the bottom
of left of the screen Uh that's the chapel Maybe enlarge that And yeah I could probably do that U let me do this And uh I see I've never used an apple before but and I this is not mine so I'm trying
All right So down here this area here is is the the black line is the property line And I think that's the most important thing to understand The black line is the property line the property line is 4 in away from the chapel's wall Now whether there's a building on the
property at all or if there's no building there's always going to be a fence at the property line and you can't access somebody else's property without permission Period That's separate from whether there's a building there or not And I don't think I maybe I did a good
job explaining that before like I said but that what we're talking about is the property line 4 in away from the wall And when you say that you're talking about where the parking is proposed And and we're talking about where this parking down here is proposed That's where this is 4 in away
Now what we've what what I've tried to do is I there's no building above it So this is open air It's basically the same condition as now The difference is there there there is parking proposed there Now today there's people parking not as
deep as this but this is a parking space that's proposed there And the agreement is the fence can have a gate to open and cars can be removed for access u with with and that which goes both ways Um I
think I just this is the part I wanted to explain that there there's a property line here and above there's nothing on this side and I can go to the this this is here open air and this is still open air here and just go back
here and the property line is what's four 4 in away So it the parking next to it is basically as you know u it's going to be concrete or asphalt u open air which is the same condition as today you you'll need an access agreement today You need an access agreement when the
building is up It's still open air There's still there's going to be a fence if the developed or not I think the condition that's there today may be sort of deceiving some people that's just going to be like that forever But once something is decided there going to be a fence around the property And a
could you speak to the distance between the chapel unit and the property line to the north there Yes that's this is this is 5 ft and then again there's the property line which is the dark black line and on on that property line there would be a fence and again we've I've
agreed and I will detail this and this can be a condition to for the fence to be operable for any uh equipment or anything to be accessed through that and and above the first floor there's an additional 3-foot setback That's accurate Yes So you have an eight eight
feet between the chapel and the uh Yeah If they need to do something to the roof or something like that Yeah Any other commissioners have questions I just have one question Delaware is a short street correct And it's dead end into the park Correct Just wanted to
make sure So it only runs what two or three blocks Not even I It might be less I uh I know Yeah it does go on the other side It's it's it's saying Kensington to
donkeys is the other one that's but it stops and then you can't you can't drive the other way that ends into the cemetery on it It goes that ends under the exact same it's maybe two or three blocks here Okay Thank you Um Commissioner Allen Um yes Can can you
address the first lady And I apologize I was trying to I didn't get your name Um the first lady Robin can you can you address Miss Robin's concern about the fire and and um the fire rate and the materials that you're going to use Of course Yeah The and and this is something I
I certainly is dictated by building code and this is what we abide by and the the this first floor of this building is a non-combustible construction because this is a five-story building So the it's what we commonly refer to as four
over one It's four stories of 5A which is wood construction over one story of uh 1A which is non-combustible con construction So the first floor will only have concrete uh or steel It'll be fire rateated 3 hours uh and it's going
to be uh sprinkler construction Does that answer your question She was concerned with the She said the fire Yeah She her her question specifically if I may Robin I think I understood your question She's talking about if something happens in this area right
here Am I right Okay Um so the cars in this area the there will be a sprinkler system that's exactly at the edge that would throw in this direction and if in case of emergency they would be moved But it's the same condition If something happened here and and there was fire
under the building the cars would have to be removed Um now the difference is this is in proximity to her building and we will be taking every precaution from sprinkler to the non-combustible construction on this site
Okay I have a question Um so the spaces that were originally available you had 85 spaces 84 Okay I think Chuck said 85 but it was 84 Okay it was 84 Okay Um and now you reduce those spaces
and and you're making up the other spaces You have 10 shared spaces So you are still missing so many spaces from the original amount I think about 33 spaces I'm looking at maybe that you're missing or I don't do math but it's about 30 Yeah about 30 So is the parking
on a first come first- serve basis Is it designated parking Is it assigned parking So the the the the way the parking is calculated is 16 units 16 parking spaces are for uh 126 Delaware The convent The convent Yes And and the
rest are for the building and 10 of them are shared with the school Uh because we did the we did the count with the school over a few months Noticed exactly what they wanted suggested that and there would be a 10 parking spaces those would
be assigned for to to be shared parking Um and they'll be shared parking from 8:00 am to maybe 3 pm or something like that So it's during the time that if you're parking in the building and you leave with the car the school will be parking there And the school also has I
believe seven parking spaces that was part of the discussion with them on their property Um so originally they thought they needed more They came back and they we discussed it with them Um and I think the number they needed was 7 + 7 14 something like that But we
decided to give 10 inside the building Okay So we're still down number of spaces though from the original number It's reduced and and that's because before it was 25 assigned spaces There was no short parking and that number is basically not needed as much after
discussions with them Okay And that's based on the assumption obviously that people will be using their cars and not there during that period So therefore they become to utilize a space when rather than just have an assigned empty space at all times if someone's away Exactly One one other question The um
there was something about traffic I know you said you had your traffic person here We do One of the members of the public mentioned about Yeah Can you just address that concern a little bit The the traffic person was here just briefly
Good evening Lee middle initial D is in Daniel Klein K L E I N I do And for the record Mr Klein has been accepted as an expert before planning this Thank you My license is current and in good standing
So the question was the traffic generated by this development Uh if I could get my report out we used the Institute of Transportation Engineers trip generation calculation uh using the 11th edition and the
proposed 54 units would generate 17 trips during the morning peak hour It's okay 14 trips during the PM peak hour So that in the morning it would be uh approximately two or three trips in and 15 trips out And in the afternoon peak
hour it would be 10 trips coming home and four trips leaving for a total of 14 Uh that's considered an insignificant amount of traffic Anything less than 100 peak hour trips is insignificant And that's approximately one trip every five
minutes or so four to five minutes You're good Okay I just want to hear that there about the study a little bit I know there was there was there was a question about one of the intersections though Which intersection was it Um Duncan Duncan and Delaware Delaware
The question was Yeah the school closes the street You might be able to talk more about that but the school closes um Kington I believe during pickup and drop off And Delaware is a oneway street right And right now
uh Duncan Avenue can you please speak up No I I think you might have to come up Come up She can't hear Uh Caleb Burl Thank you Um right now Delaware Avenue goes
through Duncan Avenue That's the intersection Um there are curb bumpouts there and there are two-way bike lanes there that are pretty newly installed They were installed in um October
So people are pulling through the crosswalk of Delaware Avenue and stopping and blocking traffic There's a lot of kids that cross It's become a safety issue We've asked the city to study that a little bit more closely maybe see if there's a signal that we
could get or some some kind of better um flow control but it this wasn't part of the traffic study that was done And um the reason the developer gave us was because it wasn't required But adding all these units with a street closure
just seems like a lot Okay So I'll just wait for when staff gives their report Yeah Uh any commissioners have any other questions at this time Okay Can uh we hear staff comments Um certainly Um I guess while it's fresh in my mind um I just want to
clarify with Mr Klene about some traffic flow in this area So the proposed the proposed egress and ingresses on Delaware Avenue correct Correct And Delaware Avenue is a one-way northbound street Correct
And Gouta Avenue is a one bay oneway westbound street Correct I have to check but I'm pretty sure it's one way also Yeah From west side Yeah So the envisioned access would be I guess um during most hours exit would be going up Delaware to
Duncan for most most trips Correct Um and then entrance would presumably be via Kensington Correct Um I guess what would be the envisioned traffic flow when Kensington is closed of how you would access Delaware Yeah
that would be the same way that the people at 126 get into their property as well or how people are getting into the the parking lot that this project is on right now Um could could you illuminate for me I I don't know how they do it
They drive the wrong way Yeah there's two Either you can speak to the crossing guard and and perhaps she will move the cones to let you through when um do you mind just addressing the microphone so we can record Sorry David Lions LS Uh yes there's a
crossing guard who closes the street for school pickups and drop offs Uh Peggy she lays cones out Um I believe she will move them and let you through if she knows who you are and knows that you live there Otherwise yeah a lot of people drive the wrong way on Delaware They come on Goateier and go the wrong
way You see it a lot So Mr Klein would it be correct to characterize this conflict as not specific to your building or this development but a pre-existing problem It's an existing condition Exactly Yes Okay Um Mr Harrington would your client be willing to work with traffic to
um you know explore the possibility of changes in this area and cooperating with those We We will And I I can actually state for the record I I had a project across the street an application um uh filed with the board and we had an extensive discussions with Jersey City
traffic and they basically came to the conclusion I think that you are not it's an existing condition Uh they thought about changing directions Uh I think it was discovered that when St Al's closes closes it they do it upon their own
accord Um but they their conclusion was to leave it alone That's when there's there's a there's a uh a property right across the street that we had a pending application Uh it never made it to the board because we went back and forth but that that issue
was was reviewed extensively uh with with Jersey City Traffic Engineering Uh but to answer your question we would absolutely you know look at it again with with the Jersey City Traffic Department Okay Yeah And I'd just like to reiterate for the record that this is
a pre-existing condition and under the pre-existing approval this potential traffic conflict would have existed as well and the board um granted approval for this project in that configuration with actually with a larger traffic impact due to
um more parking spaces Correct Correct Correct Okay Um thank you So um Mr Harrington do you mind just recounting I know there were several items um referred to in the record that maybe are not reflected on the plans that you
said I I heard something about bird glass and Oh yes We we agree that uh um we will provide for the type of glass that that um tries to prevent uh Yeah reflective glass so birds are not flying into it Yes Yes Um and I believe there's
also mention of reciprocal maintenance agreement Yes that we would enter into a reciprocal maintenance agreement uh with with the next reciprocal access agreement I'm sorry Um for maintenance uh wi with the neighbors Uh the terms would be upon reasonable notice or in
the event of emergent needs immediate access All right Um with that being said staff recommends approval provided those two conditions are met plus um all previous conditions from previous approvals remain in force
Do the commission do the commissioners have any questions for the staff or anyone else Okay Um then since there are no additional comments or questions I'm asking for a motion to approve uh case
Z2023-000019 with conditions Can I get a motion Madam Chair I'd like to make a motion to approve KZ202 3- 019 I'll second as Oh okay Commissioner Zlicki I vote I and
just um a little just a little advice I would think that once the building's built it would be wise to engage the council person of that district to make sure that traffic and engineering actually looks at this one more time Once it's built you got to see actually the that how things are being done and
how it affects the school I know when schools shut streets down it changes things But that's going to happen no matter what cuz that's the only way they could do it So I would just suggest that you engage the council person in that district to just make sure that there's discussion about it once it's built I
vote I Commissioner Patel I Commissioner Baron I Commissioner Bole I Commissioner Burns I Commissioner Allen Yes Nice project I agree with Commissioner Zablicki I vote I Chair Coyle
I vote yes but I would hope that the the council person is proactive from the start of the building to get this moving so that maybe the traffic flow can be addressed prior to the building even being finished Okay Motion carries Seven in favor none opposed Thank you
Tony and do you need a break before we move on Nope Okay Okay Our next case um is Z2024-000077 151 Broadway Good evening members of the board Uh Michael Higgins of Castanoquigley Tramy
on behalf of the applicant Uh council if I may approach I have the original notices Yes I think we've seen them You can give them to uh the reporter and she'll mark them as A1 It's an affidavit proof of service and notice of publication Correct Yes Correct
So before you begin um Okay Yeah Excuse me I was doing that Somebody tell me to do that Okay Great Thank you I do have a question Has this project been built already This is finished Yes
it has It has And you're coming before us when it's finished to ask for variances for for a site plan amendment Uh that is correct Madam Chair Okay So why was it not sent in prior to you making to the site being amended or the
plans being amended Yes So I think I can provide a little explanation So the reason that it has already been constructed essentially boils down to this being a developer that is not familiar with the process um and and
frankly is an inexperienced developer who was of the impression in this case that the majority of these changes were not material and were minor enough that they could be done uh without going against the provisions of the previous
resolution and previously approved plans Um that's essentially the justification not that it is a justification but that is the the reasoning for uh these deviations not being brought up earlier The reason for the changes uh frankly
when this was constructed and when it was previously approved there were uh supply chain shortages and issues related to the pandemic uh the coronairus pandemic they were not able to get certain materials uh and the applicant proceeded got those materials
and built the project as it is But when he submitted the original plans was he not kind of educated to the fact that if he was going to make changes he had to come before the board again and submit those changes He he should have been uh aware of that fact
Um the only thing that I can say to that is that it is clearly an inexperienced developer Was the builder experienced Sorry Was the builder was he experienced You would assume the builder was
experienced The developer uh should have had a greater degree of oversight over the contractors and builders here Um simply that that didn't happen That didn't happen There wasn't a sufficient degree of oversight And uh we're not here to say that it wasn't a mistake
Certainly it it was certainly a mistake um and the applicant is uh paying for it with having to go through a process to uh basically rectify this this this situation Is this the first building this person has built in Jersey City or
anywhere Uh I do not believe that is the case No Okay Um however I I do believe that what they've constructed all was within a similar time frame Let's hear it
Okay let's hear it But yes the point being that had they learned the lesson earlier they would have presumably taken it with them into future builds being that everything was in a similar time frame They did not they did
not take that home We'll hear it and make a decision Okay I do have uh I do have an architect to walk through this uh the changes and we need to hear what he did Yes Okay Go ahead The changes are Yes Yeah
And I think the uh the right way for for this to get looked at really is as a sort of denovo application as if this wasn't constructed and the board could consider whether these would have been approved uh had it been filed in a timely manner Uh so with that Jeff Lewis
is the architect if we could have him sworn in and uh qualified Hi one more time Jeffrey Lewis Lisa Yes I do And for the record my uh license is uh active and in good standing in New Jersey
So I'm good Yes you're good Yes you've been before this board many times Okay So 151 Broadway Uh first I want to uh emphasize that uh none of the changes that we made here create any new variances on this project Uh none of the changes affect the building square
footage or the building height Uh these are generally um material and color changes There are a couple minor um design changes that I'm going to go over Uh and again most of those changes were based on pandemic availability or sorry
lack thereof come back up Sorry about that Okay Uh so the first I want to go over the couple um more of the design changes Uh the first would be the front entry doors Uh so if you look at the two front entry doors that we have the openings did stay the same
exact size However the changes uh we updated the doors and windows and the side lights excuse me to be 3/4 glass and the rest would be wood finish And then the the the glass has gone from just a plain glass to more of a decorative glass with a pattern in it
And lastly the doors uh were previously going to be painted to match uh the garage door and the windows Uh those doors are now painted a a maroon a burgundy color Uh the second change would be the uh two uh small roofs that are built One
is over the garage door and then one is mirrored over the front entry on the right side of the building Uh those previously were more of a pediment style uh overhang and those were changed to a kind of a shed roof instead Uh and this
is a uh design change that is appropriate for this building type Uh and a third change was the wall sconces were changed to a different style wall sconce Um besides that everything else are material and color changes Uh the one material change is on the rear and
the side elevations on the first floor We were proposing a splitfaced block That material wasn't available Uh so the ground floor was built with just a regular masonry block and was finished with a parch coat that was a smooth stuckco finish painted light gray It's a very common uh Jersey City finish on the
ground floor And then besides that everything else were color changes colors that weren't available that we had to change other colors that we changed to match the colors that had to be changed Uh this includes the color of the brick the siding the garage door the
windows and the metal panels on the uh bay window above And I'm going to go to the next page to go over those color changes So first we have the brick which was previously a ruby red a darker brick and is changed to a red colonial iron
spot which is a a slightly lighter brick than that Uh the siding above was a gray slate color that was changed to a cream color The window excuse me the garage door was originally going to be a color called sand and that had to be changed
to white The window trim and window frames were also going to be sanded Those were also changed to white Uh the metal panels above were a color called anodic I don't know if I said that right I'm sorry uh satin micica and that was changed to sandstone which is a very
similar color just a little bit lighter and then as I mentioned the um split face block was not available Uh so we did do a light gray smooth stuckle finish and I also have a at the bottom here a photograph of the exterior light
that we chose to use instead of what was uh approved Uh that's a summary of all the changes that we made Again we're not creating any additional variances Uh and most of this is color changes and material changes I can answer any questions about these that you have
Um okay Is there anyone else that you have presenting tonight for us All right We'll hold their questions Is there anyone in the uh from the community that wants to make any comments Okay Please come forward Michael Manzo 82 Wright Avenue Jersey
City New Jersey Lifelong bus company Michael Manzo I do I did get a notice I'm within the 200 ft of this project First thing I want to refer to the preceding applicant It was tremendous The community going
back and forth talking give and take That's what's driving Jersey City to be a co cohesive place for everybody to live in We didn't get that with this project The applicant from the beginning we had an attorney that was talking down to us It was a Zoom meeting We even had
board members previous board call us and apologize on their behalf because of what we had to endure Uh to be naive to say that this was an accident oversight I don't go for it and I'm not going to go there Uh to see it
today madam you picked it up right away This is already completed I don't know where we're going what we're going to do to make it right And I don't think that's the issue here I think it's the community and building a community I know the guy lives right down the street His first project no there's other things there but I think you missed the
most important thing that could have helped his client He had a bad fire there that set him back He had to redo the whole side of the house So I kind of feel for him with that So he didn't get the right stuff happen at the right time Uh I just wanted to add that there As far as the house he did a nice job there
He's going to occupy it And that's all I have to say The only thing we're getting hit this end Then we had the other project that I came against with the notification They're doing whatever they want to do how they want to do it They don't respect people neighbors traffic and stuff like that It's not as crucial
with this as with the other project but I have to speak I've been here all my life I don't like what I see As far as this goes uh it's a nice house He's going to live there Let's go with it Thank you for your time Thank you Um if I may very briefly uh first thing
that I should address because there was a statement about an attorney Uh that was certainly not our office We didn't represent the developer at that time Not at all It was someone else Thank you Uh but there was a fire There was a fire Um I did not bring this
to the board's attention because I did not find it relevant towards if this was a new application how I think the board should be looking at it treating this as a new application whether that would bear into it but that did add difficulty to my client certainly
Okay Um do we have questions I have a question Um I'm sorry I didn't catch your name or Jeffrey Lewis Jeffrey Okay So were you in on these changes I mean you seem to know about these changes and you're saying this was changed and that was changed So did he come to you with
these changes or did you recommend these changes to him No Um actually I wasn't the project architect for this one So it wouldn't have been me that he would have reached out to Um I don't believe that the project architect knew about these changes until they went out to the site
towards the end of the project Okay Oh You had a question You have a question No I I think I just want to hear the Oh okay So because I think that would mean a lot in what I'm thinking Okay So no there are no other further
you have a question Uh this was approved Excuse me This was approved in 2020 When did the construction start Uh I believe the construction started My my understanding is that the construction was completed sometime in
mid to late 2023 When it started I'm not sure Yeah From what I understand there were a few delays There was the fire There was also a um storm water storm pipe problem with the city with the there was a problem uh related to storm pipe and they also had to coordinate with NJ DOT which contributed to the
delay This is close to one and nine Okay So it was one general contractor one builder on a project the whole time Yes sir Okay Okay If no other further questions from the commissioners I'd like to hear from the staff
I'll try to be um rather brief here Um I understand the potential hardships during construction Um but I just want to bring it to the board's attention to the public's attention that there is a condition that's almost put in every
resolution that's drafted and memorialized and basically says that you know no changes whether it be with a facade material shall be permitted without consulting with the planning department
And from your testimony I haven't really gotten that you uh the applicant communicated with the the planning department about these changes Um with that being said um I'll leave it in the board's
discretion to decide um whether or not this should be approved Um just wanted to mention that for the commissioners tonight But Eric from a practical point of view where are we He's trying to get a CO and somebody's picking this up and
saying come before the board right No So no plan amendment no CO roughly So what we did in the past with some other applications is we the applicant uh discuss it with the planning department to see what kind of
changes can be made Um so whether it's replacing some material changing some colors around to kind of bring it close to the original approval that's something we should work on and that's their next step basically
So I was actually going to mention that I was going to say so this is kind of weird but uh this is in a precedent that none of us like to set period when it comes to this um the fact that there's no variances or anything if that's true
would apply You know it's it's that that would be a whole different scenario to be quite honest as far as I'm concerned Um but I was going to say is there a way to have staff like to really just make everything conditional upon staff and
you guys meeting and nothing happens unless you guys agree with something The staff like I mean to leave it in limbo I mean like you know what I'm saying right Cuz it seems to me maybe I'm wrong That's why I was waiting for the staff to say it seems like most of this is
color changes and the front doors I don't know maybe you want to make them change it and you would have to live with it But being that there are no variances or anything else that's really where I'm my mind is at Okay But we've had this before called but there was more but
there was more done There was more but but there was a couple that just had a few things too and we turned it down because they did not go before the planning board again So I really think we have to be consistent matter Assume we turn it down right What happens They would go back to Eric I believe and get
what's the process What happens next We turn that down you reapply we start all over again you go to change colors or we just stare at the building Well it could be at the discretion of the planning planning director of course which direction they go in I mean
something like this of course they're not egregious changes However um the planning director would be able to decide whether it can just be handled administratively So it doesn't even have to you know maybe go to another board meeting Um but um this application being
brought forward to us is regarding these changes and condition of approval would be overwriting this entire application and essentially making this application you know kind of exactly rather mute right sort of that's what I'm trying to do
because that's the quandry So right Is it like if we vote it down do they come back in front of you guys and then reapply or do we vote it forward pending conditions and let you guys handle it administratively I don't know what the answer is but I mean of course I don't
want to um I would I would whatever the law is I think that's what we need to follow Whatever is recommended would be the next Vinnie do you want to weigh on this then leg legally I Well hold on We're at the point where I said we're at the point
right He can't move forward or backward because he can't get a CO right Correct That's where we are Yes Okay So the only way he can get a CO is if he gets these amendments passed by us Okay Right
Unless we say these these amendments are just you know dimminimous Yeah So use a better word But unless we say that however I I don't have the original
resolution in front of me but I'm assuming that resolution said if you were going to change anything in material or design you had to go before the planning department Correct Okay Correct if that's what it said and that's what they didn't do So wouldn't
it be logical to say "Okay let's just forget this for the moment and let them go before you with these changes in the planning department and say what the planning department wants." So for example they don't want this uh red
colonial iron spot brick They wanted a darker color or something like that I don't know what they want right But maybe that administratively that's what should be here because otherwise they're just grinding their gears in quicksand
So some something has to give here If we deny this okay so it's denied Then what do they do They can't get a CO But if we suggest that they go back before you the planning board and look at these these all the changes this these three six
changes that's it colors bas basically colors and and if you as the staff say okay listen you shouldn't do this this is in other words a problem enough for this owner because he can't get into this place now So whatever it's costing him to to carry it or whatever whatever
it is that's a hardship but that's a hardship he created himself Thank God he only created these type of superficial problems If it was anything deeper than that he'd have a real problem But but but for now can we simply just kick this
back to you That's right To internally to say it's okay or it's not okay and then come back to us and you with a little bit of stronger recommendation one way or the other I don't like it You know my staff doesn't like this So Vinnie would we be
So I just want to make sure I understand Would we be adjourning this item then That's what I'm thinking Carrying it till you guys figure it out because Okay I can't and I I agree with the chairwoman I can't vote Yes And bypass the staff because correct
that's the worst precedent we can set The staff has to have recommendations to us So if it was just voting on it now the answer is no But it still leaves us everybody in this issue So that's what I I was thinking either we carry it until
you guys feel comfortable with some kind of compromise and it listen it's them that you feel comfortable presenting saying they made these corrections and then you corre recommend it But like if it's now then it's you understand Okay So if you if you
guys are willing to adjourn it and you know to work this out a little bit staff but I I can't vote yes without the staff having their fingerprints on this because they should and it's respectful and we can't have people come in here after the fact I mean we had people come
in here with more serious stuff that and the answer was no You got to live with it And we also have to take a look like I said because I don't have the resolution in front of me but some of our resol res I have a copy of the resolution council If does it say that the architect has to be notified It has
to be on site but then it's a different architect It it does have a condition that uh the architect should be retained right Uh and confirm that it's been built Yeah So you know so okay so that ar that's not uh if I could that's
actually when what it usually says is before they get their co we have to come out and certify that everything was done as per zoning board approval and that's when we found out that that was not the case right that's unfortunately all the way at the end of the project okay yeah so eventually whoever that other
architect is should you know have a little score card in their planning board and say you know this is not right you know we can't let Mr Lewis take the heat for something that somebody else did Who was the other architect here for Well yeah Who is the other architect Rul
Kabata is the architect for this Oh okay Well Raul Koba Yeah Okay So what we're saying is that we're he's not we're not approving this We're not doing anything at the moment We're going to adjourn it
Okay Right For the record we we consent to adjourning the application We're happy to work with staff on this and whether it be resolved administratively after or involves another hearing Either way we're happy to work with staff Okay Well that's we're all in favor of adjourning
this Yes Okay Okay So so this case is adjourned until future notice when after they worked this out with the planning board or the zoning board You're going to have to renotice this because we can't carry it to a certain date I don't know how long it's going to take you to
get there and what they're going to say to you Understood Understood Okay Are you Are we making a motion for Yes for carrying this application to a date on certain We're not going to We're just going to adjourn it but it depends on uh we can't carry it to a certain
date because I don't know how long it's I don't know what these changes really mean I would like to make a motion that we're on record saying that we made a motion to adjourn this I I they said all I didn't say that I need to make one more um sort of clarification on the record Would would this be resolved
administratively by staff or would this be coming back to another hearing Uh in the event that it's done administratively we would withdraw the application afterwards In that case there would be no notice required Um that would be up to the planning board That would be zoning board for them to decide that Yeah And that's pretty much
what the discussions would be for we'll just speak it over and um kind of decide where this one should go So it may not you know um the planning director may determine that this doesn't really belong in front of a board Um because
again yeah the the the changes aren't egregious We you know these aren't really significant changes Um however it's still um deviating from a condition of approval So um staff will have to just communicate with the applicant to
determine the next steps for this item Okay understood Thank you So did we have a motion that we all agreed to Did we take a Did you have a motion Did you take a vote account from all of us I think I said it too fast You said that we take a motion to adjurnn Everybody
said yes Okay So we could do it formally formally Okay A motion to adjurnn Um Commissioner Zablicki yes Commissioner Patel yes Commissioner Baron yes Commissioner Bole yes
Commissioner Burns yes Commissioner Allen yes And Chair Qu yes Okay Motion carries to adjourn this item Seven in favor none opposed Okay Thank you Good evening Want a break Yes we would Tonyian do you want a break now Do you
need a little bit of a break Yeah You do you need you don't Okay Give me 10 minutes Okay Do you need 10 minutes Maybe 10 because it's good We're going to take a 10-minute break Um it's about 812 now We'll come back about 8:25
Next one's a little bit longer So now's a good time for a break Okay I'd like to call this meeting back to order Um and at this time we are going to hear case Z2024-000044 Um at this time um as I announced earlier uh we will be ending
the session tonight at 9:45 since security leaves at 10:00 and the building will be secured So um I'm not certain we're going to get through the next two cases since Mr Joseph told me that this could be a little bit long hearing tonight
Okay we'll be as quick as we possibly can be Okay Okay So you have the floor Great Good evening Uh as we're getting set up here we're looking for the connection cables but um Stephen Joseph Casano Trami for the applicant This is a
notice application Um so I'm going to turn to my notices and we could mark this as A1 please Yes Yes [Music] I don't have a Mac Just do up and down Thank you
[Music] All right U 83 Morris This is located on the corner of Morris Street and Washington Street in the historic district Purpose of the application um this is developed a property with a four-story mixeduse building 13 dwelling
units commercial on the ground floor while also incorporating an existing historic building on the site In order to accomplish this the applicant is requesting preliminary and sorry Yep Let me know when you're ready No
worries Good Back on the record Okay In order to accomplish this the applicant is requesting preliminary and final major site plan approval with DNC variances for use height some setbacks coverage number of street trees It's a mouthful of variances but I I think as
we go through the plans you you'll see why A lot of it nature of the lot being on a corner and it being in a historic district Um the applicant was also heard by the Historic Preservation Commission There are many design meetings with HBC staff Ultimately the commission
recommended to this board that the application be um approved with with conditions and there's a a list of conditions in the in the staff report as well We do have three experts for you this evening We have a civil engineer we have an architect and we have a a planner We're going to start with
engineering We're very brief testimony on the civil part We'll go into the architectural which will be the the bulk of the presentation and then we'll finish off with planning So let's get um Trevor up here Get him sworn in Trevor Curtis
Yes I do So Trevor I'm not sure if you've been sworn before this board in the past Um if you could just brief history of your education confirm your license is in good standing and we'll ask the board to qualify you Sure So my name is Trevor
Curtis I am currently a principal at L2A Land Design a licensed civil engineer in the state of New Jersey since the last seven years Uh graduated from Ruckers University with a bachelor's in science and civil engineering in 2013 Uh and
I've appear appeared before the Jersey City Planning Board I don't believe the zoning board Um but also Hoboken uh planning and zoning on a number of occasions would ask uh the board accept his expertise Yes thank you All right Trevor
Um just make sure it's plugged in Um I think it go All right Trevor if you could just give us some brief testimony on the storm water civil and landscaping please
Sure So as as Steve said the property is located at 83 to 89 Morris Street um which is at the intersection of Washington and Morris uh located within the historic district designated as
block 14 or 14403 lots 1 and 5 So I'll bring up sheet CO2 which is just the existing conditions plan to identify briefly what is on the property Uh the property currently has two existing curb cuts one to an asphalt
parking area currently which I believe was an outdoor seating area during COVID Uh there's an existing historic three-story building uh with a what used to be a frame garage may not be there anymore with which is where the second uh curb cut is The streetscape is if
you've been there recently somewhat dilapidated Uh the existing curbing and sidewalk needs repair Um but in general all of these improvements would be incorporated into a totally redeveloped site including a
fourstory three over one uh mixeduse building with ground floor commercial and three stories of residential above including 13 units Uh part of the scope of the civil was to improve the streetscape including all of the curbing
Uh the maintenance of the three existing street trees and the incorporation of two new street trees Uh and re reconstructing the tree pits to a Jersey City standard All of the curbing would be reconstructed and ADA access would be
provided to the building as part of these improvements Uh we're also including uh four city uh decorative posttop lights to increase the lighting and maintain that historic aesthetic Uh those those lights were coordinated with
Dave Murphy Associates who does uh specific lights for each part of the city Um quickly go through the the main idea of the civil under existing conditions there's no known measures of storm water management I mean known like there are
no detention measures It predates any of the stormwater rules Proposed conditions include a green roof north of can't even read it 2,284 square ft of green roof and a concrete detention basin just greater
than 700 cubic feet So under proposed conditions all of the storm water runoff from the property would be captured and reduced significantly um resulting in reductions for the 2 10 and 100 by 50 75 and 80% of existing
conditions The property would be considered a major development under Jersey city standards Uh so that would meet the requirements uh as required we have contacted JCMUA and all utility connections would be approved with JCMUA
uh as a condition of approval The property is not located within the flood plane So there are no flood issues uh at this intersection and throughout the remaining part of the plan set the lighting identified on sheet CO7 Uh as I
mentioned there's some wall sconces uh some canopy fixtures along the facade of the building and four new street uh street lights um situated in between the existing and proposed uh street trees Uh I would note that the
street trees are limited on this site due to the nature that it is on a corner property There are a number of standards street trees need to follow in Jersey City uh one in particular being distances from intersections and another distances from street lights and utility
poles So we did our best to maintain those mature vegetated uh vegetation or trees along the the property facade but also to include two new ones on Morris Street Uh the proposed conditions also include some decorative planter beds
These planter beds although decorative do serve a purpose Uh there is a grade change from the sidewalk area which would be ADA compliant Um that grade change these these planter boxes soften the the grade change There are steps to get in a portion of a building and ramps
to get into other portions to maintain that ADA access And the remaining sheets are soil erosion um which would require Hudson Essex spec soil erosion approval uh and details Thank you Trevor
Um we're gonna we're assume we're holding all questions until the end We'll bring Nelson up to talk about the architectural I I think what you heard from Trevor is that there are significant storm water landscaping and um public rightway improvements by this project So let's bring up Nelson so we
could take a look at the building Let's get you sworn in Nelson Benvitas B N A V I D S and testimony Yes And your license is current in good
standing this evening Yes I'm currently licensed in New Jersey um for approximately 20 years And Nelson has appeared before many boards and commissions of Jersey City uh many times Take it away Nelson Right Um I won't repeat what Trevor has
said regarding the description of the property So I'll move forward um from the site plan Um essentially this is a corner lot in the historic district So we're dealing with some unusual or the way they um categorize setbacks um specifically for rear yard setback um
and sideyard setbacks Um for this property since it's on the corner the long side which is uh on Morris Street is considered the sideyard versus Washington uh street being the front yard So our rear yard is actually on the
uh east side of the property Um where in this historic district we're looking to complete the donut Um so that's why we're looking for a rear yard setback of zero Um we're not consider we're not going to the backyard so to speak but basically the rear yard is the eastern
side of the property Uh these are drawings showing the overall existing block um elevation of the property and the uh block uh and lot diagram um for and here and the bottom two drawings
show the proposed elevation relative to the streetscape of the buildings that currently exist Um the top one is uh that would be Morris Street and the bottom one uh sorry the top one is Washington The bottom one would be Morris
Street These are sighteline sections um basically showing that we were complying with non-visibility of the roof deck um for historic standards Um these are sections throughout um both Washington and Mor Street
These are the existing uh drawings of the original townhouse that's there which currently houses a restaurant on the ground floor and two residential um units on the upper floors And we're proposing um interior demolition to reconfigure it um as part of the new
development Um we're preserving the the facade um and part of the structure um and integrating it into the building Um these are the existing elevations and sections of the existing building that's
there This is the seller proposed seller Um we're including a seller which would have um overlap space of the commercial for two commercial units um from the ground floor and it would have a service elevator um which would access all the
uh the the trash refues for the commercial part and also a residential component as well which would be handled with an internal uh residential elevator This is the ground floor plan showing two commercial spaces Um we're
reusing um the existing commercial space the restaurant space from the ground floor of the existing building and expanding it and the another commercial space on the corner of Washington and Morris Street The residential entry for the building would be uh on the east
side of the from Mor Street which would be 83 Morris and that's where you see basically the um entrance lobby um the stairs and elevator lobby along with some uh amenity space towards the back This is the second floor which would
contain um four three residential units sorry four residential units in the new building and one duplex in the existing building Um so for a total of 13 residential units Um the four units in the existing building sorry in the new
building would consist of all two-bedroom apartments Um all with frontage on Morris and uh Washington with the exception of one bedroomedroom apartment which would be in the rear courtyard Uh essentially these the second and third floor are essentially
identical with the exception of um the existing building which contains the duplex which would also be a two-bedroom apartment the top floor Um we did some modifications to the front facade um to reduce the bulk of the building which we
introduced uh terraces um adjacent to the existing building to reduce its bulk Um and there would be a rooftop um penthouse addition over the existing building with a small roof terrace and the top uh the roof would contain just an outdoor roof deck with
mechanical spaces and green roof Um there would be no amenity spaces on the roof Um these are proposed elevations of um this is from Mar Street Um showing the residential building o um surrounded by the exist sorry the existing building
um encompass surrounded by the new development Um the ground floor to be all commercial with the exception of the residential entry and lobby and then the upper floors would be the apartments Um the materials that were selected would be pretty much uh the facade would be handled with two different color bricks
One would be um the maroon brick that you see here in front of me which has a basic rib That would be the primary and then the in the bays underneath the windows would be handled with a special shaped chisel brick um with a solid um standard brick in an alternating pattern
Um all of the windows would be basically a a dark gray cloud window um zinc cornice um and we have some small canopies over the entrances for the residential entry and the commercial corner Um we do include some signage as
well um mostly through blade signs and through uh signage over the canopy um with small lettering We're restoring the existing um three-story building and storefront um and keeping it within historic
standards This is the sorry this is the Washington Street elevation and on this side we uh followed also by reducing the bulk of the building but by changing the materials as it um as it moves further south um where it butts up to the other
historic town houses These are the sections and elevations of the rear yard Um the materiality essentially we're doing a panelized um Hardy Hardy board system and brick u these are just the
sections and the details of the wall section um and the signage and canopy would be here and these are the renderings of the building Um this is the view from the corner um of Morris Street and
Washington U and you'll see the tone the different materiality of the building and the uh we you're using a yellow buff um window sills and heads um dark gray windows um that are articulated with mullions um zinc cornice um and canopy
and a black storefront as well So we we do have material samples here I know this board doesn't typically get them so I could pass them around if the board would like They're a little heavy Uh this is the view of Mor Street um showing the existing building um and
the proposed building surrounding it And you can see on this view um the building the part adjacent to the existing building has a setback terrace um and the material changes as well above Sorry And this is the view of Washington
Street and the elevation um showing it rendered and I'd be happy to answer any questions Nelson if you if you don't mind uh maybe just go back to the site plan or the overhead and just just say a couple more words on the the setback and how that was calculated and the Yes how
and why we did that And did the board want me to pass around the samples or I don't think I need I don't think it's necessary Do you want to evidence It's okay Take them home till the next Okay
So I just blew this up for you So here we have the corner of Washington and Morris Street And so we indicated all of the different yards um since this is a corner lot and the historic district um has a different definition than other districts for corner lots Um so we have
the rear yard setback um which I'm showing as 30 feet is what's required Um we're at zero because it's a lot line Um then going towards what's what we call a traditional rear yard is actually the sideyard and we are set back there as
well So we're complying with sideyard setbacks in the historic district Sideyards are zero Um but in this case we are taking it to approximately 28 ft Um and let's see what else Uh this building is a four-story building Um
we're we're ex the height restrictions at 40T We're proposing a 47 foot u building height Um the corners typically in this area all have higher buildings Um I have some photographs of the adjacent corners so we can review that Um so you can see but in context with
the adjacent buildings we're within um the typical height of this uh neighborhood Um in terms of lot coverage uh for the building we're we maintained it at 80% Um and same thing for our um
building coverage as well Uh the building coverage is required to be 60 um% we're at 80% Um we're looking for uh based on the development here Um should I also speak about parking No Okay Wait for planning testimony for
that Yeah Let me show you those photographs of the corners because that's the um yeah the lighorse corner um directly across Yeah this is caddy corner directly across
um this is towards the south the southwest corner This is our project site Sorry we go And this is the north uh east corner Great Thank you
Thank you We'll bring uh Kristen up next to to do some planning testimony Kristen Russell R US SS LL I'm with Collier's Engineering and Design I'm a licensed professional planner I do we we accept your experience please
so as um the engine uh the engineer and the architect have oriented us already this is the southeast corner of Morrison Washington in the Paul Hook historic district um a fourstory mixeduse multif family building is being proposed and an existing historic building on the site
is being retained and incorporated into the proposed project Um there are a number of C and D variances that I want to go over with you tonight I'm going to go through the Dvarianes first Those are for use because multif family housing um and the commercial restaurant neither
are permitted in the district and height where 40t is permitted and we're proposing 47 feet 6 in Um because the height variance is for a use that's not permitted um it is held to the same level of scrutiny as the use variance So
I'm going to discuss them together um as part of my testimony So Dvarian has to meet the positive and negative criteria The positive criteria being um particular cases and special reasons Um and
basically this is the pro the pro promotion of the general welfare So the standard that the board needs to employ to determine if um special reasons have been proven is whether the property is particularly suited for the proposed use and height And I would argue that yes it
is Um in terms of use these uses are all around the neighborhood already We see multif family um buildings We see groundf flooror commercial um across the street up and down all the blocks in the neighborhood Um in fact there is a I
don't know if you needed to keep seeing that but there there um is a restaurant overlay zone for example directly across the street and this isn't in that zone Um but it does show that what we're asking for is typical to the area And in
terms of height um we are consistent with other three and fourstory buildings in the neighborhood As photos were shown to you just before I came up here the other three corners of this intersection those buildings are all around if not greater than 50 ft and we're asking for
476 So the height is also consistent with what we're seeing in the neighborhood Um a uh devariance also needs to address the negative criteria So that is to evidence that the variances can be granted without
substantial detriment to the public good and that they will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and zoning ordinance So the public good because we are proposing a development that is so similar to what
is already in the neighborhood the public good is being um retained there's nothing new or um offensive coming onto this site that may detract from the historic neighborhood and from the character of the neighborhood And as I also said we're keeping that historic
building that's there to continue to preserve um the the fabric of the neighborhood Um as I will get to in the C variances and as was discussed briefly by the architect the um the corner the nature
of the corner lot does trigger some rear yard variances because we didn't want to interrupt the street wall but we did incorporate rear yard space um and open space in that um interior lot line in order to preserve some light and air for
the community Um and also the architect did a shadow analysis and because the property is on the southeast corner of the intersection shadows are generally generally going to be cast into the street and not onto adjacent
properties So those are examples of how this will not be a detriment to the public good Um we also need to show that we will not impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan or zoning ordinance I looked at your land at the
land development ordinance and the it says and I'm going to partially quote here that the purpose of the district is to recognize the special significance of these neighborhoods meaning historic um because of their varied and wellpreserved historic
character Um the proposed use does honor this character It incorporates the existing building and the um scale massing volume um of the proposed building does um reflect what's already going on in the
neighborhood Um your 2021 master plan uh includes the need to review development proposals for scale typology and architectural character All of which we've taken into account the project aligns with the existing
character of the neighborhood Um the master plan vision also looks for um several characteristics One a connected Jersey city by way of decreased automobile dependency I think anything that happens in downtown and in
Paul Hook um understands that this is a pedestrian neighborhood a mass transit neighborhood and so developing there near transit near existing transit is appropriate um and also a prosperous Jersey City by way of a diversified economy with small
businesses and 15minute neighborhoods So all of that we are fulfilling with this proposed application That covers the two D variances but we also have a series of six C variances I know that six sounds like a lot but I think once I go through
them you'll understand um why they are Um I'll just run through them quickly before I give the um the legal um arguments For rear yard you're required 30 ft and we're proposing zero For
building coverage you require 60% and we're proposing 80 For parking there's a requirement of seven spaces and we're proposing zero For street trees you require one tree per 25 ft of frontage
which comes to seven and we're proposing four The number of projecting signs you require one per facade and we're proposing three on Morris and two on Washington And the minimum roof deck setback you require 10 and we propose zero from Morris I'll get into them each
in a little bit more detail but I just wanted to give you a summary at the um at the front of this Um so in addition to not impairing the zone plan and zoning ordinance which I discussed um with the Dvariance um analysis C variances also require C2 variances also
require that we show that they will they will advance the intents and purposes of the municipal land use law and that the benefits of granting the variance um will not substantially outweigh any potential de detriments Um bear with me I just need
to get on the record the um intents and purposes of the of the municipal land use law which are being satisfied I'm going to give a um summarized um version of this Municipal land use law um purpose A is to promote public health
safety morals and general welfare Purpose D um requires that the development does not conflict with the development and general welf welfare of neighboring municipalities in the state E looks for appropriate population
densities I seeks a desirable visual environment and J looks to promote the conservation of historic sites and districts all of which are being um promoted with this subject application
So to talk about how the variances can be granted without substantial detriment to the public good I think this is really the meat of the C variances Um the first being the rear yard where 30 ft is required and you're looking we're asking for zero and that is because of
the corner lot situation Um the way that the historic districts define a rear yard makes Washington Street the front yard and therefore the rear yard runs along the
east lot line at Morris Street And in order to avoid a break in the street wall along Morris Street we wanted to pull the building up to abut the adjacent structure and not have that gap
Um we did as I mentioned incorporate some rear open space interior to the lot to attempt to make up for that Um and I would just argue that all of this is consistent with the character of the
neighborhood coverage is also related to that because we are not providing that rear yard space in total um and just have the portions internal to the lot we aren't able to meet the 80% requirement
um or I'm sorry the 60 cent 60% requirement I will note though that in order to make up for this the applicant is proposing a green roof um along the whole upper roof And in
fact it's so extensive that if that were counted as imperous coverage which is not how the code works but if it was um you would have only 40% coverage on the lot where 60% is required So it really
is um doing a lot of the um work that impervious that that is intended to be done by having an impervious coverage requirement Um parking This site is in a um very
walkable transit oriented neighborhood I think we all know that Um it's two blocks from the light rail five blocks from the path three blocks from the ferry Um there is really no um there should be no no incentive to car
ownership in this neighborhood Um and in fact if there had been parking on this site we would have lost the active ground floor that is currently being proposed We want to activate that corner as all the um as many corners in the
neighborhood have And I think that that is most important to the site when so much transit um is in the immediate vicinity Signs um multiple tenants and long facads make
the signage variance request appropriate Um two were proposed along Washington Street which has um 60 ft of frontage So if you think about a typical 25 um a lot
of 25 feet wide um in 60 feet you would have um two store frontage and so having two signs along 60 ft is really not out of the ordinary It's just that this is not subdivided into smaller lots Um on
Morris Street that was on Washington Street On Morris Street there are three signs proposed They do expect to have um multiple tenants and in fact one of the signs is existing on that historical building that they um intend to
retain Uh street trees as the engineer mentioned during his testimony There are uh complications by the fact that this is a corner lot and there are a number of street poles light poles um and other
um infrastructure that really inhibits the ability to have um as many trees as is required We have um put in as many as seem able to fit
Um and the last um variance is is for terraces um rooftop terraces I should clarify Uh there is a requirement that there be a 10-ft setback However on a small terrace fronting Morris Street that is
accessible to a single unit Um no setback is proposed Um I understand the nature of wanting that setback in order to not have um excessive um if it was a communal
rooftop terrace and you were worried about excessive use and interrupting the um impacting the neighborhood and trying to pull that back from the street that all makes um very good sense But in this case because it's for a single unit um
with I would imagine accountability for their um behavior because it is one unit um we are asking for relief from that requirement It is a small terrace not the whole roof Um and we hope you'll
consider that request Um but that concludes my testimony I hope that my um run through of the D and C variants um proofs has been satisfactory but I'm happy to take any questions um should
you have any We'll hold out doubt questions till the end So thank you I I apologize I know there's a lot of information We do have devariances here so we do have to get a lot onto the record But just to to briefly summarize here I think the board heard a lot about the hardships associated with this
application we're in a historic district and have um historic standards to satisfy which which we have We have a certificate of appropriateness showing that we satisfied the Secretary of Interior standards There's design elements to that that don't necessarily
conform with what the zoning requires Um the zoning ordinance also does not lend itself well to a corner lot Um especially in historic districts You've also heard a lot of improvements that are being made here There's uh nearly
100% lock coverage now storm water non-existent We're making a lot of improvements to the site um both on-site and and off-site in terms of lamp post and sidewalk and and ADA And it's also a a beautiful building I think in in my opinion So um if there's any questions
that does conclude our direct testimony Okay we'll ask them in the end Are there at this time are there any members uh of the public that would like to comment on this uh project Okay Diane Casease last name is K A S
E 192 Washington Street Jersey City I do Good evening Um I only have three minutes so uh David you're lucky Um I stand before you as both a neighbor because my building is that where I live
is about one house away from this project and I also am here as a representative of the historic Paul Hook Association Uh Paulus Hook Association Uh there's one clarification I would like to make and that is that
they are not keeping the entire historic building They are only keeping the front portion of the building So they are not restoring the building per se They are only dealing with the front facade and and a section behind it So I just wanted to make that clarification so that the
board was well aware of that Um the neighborhood basically has few objections to this The biggest objection is the parking but we also understand uh the limitations of this job site So it is what it is [Music]
Uh that is pretty much it There are a lot of details that have been brought to the attention of the preservation commission They're well aware of them There are things that need to be addressed from a detail standpoint but that's not your purview That's theirs So
we look forward to working with the developer and with working with the architect as we continue to um take this project from the drawing standpoint to the actual construction standpoint So thank you Appreciate Thank you
Hi Um so my name is Sunday Malona Sunday Malona So Sunday like the day in my life Um this is my first zoning board meeting Emison and Mary I linged the truth Correct
Um so I guess I just had a couple of questions I've spoken to Nelson briefly I think it was last week Um but we I live now at 180 Washington I lived on Hudson Street for approximately nine years So we've been in the neighborhood quite some time um kind of playing catch-up because we didn't receive legal
notice at our building which is actually on the other corner of Washington the other block So if you are looking at the adjacent I guess corners you have the souththeast corner that is this prospect and then you have a liquor store across the street which is an older 1800's
historic building Then you have Lighor which is another historic building Windsor House not necessarily historic but built to look historic and then us which is set farther back on the opposite side of Washington and Morris itself So we are 14 units but on the
flip side of the block So we just actually got noticed today of this So again kind of playing catchup a little bit Um some of the owners did have questions as to the height because we were kept at 40 feet So this being 47
plus feet kind of just want to discuss it or understand if I don't know if this is the appropriate form for that either but to just understand the variance or what the purpose or intent of it is understanding that some of the older historic buildings from the 1800s those ones are taller understood but the rest
of the district's been made to man maintain 40 So just from an elevation variance just wasn't sure because the roofs like our roof not not roof deck but like where all of our HVAC and what have you is there are people that do have like roof decks as well on Essex
Street So 72 74 and 78 I spoke to Um so we don't know with the shadow study since that wasn't included if that's going to be blocking anything for those adjacent like brownstones as well So I it's more so just questions that we have
Okay Um the only other one was um the trees uh did speak to forestry as well So they said that at least the project thus far is a little bit smaller on scope than what it needs to be So the tree pits don't have to be one minute remaining
Oh no no One minute One minute Sorry Um yeah So we just wanted to see like a shadow study with our building included and that the tree pits on Washington and Morris can be 10x4 and that the site can actually suit the seven instead of the four that are being requested Can
someone ask the question answer the questions Mr Joseph so there there was a visual impact shadow study that was submitted as part of the application It's on the it's on the portal Um we did submit that In terms of the trees we did submitted it just not it's not including us So like
it's not including 180 Washington which is on the rest of the plans in the actual like submission Sure So the whatever the standards are in the ordinance for the shadow study that's what that's what we included It might have not been within the radius that was required Um we're happy to continue
discussions of of course on the on the project um and if forestry will let us put more trees in we're we're happy to do that as well But Nelson I'll just make one can I make a statement regarding the shadow study Um our property is on the northwest corner
Nelson Benvitas architect Our property is on the northwest corner Um so the sha the sun coming from the south but all the shadows would be casted on Morris Street Nothing would be cast towards Essex Street towards the area in question So okay Good point as well
Science was not my best subject One more one more member of the public Yep Hi Alex Alex Alexander A L X A N D R VZA V as in Victor EZZA Uh 180 Washington Street around the
corner same building Um just want to talk on the parking Um absolutely no need for any parking It would ruin um it would ruin the neighborhood We don't need parking um plenty of transportation options and um we could use the commercial spaces and then the just the
other one was on the trees Um definitely maximizing the trees would be great Um other than that that's that's my piece Thank you Okay Thank you Okay If there's no other the public uh to uh speak or to ask questions or express concerns uh commissioners do we have any comments
questions or concerns I just have one question Which which um unit is the excuse me which building is the penthouse going to be in it with the private with the private deck Oh that's actually on the fourth floor So it's not a penthouse Oh so
which which building would it be To the left or the right Sorry I'll bring that up I think he's referring to just because of the record Sorry Sorry So um this is the fourth floor here Mhm Um this is the roof terrace Yes For the
corner unit Okay So it it would be it wouldn't be the the old the build that exists and it would be one of the one of the new ones Correct On the existing historic building Yes We comply with the with the setback requirement of 10 ft Got it Okay We do have a roof deck with
a stair access and small um non- amenity penthouse so to speak That's part of the duplex Okay We do comply with the setback and also with the um sorry the green roof requirement Okay So the zero setback for the roof is for the newer building It's for the new building
correct And it's on Morris Street Okay I have a question Um the restaurant are you keeping it in the original building or moving it into the new building So Nelson if you want to show us the the ground floor So we haven't finalized
what tenants and and all of that stuff on the the ground floor um or exactly their space but I think Nelson could say a couple words about what we think is going to happen Yeah we're we're treating the ground floor um as all commercial space hypothetically two restaurant spaces So we are planning on
keeping um the restaurant space and keeping the storefront for the existing building for 85 Morris Street and then uh new on the corner Oh okay Thank you Um you know we showed designation of you know uh kitchen areas towards the back
but we don't know the exact line of demarcation between um the existing restaurant and the future restaurant One thing that the HPC was um asking questions about and concerned about bless you um is exactly how the ground
floor is going to be used and exact signage and all that And one of the conditions on on the record if you look through the staff report is any commercial tenants that come in here and have to do a fit out have to go to HPC for the exact fit out and the exact and the exact signage It's it's just too
early um to know exactly how it's the tenants and how it's going to be laid out Okay Um any other questions from the commissioners Um she already had her three minutes Mr I'm just after the
report Okay Did you finish Okay Sorry I just had a question So they're actually since the new tenant has been in the historic building they're already using different signage So HPC and dig zoning is kind of going like this to each other
and it's out of historic guidelines So that's happening now that that it's just I just want to get that on the record Yeah Sorry Sunday like the day Yeah So we're we're aware of that and we've actually spoken with historic
staff about that and violations were were issued So my client can enforce the lease with the tenant to correct the issue Okay Thank you Okay If we have no other uh comments from the commissioners can I hear from the staff at this time Yes Uh first I
wanted to clarify something Um throughout the presentation it was said that four trees were proposed and then five trees were proposed So I want to make super clear It is five trees that are being proposed and it would be two
trees that they would do a payment in lie of Uh which is the better outcome Five is better than four So as for the use uh staff believes that this site is particularly well suited for a multifamily residential use
It is 7,500 square ft and change which is greater than the minimum lot size of 1,800 square ft Furthermore the multifamily use uh kind
of points towards density but the density is in fact complying with the density standard The density is 75 units per acre and what is being proposed is 75 units per acre and the bulk of the new construction is consistent with the
character and scale of the surrounding neighborhood As for the ground floor commercial use right now specified as restaurant it it will replace an already existing restaurant located at 85 Morris Street
and at the intersection of Washington Street and Morris Street There are various restaurants uh including the Lighor Tavern and there is a commercial use Liberty Wine and Cafe It is also a site that's adjacent to a
restaurant overlay zone So in the future if any development was proposed it would be encouraged to be a restaurant use This use variance does further the purposes of the Jersey City master plan
Uh one of the purposes is to continue efforts to enhance residential neighborhoods This use will further activate the site complement the adjacent buildings which will enhance the overall historic district Uh in
addition to that incorporating the existing three-story brick house in the new construction will bring that building uh to current public health fire and safety regulations and building codes
It also further furthers the Jersey City master plan goal of ensuring that city that the city's available housing is balanced and meets the needs of current and future residents The 13 additional units will add to current housing stock
will which will address the regional demand for housing that we're currently experiencing It will strengthen neighborhood oriented commercial areas It will add more commercial to already existing commercial within this neighborhood And finally it wi it does
recognize and promote the richness of the city's historic assets and cultural diversity by preserving that facade of the three-story brick house As for the height variance that is being
asked for it is designed to complement the uh within the context that it is uh being proposed in it The proposal utilizes setbacks and building materials to be contextsensitive towards uh what
is occurring And at the corners of this intersection the buildings do tend to be taller than 40 ft And with that I will conclude that part of my testimony I would ask that the
attorney agree to the conditions outlined in my memo um which is dated March 4th 2025 And that also includes of course HPC's conditions of approval as well There are a lot of them I won't ask you to read
them all but there are seven uh division of planning comments and 14 historic preservation uh commission conditions So all of those conditions the applicant agrees to Thank you Do the commissioners have any questions of
Sophia Okay With that um since there are no additional questions comments etc I'm asking for a motion to vote on um case number Z2024-000044 Madam Chair I'd like to make a motion to
approve K Z2024-00004 four A second for Commissioner can I get a second You did Okay Commissioner Zlicki I it's nice to see uh how Jersey City has changed so much I remember where the restaurant was And by
the way that's where the old Beast Stroller Source was which is now located I'll give him a little plug there Where Laam House is right now I didn't know that Yes So those of you who don't know you know where to find it Uh that actual restaurant before that was a Hispanic bar that I used to go hang out with when
I was a little young but that was okay Listen play some pool It was a good spot Uh but it's great to see the um the neighborhood continue to change as a result of a lot of the work that we've done in planning and HDC in our city over the years and continues to grow
with the restaurant overlay and the things we've seen on Newark Avenue and elsewhere So I gladly vote yes on this project Commissioner Patel would yes Commissioner Baron yes Commissioner Bole
yes Commissioner Burns Yes Commissioner Allen yes And Chair Coyle yes Motion carries Seven in favor none opposed I was wondering what happened Thank you all Have a good evening Thank you Mr Harrington
Mr Har At this time I will ask for case Z2024-000045 850 Westside Avenue Okay Thank you Uh for the record Charles Harrington of Connell Foley On behalf of the applicant I do have a copy of the notices uh for councel Yes I've seen them We'll just mark them
as A1 Thank you Okay So um wait one second Oh I'm sorry You want to set [Music] up Are you good Oh got it Oh yeah
No this coming Oh this is a This is right But it's not the one that I keep like those people It's a very
disrespect Let me see I like Oh I got a receded up in the back Let me see the back No no no There it is Looks like hell The one we had the problem with was the all those houses and there was an empty lot in the
middle and they wanted to put a fourstory where they want to put a four apartment building there That's where all the neighbors came out from No that's a new saw What was there now You Oh I know It's a mess
Yeah we got cemeteries I think they're mausoleum views now Aren't they mausoleum views You don't have to travel too far Okay Are we ready Yes Let's begin Okay Thank you So uh the application uh
before you tonight is similar to an application that was uh before this board not too long ago at 140 Glenwood Avenue where they converted a dormatory uh use into a residential use Uh we're proposing um uh to to do the same Uh this is uh a
former dormatory use It's uh in the university district So a residential use per se is is not permitted But as everybody knows a dormatory use is a residential use but it's only for students This would expand it so that you you can go beyond uh students uh in
the area It's a corner lot uh located at the corner of Glenwood Avenue and Westside Avenue Uh the existing dormatory has 18 uh units We're proposing 18 residential units two of which will be affordable uh pursuant to
the ICO Um I note that there was a prior application that that was on your agenda for months and months I think uh that that had a prior owner that was at four stories and 28 units My client purchased the property and he's just proposing to renovate the building as is in its
three-story uh condition with the 18 uh units and the two affordable units Um we did have two uh meetings with the community Uh so the project that you see tonight is a result of addressing uh
their comments and concerns Uh and that's that's kind of the long and short of it We just do we do need the you use use variance to permit the residential use I have two witnesses here uh with my architect and and Mr Height So I'm going to jump right in because I know time is
short Antonio Iello spelled A I E L L O Yes I do Do we accept his credential Go ahead I'm sorry Uh Mr Aello has appeared many times before the boards in Jersey City Yes we accept his expertise
Thank you Thank you so much for having us I appreciate it Um thank you Um uh as Mr Harrington explained this project was one of four uh dormitories that was sold uh from St Peter The project is located on the northeast
corner uh where um Glenwood Avenue intersects with uh Westside Avenue It's directly across from Holy Name Cemetery Um the existing building sorry my notes are on my phone The existing building um is currently three stories We are
maintaining that existing uh height and stories Uh 18 existing dormitories that we're converting into uh 18 apartments The ground floor is the only one that has more involved modifications to the
building as a whole I'm going to work down to the floor plans The basement itself uh we are adding uh some walls and and doors in order to accommodate bicycle uh storage
the laundry rooms uh separate the meters for better fire safety Um and then that's where all of the util utilities are currently housed as well as the elevator machine room Uh as mentioned the first floor is where we're making the most amount of changes internally to the building Um we are
converting one of the units into a three-bedroom in order to uh accommodate the uh affordable housing uh ordinance of one three-bedroom The other uh unit is a modified one-bedroom Both of those are also going to be uh accommodating
barrierfree requirements for the for the building as a whole Um all of the other floors very simple The only real modifications are some small closets in order to add mechanical systems internally into the building HAC heating
and cooling for this uh building itself The roof is only housing uh condenser units and heat pump systems for the heating and cooling systems The existing elevator bulkhead will remain uh as will the uh existing roof hatches for access
for maintenance Now the ex exterior of the building is where we're giving it a more of a an overhaul uh to the structure We're completely removing all the existing uh finishes on the building We're adding a ground
floor pattern of brick around the corner of the building on Glenwood Avenue and Westside Avenue Um separating it from the units above The rest will have a textured seamed stucco finish Uh simple corn um simple coping metal coping on
the very top Uh on the west side avenue where the main entrance is we created darker corners uh of the building itself where the brick extends up from the ground floor to the roof And then we created additional peers on either side of the entrance And we also added uh
canopies over the entrances as well to kind of create a hierarchy of where the main uh focal point of the building is on that structure I'll scroll down here As you can see the different uh color elements Apologies for
that Um as you can see here we have red brick along the first floor that wraps around the uh two sides of the building uh stucco above the darker peers on the corners as well as at the west elevation Here you can see that we have two additional peers to highlight the
entrance for the building itself We have here um ebonite uh brick for the corners and then a smooth thin brick uh shenley for the uh ground floor All the windows are going to be replaced for the building Um and we're going to um add
planter boxes along all of the uh window areas along that ground floor So that creates a little bit of a um barrier between the pedestrians and the building and for privacy reasons Uh sitewise we are protecting all the trees during construction We've
added those notes onto the plans as per the community board's request And we also highlighted uh that we optim um in what do we do We at the tree pits we created just a three-sided uh railing system so that doors have an easier
access in and out of their vehicles so that they don't they're not hitting the uh steel grates on the uh on the bottom That's really the extent of the entire presentation As I mentioned most of the changes are external We're giving the building a nice facelift Um I'll
scroll up to the uh rendering so you can see it And just to be clear there's no expansion of the existing building None whatsoever We're maintaining exactly as it is Uh we're only increasing it by onebedroom count and that's in order to accommodate the three-bedroom for the
affordable housing Okay Thank you Thank you I'll move into Mr Height And no these are your plans Yes Uh the zoning map on the cover I'll bring it up though
I think he knows Yes Charles Height Last name is spelled H E Y D T I do We accept Mr Height's expertise So thank you Right ahead Yep Still a licensed planner in the state of New Jersey Um
again it's a pleasure to be before the board tonight and I know we're uh at the tail end of the meeting So um I will move forward Um we are proposing um what would be a use variance no bulk variances given that we're not changing anything of the bulk or physical form of
the existing structure Um so we do require just a use variance The property is located in the U University District So um the permitted uses in the university district are are relatively narrow Um really focused on providing
available land in the city for dormitories uh associated fraternity housing sorority housing and parks and other kind of community oriented uses But the principal primary focus is permitting dormitories um and really to
support the St Peters University that's in this area So um with that uh what I will open is just a little bit of detail about the um subject property where just under 6,000 square ft Um it's
5,899 to be exact And uh it's an existing three-story structure There's no surf there's no off- streetet parking to the um uh the building or the property Uh and it was previously used as a dormatory It's been a vacant dormatory for many years um the univer
the university in the area St Peters did not have plans to reoccupy the dormatory and eventually sold it to um what would be a buyer to obviously present this application which is for residential
uses So um being proposed as residential uh nothing to do with uh strictly dormatory or uh university housing um we do need a use variance Um what I wanted to do well I'll I'll save that for the end but um I would I
would offer the board that uh to justify this application we really turn to the Adichi standard which establishes particular suitability Um so just for a couple of of facts about the property the the subject property itself uh one
the lot size uh is just shy of 6,000 square ft which is that common number you would find in other zones throughout the city that would allow for multif family housing And generally that's because you need a larger lot to accommodate a larger structure that
allows for certain floor plans to have multiple units of floor So um that larger lot we're just about there at that 6,000 square foot mark Um about 100 100 square f feet shy But um in in my opinion it it's close Um the other
aspect is it's an existing structure So there's a lot of conserv conservation of resources in this adaptive reuse project Um those are two strong planning principles Um and reoccupying the existing structure in my opinion is
another physical attribute of the existing property uh that make it particularly suitable As was mentioned there was a permit there was a a fourstory concept um with this adaptive reuse uh that's not with this project and that's important because I think in
terms of consistency with the zoning um four stories is permitted but we're keeping the building as is three stories so there's no impact Um a couple other things just with respect to the suitability Um we are along Westside
Avenue Um further south begins the neighborhood commercial district Um I'll leave this off for now Yeah Uh further south begins the neighborhood commercial district and um
is I'll pull up the zoning map just for reference Um it's not up there though It came there There you go So how you zoom in I'm not a worse
That easy So uh I just for a visual I think it's helpful for the board um that you can see with respect to the zoning context Westside Avenue um in this area in terms of zones and other uses uh the university district obviously
encompasses some of the university properties Um but further south along Westside Avenue introduces the NC district which has a lot of commercial uses which are more intense in terms of property There are some residential along this stretch but in theory uh this
is a mixeduse corridor And where uh as you see right in the black and I'll hover my cursor over it uh right at the north end again still in the university district but uh in close proximity to mixed uses Um there obviously is the R3 in the area That's the reference we were
making with respect to permitted multif family Um and then uh residential and some of the internal connector streets Um to me that says that it's an appropriate use for multif family just given the context of more uh intense mixeduse properties Um we did discuss uh
and I think the board planner uh did review some of the other multif family properties in the area Um so it is consistent with other multif family that already exist uh in this area again not only in the UI in the university district but in the surrounding uh
neighborhood Um for those reasons I think it's it's uh a contextual argument for particular suitability There's aspects about the property that that lend itself for the particular suitable use Um we're not introducing vehicles so there's no added vehicle impact It's a
very walkable neighborhood given there's commercial um there there's some activity along Westside Avenue and there's uh availability of of mass transit in the area um shifting focus to the negative criteria um I don't believe
there's any detriment to the public welfare um specifically because dormitories are housing what we're proposing is housing it's very simple although by definition we need this use variance um I do think we've taken time to understand the community's needs
prior iterations were a little bit more intense this iteration is just residential there's no commercial element to it there's no four Um and we've worked with the community to address some of the architectural design to it of it Um again not not introducing any sort of
ground floor off- streetet parking in my opinion is the best way to go because you're not dealing with curb cuts You're not dealing with tenants who expect ownership of vehicles Um so there's going to be a lot more pedestrian and bicycle activity which which the supporting street network can
accommodate Um with respect to any impairment of the zone plan or zoning ordinance um the university district uh was created to allow for space in the city for dormitories to support the university That demand is not here today
So um this application while it needs relief because it goes against the policy that was set up a while ago uh in my opinion doesn't create any sort of impairment The university has sold these properties at their discretion Um and I think that this adaptive reuse uh is a
very appropriate conversion from again one housing to another Um it does create a balance of a affordable housing a balance of housing in the city That's one of the city's master plan objectives Um if it wasn't a use variance if we
were in the R1 and the board knows that the policy has been changed we would be using the affordable housing overlay We would not have needed a density variance It would be essentially a Dvarianfree application Considering
that we're in the U University District and there's no mention of residential uses we need to use variance So we are complying with the ICO with the two affordable housing units essentially getting us to the same outcome as if we
were in the R1 which is for all intents and purposes less intense That's my my planning testimony I hope I hit on much of the important facts So and thank you That completes our presentation Okay Um is there anyone
in from the public that would like to comment Can you please come to the mic Shireen McCormack S H I R I N M A C O R M A C K Yes Okay you can Okay my name is Chirin
McCormack I'm the president of Mcinley Square Community Board and I wanted to speak about this project Things started off not good These guys started working um in July without first saying hello to you or to my neighbors and meeting with the four active neighborhood groups in
the area But there's good news When they eventually did we had a productive exchange After our September 19th 2024 meeting they made a few modest facade improvements and changed wooden planters to more enduring ones After our January
21st 2025 meeting they added a another planter or two and made them all bigger We asked for the entryways to be made the focal points rather than the corners of the building with added emphasis at the entries and the big empty spaces above the entry canopies They didn't do
all that but they did include the canopies the lighting and the signage We asked for color exploration and they made some slight color and texture edits They met a request to move the street facing railing segment from the sidewalk tree guards so parked cars
wouldn't hit them when they open their doors We want to improve the neighborhood So we asked about southway southwest corner windows to be added to improve the form function and property value for the owner and for those residents that are going to come to
enjoy the sunfilled corner units They chose to pass on that They also passed on the request for a storm water mitigating green rooftop since there is excessive lot coverage We had asked for that and the green roof had been a well-liked component in the former owner's plans
but they agreed instead to protect the large London plain sycamore tree and Glennwood and try to protect the other smaller sidewalk trees um that there are two of planted in 2023 and still plant
the required remaining They also omitted a roof deck which my neighbors that live close by really appreciated The owner um shared that they bought this building because it had new plumbing and electrical and required very little investment So accordingly we
only asked for very minimal requests such as a modest roofline cornice that we thought would look really nice Could that be added And a curb cut for easy deliveries and to keep the traffic flow moving They responded that would be up to the city So is it possible to have
that considered There's a lot to like about this building The exterior facade is amazingly improved It's an adaptive reuse and the building will be revitalized and once again used as housing rather than sit as an empty dorm We like the two affordable units We like
the same density We like the planters the common um spaces of the mail room and the laundry and bike racks in the basement We like the new heating and cooling You can't always get the moon but it can't hurt to reach for the stars So we are curious about an aesthetic
cornness and functional delivery curb cut The Renault is reasonable and so is our community and we support the project That's Tom Exactly Thank you Okay There's seems to be no one else here So commissioners do you have any
questions for um any of Mr Harrington's professionals Okay then let's hear from the staff Um certainly Um so staff uh submitted a report dated January 31st 2024
um outlining um six rem recommended conditions for approval Um is the applicant immunable to these conditions Yes they would all be acceptable Um certainly Um staff substantiates Mr Height's test testimony as you know
outlining positive and negative criteria for D1 use variance here Um I mean as you said it's it's it's part of the lot is functionally part of a residential neighborhood and a residential use um would be a natural
fit here Um it's really it's really it's frankly separated from the existing university campus and um the university zone over on the north side of Glenwood was um you know never really realized as
um fully intended and there's actually tenants of the master plan that involve you know re-examining that area and allowing more flexibility of uses over there Um with that staff recommends approval of conditions Okay Uh commissioners do we have any
other questions or No Okay So can I I'm asking for a motion to vote on case Z2024-000045 Can I get a motion Uh Madam Chair may I have a motion to approve case Z2024-000045 Can I get a second Second
Commissioner Zlicki I vote I and I would just encourage the developer to just have more of a dialogue with the neighbors if possible on some of their concerns with the aesthetics if possible and out of major inconvenience I just think it'll be good for that to happen
Commissioner Patel I Commissioner Baron yes Commissioner Bole I Commissioner Burns Yes Commissioner Allen Yes And Chair Coyle Um those cornises sound really nice So I agree with Mrs Sublicki
Maybe we could do something with those cornises um for the building Well that we looked at that We um Okay you could talk about that They could talk about Okay I I Thank you Okay Motion carries Seven in favor none opposed Thank you
Thank you very much Thank you Thank you Congratulations 25 Do we have any resolutions to memorialize Okay we have a few Ready The first uh resolution to memorialize is case Z23-016 Caroline Sutton It was for C
variances at 313 Varic Street That case was heard October 26 2023 Wow and and present the chair that evening was Sonia Aoyo Also present were commissioners Shadid Alan Patel excuse
me Patel Brown Bole and Zablicki That passed Six in favor uh and Miss Brown uh abstained So all in favor of memorializing that is I I
The next was heard on May 9th 2024 That was case Z2024-000010 The applicant was 331 SIP LLC The address was 329 SIP Avenue and it was an amendment to a preliminary and
final site plan uh for 329 uh SIP Avenue Present that evening was Chair Coyle Vice Chair Aoyo Allen Baron Bole Shaded and Sublicki And that passed
seven in favor none opposed All in favor of memorializing that is I I And the next one was occurred on February 6 2025 That was case Z 24-0065 The applicant
was virgin and then a DF I wouldn't know how to say that Virgin AE virgin V I R G I N And then A D E V I think I said F I meant V Uh that was a C variance and design waiverss Here we go
When we started at 177 Wilkerson Avenue there were six commissioners that evening Chair Coyle Vice Chair Aoyo Shaded Burns Allen and Baron And that passed four in favor Two were opposed to that The two were opposed were Chair
Coyle and Commissioner Allen That was that design waiver that was already done and then came back and well we know the story Uhhuh Okay Okay The next two all in favor of memorializing that I The next one occurred on March 6 2025
That was Z2024-000058 The applicant was Wonderful 78 Storms LLC That was the address as well 78 Storms It was an approval of an amendment to the previously approved preliminary and final major site plan
approval with variances and conditions that pass Six in favor none opposed All in favor of memorializing that I And the next one also occurred on March 6th Same six commissioners same six in
favor none opposed This case was Z22-078 The applicant was 138-140 Glenwood LLC It was an application for preliminary and major and final major site plan approval with C and D variances As I said that passed
Six in favor none opposed All in favor of memorializing that is I I And so okay I make a motion to adjourn the meeting Can I get a second Second All in favor I I meeting adjourned