Okay. Good evening and welcome to the April 24th, 2025 zoning board of adjustment of the city of Jersey City. Please join me in the salute to the flag. 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. I'd like um I'd like to announce that we will not be hearing any
new cases after 10 p.m. We will finish the whatever case we have, but after that we won't hear any additional cases. And uh right now we're going to start with we're kind of shifting a little. So we're going to hear 10 and nine first in
your business. What? Yeah, I know. Give me a minute. Okay. All right. Um, okay, Eric, we're not ready yet. We're not ready yet. Okay, Eric, can we have a
sunshine announcement, please? Notice has been provided to Bergen Record, LS Bito, and as well as posted with the city clerk. Um, I'd like to request to mark this as B1. Okay. May we have a roll call?
Commissioner Baron here. Commissioner Patel here. Commissioner Bole here. Acting Vice Chair Allen here. Acting Madame Chair Rule here. We have a quorum. Okay.
Can we swear in the staff, please? Swear or affirm the testimony or comments you're about to give this evening will be the truth. I have it open. All right. Are there any um correspondents or adjustments, Eric? No
other correspondence? No. Okay. Thank you. Okay. So, we have new business. So, as I mentioned before, I just want to remind everybody that we're not starting any new cases after 10 p.m. Okay. Thank you. Uh so, we're starting
with the new case. New business is case Z 2024 0038 and is 311 Ocean Avenue. Okay. Good evening. Good evening. We can't hear you. You can go on the other mic if you'd
like. Okay. Yeah. Can you hear me now? Okay. Yes, you're now. All right. Uh Ronald Shaian from Schuman Hanland and I represent the applicant in this matter. Good evening. Uh my question is, do we expect any
additional commissioners tonight? As far as we know, none. Okay. You have five. Okay. I need I need to confer with my client for just just a moment. All right. Okay. Has to be five or seven.
So he's if he does anybody, he's just going to have to wait. We are going to proceed. Okay. I'd like to call my first witnesses, Mr. Garber. Okay. He'll explain
uh the application and the var. [Music] Do you swear or affirm the testimony of your best given this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? I do. Your full name. It's Richard Garber. G A R B E R.
Uh, my license is current. I've been before the board uh many times at this point. So, um, great. Thank you. Um, nice to see every recognize you. Nice to see everyone. Uh, let me just go to full screen here so I can just show
this. Um, okay. So, um, 311 Ocean, uh, is the project that you're, um, about to see tonight. Now, we are proposing here a, uh, six-story building, um, which needs some, uh, deviations from the underlying
zoning, which is R1. And I'm going to explain that. Uh to start, I'm going to contextualize the project uh just to to give you a sense of of what this is. So So this is um uh a kind of frontage on Ocean A right across from the cemetery
um between uh Warner and Chapel AS. As you can see here, it's a large uh L-shaped lot. So it's a a very large lot for the R1. and um it uh had a previous use on it, a florist. Uh and that
florist would be a non-conforming use. That florist is actually moved to 1727 JFK, by the way, so she's still uh in in town. Um and then uh in addition to that, to the uh right or north of us, there is a rooming house uh also a
non-conforming use. And to the left of us is an auto body uh which is uh definitely not a definitely not a conforming use. So um uh in previous discussions in initial discussions we had with um the planning office um I was
uh told that this was attractive land that was kind of being considered. They didn't get to it in the master plan but it's something where uh some kind of um zoning action could happen to um potentially deal with the uses and and also our large site. Um I should say the
owner uh and his family of the site are here. they they've been long long-standing Jersey City um residents and and and builders in town. So, um uh to draw your attention to the next uh the next uh slide, uh you see here that
L-shaped lot which we've uh isolated on the left uh panel. This is clearly in the R1 zone and the R1 does permit as you know uh one and two family houses. So, so we are we are proposing a use variance here. Again, it's a very large
site. Um when we zoom out of that uh thousand ft uh zoning map, you see that it really is a kind of mixed context in terms of zoning. And so we have the cemetery right across the street. I mentioned there is a uh an ocean avenue
uh to the north and south of us uh is uh is basically governed by redevelopment plans, right? And so there's the Ocean Bay View redevelopment plan to the north that starts just beyond uh the cemetery. I have that not noted. Uh also the RC1.
RC1 uh is the new designation for the NC zoning, the neighborhood commercial zoning. Um and uh to the south we have uh the Ocean Avenue South redevelopment plan uh as and more RC1 uh to the to the west of that. So you see that it's uh
while this is definitely um R1 uh there's uh there's a lot of um other zones and redevelopment plans around us and when I had a conversation um way back when we started this project with the city there was some discussion
about joining Ocean Avenue um from the north to the south at at the cemetery. Um the timing of this project is such that we are coming to the zoning board uh for relief. Um but I do suspect something may actually be happening here
um in the coming years given the densities and uses that we're asking for are consistent with the redevelopment plans on either side of us and the RC1 zone as well. Right. And so the um the
building as imag as as imagined is um very consistent with what is in those zones. Uh and and we'll talk about exactly what that looks like in a second. Now you see the survey here um and the survey was done by again
L-shaped lot and you can see that there's a little bit of topo a little bit of slope on the site fair fairly it's a relatively flat site. uh as well as a series of buildings that are with the kind of blue shading in them. Those buildings have now been demolished.
Right? So the site is uh is vacant currently which is great. And as I mentioned, we have to the left the auto body and to the right uh the rooming house. And you can see that very very clearly in this image, which is an aerial from Google Maps. Um where um
there is not a kind of consistency of uses on Ocean Avenue at this at this point. and and like um Ocean Avenue in the redevelopment areas um uh off of the corners as you go midblock beyond and in this case on Chapel and Warner you do um
uh get um more common kind of 25x 100 one and two family houses that you uh that you see in this area in this aerial photo. Uh this is an image of the site before the buildings were demolished. Um, and so you can see that uh sort of
rooming house, which is a I'm not quite sure it's a uh per zoning, but it's a it's a it's a it's a multif family uh by use. Um, and uh the the the uh building that's uh uh outlined in orange here is the old
Florest that has now been um demolished. Right. Now, in terms of the zoning, I did I did mention we are asking for deviations here and those deviations are uh primarily use and height, right? Um and so uh we do we are asking for a
principal permitted use because we are um uh uh requesting multifamily residential. We are not compliant with the underlining R1 zoning which is really the one and two family zone. Now the one and two the the R1 zone has been
um uh edited recently to allow a little bit more density than that one and two family but at the same time this is you know a true multif family building and as I suggested before is more consistent with uh some of the surrounding redevelopment plans and and so forth. Um so because of that there's a density
variance as well and we're listing that here. We're at about 154 units per acre in our um in our requested uh configuration. And then because of the um configuration of the lot that L-shape uh there are some setback there is some
setback relief that we need. Now I'll I'll go through that in the site plan but I just wanted to to call that to everyone's attention. The building height as proposed is six stories. Um and then the lot coverage uh we're actually relatively close with lot coverage. The max lot coverage in the R1
is 85%. We're at about 96% uh and so there is some relief there. And then we added a notice for parking where we are um proposing um four compact parking spaces. We're proposing 29 parking spaces within the garage. And
again, I'll show that to you in a second. Um so key points before I show you the drawings. Our total lot area, that kind of L-shaped lot I showed before, is almost 17,000 square ft. 16,964 ft. We have a total proposed
building area as before you just under 75,000 square ft 74,750. Our proposed building height is 6 stories and 64t 6 in to the top of the roof. Um so admittedly it's a a taller
building again for R1. Um but it is consistent with the height and density that is um considered in the surrounding area. Um, we're proposing 60 residential units, uh, 28 one-bedrooms, 32 bedrooms,
and two threebedrooms. And, um, should, uh, also mentioned that of those 60, uh, six of those units are proposed affordable. So, we have one one-bedroom, uh, proposed affordable, two uh, three twobedrooms, and then two threebedrooms
for a total of six. And so, what we've done is, Mr. Gar, let me just ask you a question about that. Was that mix of the affordable units something that the applicant worked with the city on? Yes. Yes. So, as always, there's uh there's
discussions that we have with the affordable housing folks in the city to arrive at what uh uh they feel is appropriate in terms of what we propose. That was 10%. That's how we got to six units. And then the unit mix you see as as you all know um tends to privilege
larger units which is why we're proposing of the six three of them are two bedrooms and two of them are three-bedroom units. Thank you. Yeah. Yep. Um we obviously have an elevator in a building like this so it's fully ADA accessible. Um our first floor contains
uh 29 parking spaces. There's bike storage and utility as well as a trash room, residential lobby, package room, small amount of retail, which was important. Uh we I'll talk a little bit about community outreach in a second and why retail is there. Uh as well as a gym
and some bathrooms to serve the gym. Uh the parking access is from Ocean Avenue. This is important. We are proposing a 10-foot curb cut, which is standard in the city. Um and um uh in some of the community hearings uh community meetings, excuse me, we did hear some
concern about an existing bus stop on the corner. We are not uh in any way conflicting with the location of that bus stop. That bus stop will remain and um will continue to function as it always does. Uh and finally, bike storage is um proposed for 36 bikes. And
so now you see in our site plan, and I'll zoom in and show you um uh the the building plan, but this is the site. So you see the surrounding context. You see that largely the building to the left of us is open space that's used for parking for the auto body. And then those lots
29 and 30 behind it is the auto body. And then on the other side we have the um the rooming house which is lot 20. And so you see we are largely taking the majority of the lot for parking and we're proposing retail on the lower left
side and that's about 830 ft or so of retail. Um a lobby next to that and then a gym next to that. And so uh the way that you read this is the vehicular entry is in the filled orange triangle. So that's the that's where the curb cut
is and that that is um immediately south of the bus stop, not interfering with the bus stop. Uh and then the um outlined orange triangles uh just show pedestrian ingress and egress to the building. And then we have a red triangle that shows the location of the
the retail entry as well. So all the entry and egress is from Ocean Avenue being that we are uh in effect a mid-block site. uh lighting plan. Uh I this has been submitted and reviewed, but we have ample lighting on the street based on um city standards. I don't have to go into
that so much. Um proposed bike and trash removal. Uh so you see here the bike path is in blue. The trash removal is in orange. Um we have uh a compactor and full service full service for trash uh
on the residential floors as well as a larger trash room in the base of the building. So all trash will be held inside the building and only brought out for collection. Um and the um bike path sort of follows the trash path in terms of where the trash comes out of the
trash room and to Ocean Avenue for um collection times. And the collection location, by the way, is also does not conflict with the bus stop. That was another important thing that we were able to work out. Um just some some diagrams that you've seen for what the configuration of the trash and recycling
room is, as well as the bike storage, how that works. Um, and now a kind of zoom in of our first floor plan. So the the just to look at this, it's colorcoded to make it easier. Um, the in the lower uh lefthand corner that is the retail space. And so
the retail we're showing is again about 830 square ft. Um, from memory, um, we do have a gym which is immediately to the right of that. So that's also fronted on Ocean Avenue. Um, next to that is the the the parking ingress and
egress. And you can see in that kind of lighter orange almost yellow the circulation element. So we have two stairs and an elevator that carry up um and then the rest of the spaces that are coated orange are simply you know building infrastructure type spaces as
well as um a package room and the rest of that first floor is given uh to um to parking right. um on the on the second floor uh we are able the building then sets back right and so I should talk a little bit about the setbacks. So, so
the the the primary setbacks that we need to be concerned about on the ground floor have to do with uh you know this in my opinion this rear edge where there is a house that's nearby and this rear edge where I'm circling here. Um we have
a setback of uh and it gets it gets larger above but the minimum area of that setback is 1t2 in and we have that shown there. Uh, and then the largest is 2 foot 10 in. And when you average those together, you get an average of two feet, which is what's permitted in the
R1, which is why we we set it up that way. Um, and then on the um the side of the auto body, you see, and again, this is an odd-shaped lot. We have a proposed setback at the street of 6'2 in. Um, up above, you see that the
building does set back. So, everything that you see that is green is given to um proposed deck space. Um, and so you see that we have a nice healthy 30foot rear yard setback at the rear of the building. The building almost kind of looks like an upside down triangle. Uh,
excuse me, an upside down question mark, not triangle, question mark when it's I don't know where triangle came from. A question mark when it's um uh when you kind of look at it, right? And so you can see the uh uh the hallway which mimics that kind of shape that that serves the um uh the egress systems, the
two stairs and the elevator uh as well as trash room. Uh and then the residential units are uh kind of organized around that. And you can see that there is largely um private deck space on the second floor. So, these decks that you see that are coated in
green here are um private for the residents on the lower floor. And you can see in addition to that 30-foot setback, we have a 7 foot 10-in sideyard setback there. Um a as well as um uh you know in vegetation uh along that area.
And that area uh uh goes from 7t 10 in the rear to 10 foot 6 in the front. and then it is 10 feet at the um at the left side and then uh the third and fourth
floor. So now you you begin to see the kind of form of the building in the plan, right? So this is that upside down question mark that I mentioned on the third and fourth floor we have each on each floor three of the um affordable units. Uh so we are uh locating those units on higher floors kind of in the
middle of the building. Um and so you see here uh three of the units that are coded in gray, the floor plan more or less stacks. And so those setbacks are held. Um you see that again on the fourth floor. And so you see the location of the three affordable units
that have been designated um one in the front, one in the rear and one sort of on that middle side. Uh fifth floor and then the sixth floor. The only difference on the sixth floor is we do provide a setback um with
a modest uh uh patio here where I have the hand. And what that's doing is it's allowing us to maintain a fivestory street wall again consistent with those surrounding redevelopment areas. Uh so that fivetory street wall then the building sets back on that sixth floor
and then we have um we've populated it with um uh with units as I mentioned. Um the roof uh there is no roof deck on this building. Um we're not proposing one. Um the owner um uh typically likes in doing these kinds of buildings doing the deck space on the lower floors which
is what I um have have alluded to in the previous slides. Um we do have green roof uh that's located here that has been sized in conjunction with a storm water management report that you have. Um, and so the only thing that really is up on this roof, uh, in addition to the
green roof areas that you see that are coated in green, uh, are areas for mechanical screening as well as one stair that goes up to the roof. So if there's not a roof deck on the building, you only need one stair to go up for, um, service access only. Uh finally uh getting into the
elevations, we have a mix of uh different colored brick on the front elevation. And you can see that that um the brick kind of um zigzags uh in elevation, which we think is actually kind of nice and playful in that it um in doing so it isolates these kind of
threetory sections of the building that go from, you know, high to low to high to low. And so you can read that kind of pattern uh along the middle floors which are the second through fifth floor, right? And so you see that those four floors 2, three, four and five. And then
uh the sixth floor which is set back is uh just a white cementitious fiber material. So brick and cementitious fiberboard uh primarily to make up this facade. And then we have floor to ceiling glass storefront type um windows
that are um on the lower area. And that's for retail access as well as that main building lobby. And you can see those doors here. I have a zoom in of this as well. Um the side elevations are a combination of uh stucco and
cementitious fiber panel that is horizontal. So it's more like siding. Um you do see that we do have some sideyard windows that are set back. If you remember from um that plan, we have that uh set back on the side that goes from 106 to um 7 uh
10. And so you see how that uh uh begins to work here. And then the uh the rear elevation uh where we have that 30ft setback. Uh we have some windows as well. Um and then the uh the side elevation that faces south where we have some patio space where we have that you
saw on the plan. Uh that that's another um uh a nice nice setback. Um uh we have courts. You saw those in the in the building plan with with windows. And then um just showing the block elevation. Um there's not much on the
block. Uh and uh so we don't have that much to refer to. Uh we have that rooming house to the right and then we have the kind of parking lot for the auto body on the left. And again, the building um I I just uh can't underscore enough that we were really pointed to
look at um uh data from some of the surrounding redevelopment plans and underlying zoning like the NC1 uh or excuse me the RC1 to um to to imagine uh what we think is an appropriate height and configuration for this building. Um
you see that in the building section. This is all imagined um that uh as I mentioned the height is 64 feet 6 inches to the top of the roof structure. Uh and we are and will be able to maintain um very nice floor to ceiling heights
somewhere between 9 ft and 9 ft 6 in. We're showing 9'6 here. um once we get uh a structural engineer to work with us, those floors might deepen a little bit, but we're very confident um we do a lot of buildings like this that we can maintain um very very nice floor to
ceiling heights of 9 ft or better. Uh and then I just have some colored enlarged front elevations. Uh so you see here some of that base brick. Um what you see up top is uh the retail entry and the lobby entry. And I
mentioned that there's kind of floor to ceiling storefront type glass there. Uh below that you see uh the garage door that we're proposing as well as some uh brick apertures uh that we're doing for some ventilation in the garage uh which is a kind of playful application of
brick that we like to use. And then you see um some enlarged views of uh the windows. And the windows are all casement and fixed panel windows. And you see how those begin lining up um in groups of two and three in um in the building. Uh and then we just have some
enlarged elevation showing those um those threetory massings that I mentioned before to the left and what the um the elevation on top of the building zoomed in looks like as well as some signage below. Uh and the signage is compliant with um with what's
required and again just some window detailing that we have. Mechanical screen details. Uh this is important. Uh we like getting these into our drawing sets. Uh these are generally uh 6-ft tall uh sound attenuated screens for um any kind of mechanical equipment that's
on the roof. And then um as I'm nearing the end, uh two axonometric views of the building. Again, you see that kind of question mark uh kind of kind of uh shape in the plan and you see the the articulation of the building on um on
Ocean Avenue proper there. Uh, and then just to to very quickly um speak to a couple of questions that came up that um Eric uh Mr. Beasley had called uh uh late last week to to uh to talk a little bit about um
uh to talk a little bit about sideyard windows and I sent him an email uh that basically answered that. So what we were able to do was um look at the uh uh the existing conditions around us and uh you
can see I don't necessarily have to read this now but we're quite clear that from a code compliance point of view we do meet code uh in terms of any kind of separations that we need and we're doing that based on a series of setbacks. I gave you the the the total size of
setbacks before as well as um finding out that on that boarding house the the windows that are on the lot line are actually set in um I think a total of about 7 ft if I'm not mistaken. Um I just have to like look at my my text
here. But uh this was uh sent to Mr. Beasley and we had a kind of discussion about that and it was determined that this is um oh they're 4x10 courts, excuse me. Um, this was determined that it would be appropriate and no codes would be violated. Uh, and then shadow studies.
Uh, we do shadow studies for all of our buildings. Uh, the spring and fall shadow studies are the ones that we're most concerned about. And the reason why is because the winter shadow studies, everything's kind of in shadow because the sun is so low. And the summer and the reason why the sun is so low in the
sky that uh everything tends to cast deep shadows. Um and in the summer we have the opposite issue where the sun is so high in the sky that shadows don't tend to be deep at all. So um the ones that are important to us are the um spring and fall um equinoxes which you
see we really try to look uh and see uh the kind of implications of shadow casting and we've outlined the building in red here um uh the implications of shadow casting on neighboring buildings and I'm happy to report given the location of this at the end of the block
we're kind of shadow casting not onto buildings but um in the mornings we'd be shadow casting uh slightly behind us, so onto open space. And then as the day goes on and the sun moves uh sort of west in the sky, we're actually casting shadows back
onto Ocean Avenue and the cemetery. Um so we think that that is um appropriate and I think that this drawing uh and this exercise that we went through um you know shows that. And then finally, I think I'll end with um you know an image of the
building. We think it's a sharplooking building. We think it's a a nice mix of brick and the fiber panel. And we have um really tried to uh break down the facade to be sympathetic, as I said before, to um the various scales that we
have in the on the immediate block, but also in the larger neighborhood um which uh contemplates not only one and two family houses, but because of the redevelopment plans, structures that are um approximately scaled and sized with what what is before you. So, thank you.
Thank you. Thank you. Just a couple questions. Sure. Uh, you attended a number of neighborhood meetings on this project, didn't you? Yes. Yes. So, I can talk about that. So, there were a total of, uh, three neighborhood meetings. Uh,
two of which I attended. Uh, as well as, um, some direct conversations with Councilwoman, Councilwoman Ridley. Um and um you know there were and it's nice to see I think there are some folks here that that were at those meetings. Um the
council woman didn't have um uh any kind of reservations about the project. I explained to her its location and and so forth. So I think she is uh in support of the project. Um we did talk about this. I did remind her uh just last week that uh this was going on to the zoning
board and she said, "Well, I don't really need to see it unless there's been changes." And we haven't changed it. Um, so I think she was okay with that. Um, the, uh, one of the one of the the, uh, the community meetings was actually quite well attended. It was at
the school on Ocean Avenue. Um, and, um, you know, we did get a lot of questions, but I don't think there was any um, the the the question that sticks in my mind most is the question about the bus. Uh because Ocean Avenue is a New Jersey transit bus route and there is a bus
stop right at the corner in front of that boarding house, there was some concern, I think rightfully so, some of these folks um take the bus for work and that kind of thing that um there would be disruption. And I can tell you that there is no plan to close the road. Uh you can't really stop a bus route or
anything like that. And so um you know the owner who will ultimately build this building understands that um uh they cannot uh any construction operations cannot conflict with either a right of way or a bus route and that's something that um I feel very comfortable can be
managed. Okay. Is there a curb cut there now? Yes, there are a number of curb cuts actually because of the florist. Uh if I go back to that image, you could see there are it's probably hard to see here, but I think that if I'm not mistaken, there are uh two curb cuts here um that served uh the flourish.
There was also some parking here at some point. Um so there was black top that is now kind of overgrown. Uh so what we'd be doing is by removing those existing curb cuts and installing a new curb cut where I showed that is only 10 ft wide, which is the city standard, we actually
would provide some additional parking on the street. um that would be precluded uh in the current orientation of in the current ex the existing condition. How many how many spaces? Uh well, by well, by removing one of the curb cuts, we can at least pick up one car. And by um uh
creating a 10-foot compliant curb cut, we may be able to create I'm not sure. We may be able to to create another spot. Okay. I don't have any further questions of Mr. Garber. I don't know if the board does. No, we'll wait until until the
end. Thank you. I just wanted to ask, can you speak to the mic when he's speaking? Sure. Okay. Great. Okay. Do you have any more speakers? Um. Yes. Yes. Okay. Make sure he speaks into the mic when he speaks.
That's what they're looking. We have a a a traffic engineer. You got to speak into the mic. Sorry, we have we have a traffic so that the people in the back can hear everything that's being said. I apologize. Thank you. No, no, thank you. Um, we have a traffic engineer, Lee
Klein, who provided a traffic and parking study to planning, which is part of the record. He is here to answer any questions. I didn't intend to put him on, but he's available for questions. Uh, if the board has no questions of him
or the public has no questions of him, then uh, I would like to call my professional planner, Katherine Gregory. Okay. Not yet. Wait until the presentation and then we'll have the audience speak. Okay. Thank you.
You swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes, I do. And state and spell your name for the record. Katherine K A T H R Y N Gregory. G R E G O R Y. Business address is 96 Lynwood
Plaza, number 350 in Fort Le, New Jersey. Miss Gregory, uh, you heard Mr. Garver's testimony, did you not? Excuse me. Can you speak into the mic, please? Thank you. You heard Mr. Garber's testimony, did you not? Yes, I did. And I I would
like you to please take the board through the variances that the plans that Mr. Garber's office prepared uh trigger and give us your analysis uh as to the reasons of why this board could
grant the relief we're looking for. Uh certainly. Um we're here tonight seeking several variances associated with this application. Do you mind if I no use this a few things here? Um
uh and Mr. Garber explained um a few of those variances to you during the course of his testimony. Uh the first and foremost variance would be a D1 use variance. Um, and what's interesting about this, this is actually not for the the residential portion of this, which I
I think he kind of indicated. It was actually for the commercial space because we're not actually permitted to have that because it's not reflective of what was historically there in the 19 I believe it was a 1930 tax map. Uh, we're not replicating the florist. So, we're
not permitted to have commercial here. Um, however, what's interesting about the R1 zone is that commercial is permitted, but it's only permitted as a conditional use on the corner, and we're not a corner lot. We happen to be a middle lot. Um, so that's why we need
the variance. Um, so in terms of a D1 variance, we have to prove that the site is particularly suitable to the use. Now, I would venture to say that number one, the lot is greatly oversized for the zone. It's uh 6.8 eight times the minimum lot size for the zone. The site
already had commercial on the site. Uh the use is a permitted conditional use if it was on a corner lot. We don't have access to our corners. I'm sure that the applicant would have probably loved to buy up the other properties, too, which happen to be non-conforming. Uh but as
Mr. Garber said he believes a after uh the the meetings with the neighborhood and also with city staff that what's going on in the area with all the different reasonzonings and the redevelopment plans that this is very apppropo to try to create some um activity on
Ocean. Uh so I do believe that we have a justification for the D1 use variance for that commercial use albeit it's it's not a very large portion of the building. Uh we also need a density variance. Um and this is why I say we don't need a use variance for the for
the mixed use. I'm sorry for the residential. Uh we are permitted to have up to 42 dwelling units per acre. Uh the applicant has proposed 154 dwelling units per acre. Um and when we talk about a density variance, we have to prove that the site can handle the
increase um uh in that density. Um, now first and foremost, again, I'm going to state that the site is way oversized for the zone. It's 6.8 times the minimum lot size. Um, and I think actually after reviewing your planner report, um, he
did a really great job of explaining it too. What that affords us in this larger lot size is we also have nice apartment sizes. Uh, we have an average unit size of over 825 square ft. We are providing one to three bedrooms and we are providing a number of affordable housing
units. Um I'm going to talk a little bit later about the positive criteria on how we meet the goals of the munipal land use law with the affordable housing, but we are able to do that. Uh just as well we are providing uh ample parking on site that is required by the code. Um
and as was stated by uh Mr. Garber and is also contained in your city planners report. Um, as we all know, there are bus routes that uh that are on Ocean. There's two of those. We have a bus stop right there on the corner. And we are located basically in between two light
rail stops. Um, and when I had pulled them up, I actually had a little bit less of a a walk on my Google Maps than your planner did, but he said it was 12 minutes to Danforth A and 14 minutes to Richard Street. Um, and so we are close to public transit. So that also
contributes to the fact that we can have a density that's higher because of transit oriented type development. We're also seeking a D6 height variance. 35 ft is permitted and 64t 6 in is proposed. Um again this also
relates to the fact that the lot is so much oversized. Um we are also located across from the cemetery. um and across that's across ocean a soy there's no impacts in that direction um your planner actually did a very exhaustive
uh report and looked at all the shadow studies that Mr. Garber presented to you earlier um and determined that there were no negative impacts in terms of light air and open space based on those shadow studies will there be any kind of impact yes and Mr. Garber fully admitted
that um however would there be adequate light air and open space. Yes, this is what we believe and also your planner found in his report. Uh going on to the sea or bulk variances. Uh there are two types. The C1 which is in cases of hardship which
has to do with unique uh u topographic conditions and other things affecting a property or where the purposes of zoning would be advanced and the benefits outweigh the detriments. I would say that um in granting these variances I believe they fall under the category of
C2. The first would be the reard setback 44 feet is required and we're proposing zero foot on that ground floor and that's basically to have all the parking that is required on the site but as the building goes up we are setting it back at 30 feet from the rear. Um and because
of the configuration when you take a look at the aerial which is unfortunately not up on the screen right now. Um you notice that there are no buildings that are actually uh abudded into the back of our lot and that's because we have this unique
configuration and we are located in the middle of the block at the end. Uh so there's not really any true impacts by having that deficient your yard setback. Again there will be adequate light air and open space. Um we also need a
variance for a lot coverage. 85% is permitted and 96.9% is proposed. Um now again a large portion of that is in contribution to the fact that we want to provide all the parking on the site. Again the upper floors are reduced. We're also
offsetting that by all of the green roof space that we've provided. Uh and Mr. Garber went through his plans for you indicating all of the green areas that were located um on the plan. Um going forward, uh we also need a variance for the number of stories.
Three stories is permitted, six stories is proposed. I would uh go back to my previous testimony in terms of the D6 variance in terms of the fact that the lot is oversized. Uh so um and in terms of being across from the cemetery and uh
the surrounding properties having adequate light, air and open space, we also need a variance for the uh compact vehicle spaces. We do have five compact vehicle spaces that are at 8 by8 where 8 and 1 half x 16 is required. Um however the fact that we
have 24 9 by18 spaces I think um helps to uh I guess override the deficiency. However um it is very normal in more urban settings in order to get the number of parking spaces you want on site to have smaller spaces. That's very
standard. U Mr. Klein would tell you that too. Uh, and as we also know when you're in a little bit more of an urban setting, um, I'm not saying that everybody has a smaller car, but people tend to have smaller cars, especially if they want to park on the street because you want a smaller car to park in the
street. So, and more efficient, uh, fuel um, so therefore typically you'll have smaller cars. Um, we are also technically asking for a variance for the mechanical coverage exceeding 20% of the maximum. Um, in terms of that, we're
we're only asking for that because we don't have the drawings complete yet. And because if this gets approved, then you go to the construction drawing space and there might be an overage. It It's not going to be 50%, it's going to be over 20%, maybe, but it might not be. So
the applicant was asking for a variance for that as a precaution so that they didn't have to come back to the board in case that mechanical equipment happened to go over 20%. So I'm not sure how the board typically handles that in terms of
if they're going to put a limit on it if they decide to approve it. Um but and maybe Mr. Garber has an opinion. Mr. Garber pointed out that the code maxes um can mic go from Oh, Mr. Mr. Garber points out that the code maxes it out at
30%. So, it would never exceed 30%. Okay. Okay. Then we have we have our answer to that. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Garber. Oh, okay. So, um in terms of all of the variances, we have to pro prove both the positive and the negative
criteria. In terms of the positive criteria, we have to promote the purposes of the municipal land use law. Um, and I would venture to say that we do promote several of the purposes of the municipal land use law. First and foremost would be purpose A, which talks
about promotion of the public health, safety, and morals and general welfare. Um, the reason that I say that is we are providing infill development in an area with existing infrastructure, which is a goal of the state plan. And just as well we are providing six affordable housing
units which is also one of the state goals and tenants. I also believe that we promote purpose I which talks about uh promotion of a desirable visual environment. Uh basically we're really upgrading the site. Um it's I know it's vacant now but
it didn't look so great after it was a little bit abandoned. Um, so now we're providing a state-of-the-art uh new mixeduse building along basically a heavy travels corridor that is is a um a corridor that is used by a lot of people obviously in Jersey City particularly
for the fact that you have buses that are going down the road. Um also oh actually purpose C which providing adequate light in open space I I missed that one. Um, and in terms of the negative criteria, I don't believe there's any substantial detriment to the
public good by granting uh the the excuse me, the proposed variances. Um, again, as I've stated before, the lot is oversized and we do believe that it can accommodate the variances that are proposed. We are providing affordable housing which does actually promote the
public good. Um, and we do believe that we meet the intent of the ordinance. Um as the purpose of the R1 zone is to create high quality diverse housing types in all neighborhoods which that will accommodate the needs of all types of residents. Um we are providing both
the market rate and also the affordable housing on this site. I don't believe there's any substantial impairment to the intent and purpose of your zone plan and zoning ordinance. Um I did look at your last Jersey city land use element which was completed in 2021. Um and I
believe that we promote the following land use principles. Uh ensure the city's available housing is balanced and meet meets the needs of all current and future city residents. Um again that's we're providing affordable housing and market rate. Um and also strengthen neighborhood oriented commercial areas.
We are providing that commercial space as well. Um so in conclusion um I believe that we meet both the positive and the negative criteria. uh we do promote a few of the purposes of the municipal land use law which we need to do to prove not only the devariances but
also the C2 where the benefits outweigh the detriments and must be rooted in the purposes of zoning. Um so with that said uh I'll take any questions right now. No, we'll wait until the end please. Okay, great. Thank you. Thank you. Do
you have any other speakers? I I have uh Mr. Klein available as I said, but I have no further uh witnesses unless there are questions from the public that Mr. Klein can answer or the other professionals can answer. Okay, great.
Thank you. Okay, so we're going to open up the meeting to the public. You will be uh you will have three minutes to speak and say whatever you need to say. Uh we will be keeping track once we say your three minutes is up
then you're gonna have to just kind of finish up whatever you have to say. Okay. Okay. You're going to keep the track. You're going to Jeffrey. Jeffrey. Okay. Okay. Jeffrey. All right. Okay. So, do we have any speakers? You
can come up to the podium. You would have to say your name and where you live for the young lady. Okay. I'm going. And this is for everybody. Just state and spell your full name and provide your address. Hi. Do you swear or affirm the testimony of your best given this proceeding will be
the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. Corey Gerria. C O R Y G A R R I G A. Um, good to go. Yes. Okay. Uh, hi everyone. Uh, commissioners, I'm here
tonight to represent Commissioner Bill O Day. Okay. Uh in support of this application, the commissioner uh as he understands it, this is not only the six units of affordable housing, but 53 units are 54 units are going to be
workforce housing. What that also means is keeping, you know, certain professionals within Jersey City. Uh Jersey City has uh seen an influx of uh cops, uh teachers, and other professionals that just start off here,
but because of the rental prices, they move out into other towns, which cause them to move and and take their services elsewhere. So, we definitely would like to keep that in the neighborhood. Not only that, but the commercial space in the in the ground is going to help
revitalize uh the area, I believe. So, Commissioner OD is in support of this. Uh, if you know Commissioner OD's track record, we don't really associate ourselves with bad actor landlords and developers. So, we are pretty uh confident in this application and we'd
like to give our support. That is all. Thank you. Okay. Thank you. Okay. Can we have the speakers when you please come up? Can you please spell your name and also give us your address? Okay. Thank you. Hi, good evening. Hi, good evening. Do
you swear or affirm the testimony or given this proceeding through the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Hi, my name is Winnie Mullins. W I N I E. Last name is Mullins. M U L L I N. I've been a
resident of Warner Avenue. Address. Oh, 40 Warner Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey, 07305. Okay. Okay. A little nervous. That's okay. I've been a resident of Warner Avenue now for 26 years.
um seen changes in the neighborhood, concerned about this building because of the overdevelopment, the number of people who would move into the neighborhood, the number of parking spaces that are being allotted for a 60unit building. Um to think of a
60-unit building, it's easy to say you can have two cars per unit. It's 120 cars and you have 29 parking spaces. I have friends who live three blocks away on Venostran Avenue who park on Warner
Avenue because there's no parking on their block. So I don't what this would do to parking in that area on my block would be horrendous. Okay. Um one of the presenters kept mention
kept mentioning a larger lot. A larger lot is on the ground. Just because you have a larger lot doesn't mean you build up six stories. How many variances are they asking for? They're asking for many variances. These zoning laws were put
into effect at some time for a reason. There was also mention of the different redevelopment zones. We're not there. We're not in that redevelopment zone. They're here and here. So they in order to build this building there are a lot
of varants being asked for and I don't see it benefiting the neighborhood. Not that many people coming in it it I don't see it benefiting. Someone else mentioned Miss Ridley. Miss Ridley should be here to
speak for herself. Okay. Um Okay. You mentioned market rate housing. 90% of this building is one minute left. One minute. I'll finish up. Market rate.
Like the gentleman said, a lot of people have moved out of Jersey City. They can't afford Jersey City. I just read an article yesterday. Hoboken and Jersey City have pumped some of the highest rent in the freaking country. But you're telling me 90% is
market rate? Jersey City residents can't afford that. Um, we got to do better. 10%. My daughter's been on I don't know how many lists for affordable housing within Jersey City. She works for the public defender's office and can't afford to
live in this city. She's still at home with me. I want her to move out, but she can't. And she works for the public defender. Like, you guys have got to do better. Please. Thank you. Go ahead. Do you swear or affirm the testimony
you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth? I I do. Nothing but the truth. I do. Fat f a t. Is that in Frank? Frank A t
E H S A B A G H S A B A G H S A B H A H A G H GH Mhm. I live in 248 Fowler Avenue and I have a business on 15 MLK. Okay. Number one, the traffic
engineer in the area, you should go drive in night time. I have a business on 15 MLK Drive where it's going to be another new building get approved and going to be 50 apartment. There's a closest street from me a new building. You're going to have to slow down. You
have a little bit of I'm sorry. Okay. Okay. Across the street from 15 MLK, a new building. It was developed and was built last year. There is no place to park a car. I have a business. I can't put a vehicle in front of my business.
Longest street there is no space. Madu there is no space. Mad Macad Avenue. Yeah. Uh um I keep circling even if I have to drop merchandise in my business.
I got to find a place to park my car. I get ticket. You go nighttime of 1 MLK. You find car park on the bus stop. Okay. Number one. Number two. What the impact on the school? 60 apartment that mean 120 children
minimum because nobody can afford smaller studio today in this area $2,000 that mean it need two to be for the rent. Yeah. Okay. I'm sorry two for one two two people to live in the apartment to pay for the rent. Let's say
assume each apartment have one child that means 60 children impact on the school zone. That mean extra two classroom cars 60 apartments some of them threebedroom how many car this building
residents they going to have at least 70 80 car where they going to park the entrance of the building for the car it's going to be on Ocean Avenue what the speed on Ocean Avenue and there is no traffic light over there from down
force like six block down the road and night time there is racing area between the kids racing on this area and the entrance for this building garage from Ocean Avenue which is going to be very danger 1 minute left okay so we're
talking about parking uh bus they give us six small economy a apartment wow big deal what we doing studio today rent $2,000 in the area. So what the three three-bedroom apartment
trend going to be in this building? Okay. How many car, how many kids, everything affect this per Thank you. Thank you. [Applause] Good evening.
Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give is preceding the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. My name is Valinda Vz in Victor. A L I N D A Tob O B as in boy E. I'm here to speak to at the address
47 Warner Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey. Okay. I'm here to speak to the changes that are happening in our neighborhood. I signed the petition today. I just got the petition. I've heard a little bit about this a couple of week ago when my sister-in-law asked
me, "Did I get any paperwork?" And I told her no, I didn't know anything. She explained something to me. Then my other neighbors started talking to me about it and then I got mad. 60 units on the corner of Oceaner View. My mother and father brought their house in
1968. Okay. We've been there probably one of the longest families on that block. I had got married, moved away, came back when my dad died in 2014. You're turning us into New York. We're leave. We live in Jersey City, okay? We
don't have neighborhoods anymore. We don't have treeline streets. We're trying to keep what we have down in our section. We have a neighborhood. We have kids that ride up and down the block. You're asking us to give that up. Our kids can't ride up and down the block.
We're afraid to let them out there. They can't ride their bikes in the street. We got neighbors that watch the kids. All these neighbors know me. They know the Atkins. Okay. who we all know in a 60-unit building. These people going to park on
our block. The ones that come from around the corner on Way Street, those are our neighbors. Okay? But we know the cars that park maybe in our driveway cuz they have no parking where they live at. You cannot find parking for that building on
that corner. And we have people in that cemetery, too. I have been there just about all my life since I was seven years old and I am back there watching my mother in the twilight years of her life and she doesn't know want to air you the corner
because of what's going on there. How about taking care of the prostitute and the drug addicts that stand on that corner. Okay. How about doing that? How about keeping them out of the houses and go after the owners that own the houses on that block that don't that let people squat in their houses and then they have
to pay to come and get them out. One minute left. I thank you for my time. Okay. Thank you. You still have one minute. I'm good. Okay. You swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing
but the truth. Yes, I do. Hi, my name is Serita Oglesby. Um, my name is spelled S Y R E T A J as my middle initial. Oglesby O G L E S B Y. I reside at 27 Fton Avenue, Jersey City, New Jersey
07305. Okay. Okay. Okay, I have a remark because um some of the concerns and I happened to discover this um meeting was happening because I saw a flyer on one of the um building posts um around the community. Um definitely have to reiterate what many people are saying
because our cost of living is definitely increasing and yet the resources and finances are definitely decreasing at a rapid rate especially underneath this very controversial administration and these things need to be taken into consideration considering that we live slow down. Okay, considering that, I
just want to make sure I stay in my three minutes. Um, so I um I want to make sure that we are very clear about people making their bare minimums um to be able to survive in this community. In 2011, you had to make over $20 per hour at a 80hour work week in order to
sustain your living environment. And in Ward A specifically, so that's something that definitely needs to be taken into consideration. Um, I know that Governor Murphy enacted um the law uh he signed it back on March 20th, 2024 um amongst
the Fair Housing Act. And so my question to the developers is how do you define what low and moderate income families is and what is affordable because that is definitely going to be extremely problematic. Also, I believe it's very interesting that um you chose 10%. I
thought it was 25% at one point. Um, so okay. Well, I apologize about that, but I definitely recall reading that from years ago. Um, but I definitely would like to address what does low and moderate income, not necessarily affordable, because affordable is contrary to who you're actually speaking
to. Thank you. [Applause] Hello. You swear or affirm the testimony or facts given this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes. Tiara Stevens. T I A
R A S T E V Ns. I'm a resident of 16 Wade Street, Jersey City, New Jersey 075. Um, my main concern is about the parking. Again, the 29 spaces will not be enough for that building. Living on Wayi, we barely have enough spaces as it
is for the residents on Wade Street. Most of us have to park at Ocean anyway. So, it would be enormous to like not have that amount of parking. Um, Princeton recently just became a permanent area and I'm hoping that soon we don't have to have permitting parking
as well and the unaffordability is like a huge portion of this as well. I work in community development. We serve low to moderate income individuals every day. The medium income for someone in Jersey City to be low to income low to
moderate income in Jersey City is $75,000. and we still have people making that amount of money coming in community development asking for housing and we don't have anything to give them. So, I'm strictly opposing something like this because I see the residents every
day in community development and they can't we can't help them with affordable housing cuz we don't have it. The affordable housing in Jerry City is not affordable for the residents and I literally see that every day. And also we have so many apartment buildings in Jersey City where the schools are not
being funded enough just from our property taxes. Majority of the home owners in Jersey City pay so much property taxes when we have all these apartment buildings with people living in there that benefiting off of our school system and they're not paying anything for the schools. And I don't
think that's fair for us Jersey City residents and for our homeowners here in Jersey City. Thank you. Okay. They have good points. You swear or affirm the testimony you're about to administer the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes.
My name is Janice Ferdinand. J A N I C E. Ferdinand. F E R D I N A N D. I live at 57 Wade Street, Jersey City, New Jersey 07305. As a teacher in the Jersey City
public schools, I can honestly say having this building um coming to this area, it would not be beneficial to any of us on my street now with all of this new gentrification that's going on. The homes that were recently bought
um in our area, which were two family homes, were now they're now um being rented with every space possibly that can actually hold someone within. And
it's it's mindboggling to see a two family home being turned to to being turned into almost like a mini uh um apartment building. Whereas all of the individuals who come in have cars. There isn't any parking on my street on Wade
Street. And just as the uh the lady said recently, there are people who park in your driveway which are allowed our neighbors because they cannot find any parking. And as a teacher in the Jersey City public schools, there are three schools within that corner on Danford
and um Danford and Ocean with the buses coming in. The school buses, not just traffic alone, we at times arrive late because we cannot get to the destination of our school because of overt trafficking and
also the parking. And we're now told by our superintendent that we h we by any means necessary we have to be there on time which is stressful. It's stressful to actually make a living in this city which has changed
dramatically and the cost of living has gone up but not our incomes. So, um, having this building, I believe it will create a lot of stress for a lot of the people here. And as someone said
earlier, what is affordable? $100 less than what the apartments One minute left would of what the apartments would really go for. There's always hidden hidden agendas within these codes or or um it sounds like it's wrapped up
nice and pretty with a bow on it. It sounds very very, you know, promising, but I know that there are some some underlying things in there that's not beneficial to the residents of of this area. Thank you. Thank you.
Oh, excuse me, miss. You if if you know of an apartment that's illegally being used, you can um I know many of them. Download the Click C Fix app and report it and somebody will come out and take care of it.
I hope so. Thank you. Click C Fix. It's It's an app. Click C Fix. Yes. Click Fix. See Clickfist. Sorry. Click Fix. Hello. My name is Oh, sorry. Do you swear or the testimony you're about to
give? The whole truth. Yes, I do. My name is Tiffany McQuary. That's T I FF A N Y last name MC Q U E A R Y. I live at 28 Warner Avenue in Jersey City. And I
am against uh this development. Uh it is too many units. Uh it goes against the fabric of the community that's currently there. Uh if you're familiar with that neighborhood, the Greenville community in general, but particularly the Warner Avenue community, uh it's a tight-knit
community of one, two, three family houses. To put 60 units in this area, I believe is irresponsible and it does not fit within the fabric of the community. It definitely will impact traffic in the area. Um it will impact parking for sure. Uh there are better ways to
develop in Jersey City. We see what happened downtown. when we see what's going on in Journal Square. No one is saying that Jersey City doesn't need development because it is clear that it does. But we have to be smart about it and we have to develop in a way that fits the community that you're
developing. Every building it it's a cookie cutter building if you and no offense to the developers of the design, but I've seen this building before in other parts of the city. This building does not belong in Greenville. This building does not belong on Ocean Avenue with 60 units. the density that they're
asking for uh is just too much for the neighborhood and I feel like it will not be beneficial the amount of affordable housing units that um that was stated. We understand that's what's mandated that 10% but for that community we cannot afford to develop in a way that
does not benefit the current community and provide housing for people that need housing in the neighborhood. Um I don't know how much time I have left but that's that's really all I have to say. I really uh hope that you guys vote against this at the in its current state. Perhaps they can renovate it and
you know come back with a different design that has less units, but in its current state of 60 units, I feel like it's just too much and it's not a good thing for the neighborhood. Yeah. Thank you. Anyone else?
Good evening. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Yes, I do. Uh my name is Keon Payeyton. Want to use the other microphone? I think you would feel more comfortable, right?
That makes sense. Thank you very much. Okay. Uh my name is Keon Payeyton. I've been a resident of Jersey City all of my life. I reside at 43 Warner Avenue. uh K E O N P A T O
N. Once upon a time, I believed boards and councils to act in the best interests of the people. However, after seeing discontentment of people overlooked many times, my faith in these bodies waivers at times. Developers will always attempt to do what they please
and push everything to the last inch in order to increase profit. Do they care about anything other than the dollar? In most cases, no. The dangerous thing about that is is when finance becomes your driving factor, morals, values, things that you wouldn't want done to
your neighborhood become secondary with all focus on profit. I bet these developers would lose sleep if this exact development was built on their block. If the tables were turned, are they interested in the integrity of a community? No. The flow and function of
a neighborhood? No. It's all numbers. This is the thing when you have people not of a place build there. They aren't concerned about the things that makes an area a certain way and will willingly compromise them for their goal. The impact these developments make on the
neighborhood is in is irrelevant. The sole goal profit. Through time, discontentment has been shown on many developments. And once criteria are met by developers, it seems as if things are usually approved. Which makes me think,
does the people matter in these decisions? Whether one or 100 stood against this, which more than 150 have petitioned against these variances on this project, would the decision still be the same? Codes and regulations are
set in order to protect things that matter to citizens of an area and integrity of a neighborhood. So variances shouldn't be granted in order to protect these precious things to people of the area. Like I said before, one minute left. Yes, sir. Like I said
before, when you aren't of an area, you just draw up a plan because it looks interesting and nice when you draw it and design it on paper. Parking is bad already, and you want a variance for more stories, which means more residents, more cars. I can personally
speak on behalf of people in the area who have to park blocks away when coming home at certain times. No one is against building on the land, but please don't grant these variances. Don't sacrifice our neighborhood to appease another
developer's quest for increased profit. Thank you. [Applause] The floor is you swear or affirm the testimony of your proceeding will be the truth.
Yes, I do. Tiffany Stevens, T I F A N Y Ste T I F A N Y. Oh, look. Stevens, S E VS. And I reside at 16 way Street,
Jersey City, New Jersey, 07305. Yeah. Yeah. Hi. I'll just come up here to talk about my experience um with a affordability in Jersey City. I'm a public school teacher who was I used to live in an affordable housing in Jersey City which I had to move out of because
I couldn't afford it. Um I had to pay for parking which was about $300 a month. Couldn't afford that. So I ended up parking on the street which we're concerned about now. Um I also had to move out of Jersey City cuz I just couldn't afford it. Now I'm back in
Jersey City living with my parents and I just don't think this is um a conducive like many other people said there's too many residents for the parking the affordability 10% me as a public school teacher I can't afford the $2,000 $3,000
of rent so I'm just coming up here to speak my issues with the the building. Thank you. Thank you. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do. Uh, good
afternoon. Good. Good evening. My name is James Winston. Uh, I reside at 11 Warner Avenue. Okay. My concern is that I own that property. It's a two family home. And this structure that you're proposing
to build would be directly outside my backyard. Okay. By um allowing a six um floor structure, it it would limit my view of my backyard because this structure would be adjacent right to my
backyard fence. Okay. Um as as everyone else is, I'm concerned about the parking. I am concerned about the number of units because in that neighborhood uh even though it's tightknit, what have you, parking is the big concern. Also,
you're worried about the foot traffic. These would be people that we don't know coming through our neighborhoods where you already um worried about your your children not you know not knowing who's there. This is another concern that comes up. But the main thing is that uh
by owning that property, one of the reason that I obtained it was that I can use the backyard that I could um you know relax, you know, enjoy my neighborhood as I've grown up in Jersey City all my life and by having this structure here now you deprive me and my
family of some of the things that we enjoy. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and
nothing but the truth? Yes. Name's Durkl Payton. D E R K Y L. Last name Payton. I reside at 431 Avenue. P A T O N. P A T O N. 43 Warner Avenue.
Um, first and foremost, I thank the thank the board for your time and for your seriousness in which you consider this application. Um, I've come tonight not because I oppose all development. I think most of us understand that the city needs to grow, but I do believe that growth should happen within the framework of our zoning code and in a
way that balances the needs of new and existing residents. So just to touch back on some of the variances that are being asked of um a major increase in density as we mentioned before 42 units per acre to 154 which is three times the permitted
amount uh seeking 60 units which is 44 extra units than the 16 that is allowed. Uh variances for height which is uh asking for 66 feet which an additional 30 feet that is allowed by the zoning laws. uh variance for six six stories
which is double which is allowed from three um a setback in zero. So we're we're pretty much building right on people's property lines um and building of 97% um of coverage instead of 85. Um also I'd like to add even when the
residents were notified in the area the link that was provided to the to the residents did not work and still does not work. So, how was everyone supposed to to understand the project in totality if the uh if the information was not properly provided? These aren't minor tweaks to
the zoning code. These are foundational elements of the zoning ordinance looking to expand on height, density, and width that's being covered. Under New Jersey law, the standards for granting a use variance are intentionally high. They exist to protect the neighborhood
developments that are too intense um for the surrounding areas. This would be the tallest residential building in the area. The applicant must show that the site is particularly suited for the project and it will serve the public good without undermining the master plan or zoning framework which I don't
believe it is. I'm asking for the board to consider this. If this block, which is currently made of mostly two family, one minute left. If this block is mostly made up of two family homes, qualifies for this scale of development, what doesn't? And if the
board grants this many variances for one single project, what does that say to other developers looking to build in Jersey City in this area? We risk setting a precedent that the zoning rules are flexible, not based on need, but based on who asks. I'm here tonight
because I care about the long-term health and fairness of the process, not just for one block, but for the whole city. I urge you to deny this proposal in as it's currently presented. Thank you. Thank you. They make a good point, but I mean,
do you do you swear or affirm the you're about to get in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Yes. Hi, my name is Asia Mullins. A J A M U L L I N S. Okay. Address. As you know, my mom is
the address. Oh, 41 Avenue, Jerry City, New Jersey. 07305. My mom was the first speaker. Yes. I'm the one that works at the public defender's office and I have applied to a lot of places that says that they're
affordable housing. There was a place um there's a website called Piaza. It says it's affordable. You need to make $50,000 in order to get an apartment. I don't make that. And I'm looking.
Nobody's hiring. you guys are proposing a 16 unit building and it's just like okay it's nice and all but what about the people that's in the area already they're fighting to afford their properties we have been fighting to
afford our properties you are basically kicking us out and then it's like I work in Journal Square I see the construction that's going on there I see the people that live in these buildings they're not from here can we keep home home instead of inviting strangers in How about we
actually work on home first? That was a florist. I actually used to go inside that florist. I actually made friends with that florist. Instead of us building something where it's going to bring strangers in, how about we build something there that's going to provide for our people that's there. How about
we do that? So, I'm against this. And also because of the parking, like everybody said, there's no parking as it is today. I live with my parents. There's three cars in there. four cars in that house. I'm sorry. Where are we going to park
with the 60 new units that's going up? That's 120 people, let's say. It's like, okay, did y'all really think this through? I don't think that y'all did. Y'all just seeing dollar signs. And that's the problem with America today. We so greedy for money. We're not
thinking about the people that's here. So, with that, I end my speech. Okay. Thank you. [Laughter] Take take that big one cuz you're a big boy right there. Okay.
Good evening everyone. My name is Darren Richardson. Raise your right hand. Oh, I'm sorry. Do you or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth the whole truth? Yes. Again, my name is Darren Richardson. Okay. D A R R E N R I C H A
R D S Oso N. I reside at 6 Warner Avenue. Uh the problem I have like everybody is complaining and saying it's the traffic from Danford to I can't think of the other name of the street.
It's like a raceway. We have no traffic light in between that. And if you have cars coming out of that lot, that garage, nine out of 10, they're going to get into an accident because there's no lights. And then if a bus or a truck is
sitting there, which usually they do park their trucks on that corner where they going to see at uh as of um the crime done went up a little bit in that neighborhood. I take care of the building across the
street, which he keeps calling it uh border. It's not It's a residential apartment. I take care of it myself. And with that sitting there, then like the uh another person has said, we got the
prostitution. We got people running in and out of our neighborhoods that don't live there. Then we have if you do build this building, everybody's going to complain about the parking. Even though it might say it's enough on ocean, it's not. It's not enough on it. They saying
that, "Oh, we going to put up this so they can have parking." What's wrong with the people on the block? A lot of people on Warner Avenue don't have driveways or garages. my roommate, she has a uh handicap spot
and sometime I have to go out there and tell them to move. They get mad. I don't care because that's not your spot. And all these other residents here, they going through it. They come home, somebody's parking in their driveway, somebody's parking, and half of the time
they get an attitude because they don't want to move. And then my thing is if you do build this building, I don't think Jersey City people is going to be in it. I really don't think so. I think people from New York or other places is going
to move into this building. One minute left. And I see it happening at all these other buildings cuz I see a lot of out ofstate New York tags that's living on either my block, Wade, uh, Ocean. And it's not fair for the people that's got to come home and and I used to wait for
my neighbor at 11 o'clock at night to make sure she got in when she parked her car because it's not safe anymore. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else? Oh, we have another young lady.
Okay. Hello. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? Yes. My name is Tara Earidge Payton. T A R A. Um, my maiden name is Eidge. E T H E R I D G E.
And my married name is Payton. P A T O N. Address 9 Warner Avenue. Um, good evening. I live right next door to 311 Ocean Avenue. We share both my side and rear property lines
where all the windows on my home are located. I'm here tonight as a neighbor who will be directly and materially impacted by this project, not just conceptually, but in very real ways. I want to say upfront, I'm not against
development. I understand that Jersey City is growing. But this proposal is not a modest adjustment. is a six-story building proposed in a quiet neighborhood of residential homes. If approved as is, my home will lose natural light, air flow, and the basic
privacy that makes it livable. I will be living in the shadow of a six-story wall that didn't exist before, and my home will feel boxed in by something far larger than anything else around here. This is a drastic change and exactly the kind of impact that current zoning code
was designed to prevent. Parking is already a constant issue on our block. You've heard about it. We regularly see people from other streets park here, sometimes even blocking driveways and then walk several blocks to wherever they live. It's not just at night. It
happens all day. If this project moves forward with 60 units and only 29 parking spaces, the burden will fall squarely on nearby residents who are already competing for space. The applicant is requesting over seven separate
variances, including a use variance to exceed the allowable allowable housing density by more than three times. the design does not match the scale or character of the neighborhood and places a significant burden on those of us who live right next to it. If it can't be
brought into alignment with the zoning code in the lived realities of this block, then I don't believe it should be approved. As this board knows, use variances under NJSA40 col 55D-70D required and compelling
justification. These are not minor deviations. They are substantial departures from the purpose of the zoning ordinance. The burden is on the applicant to prove the site is particularly suited for this level of use and that it won't result in substantial detriment to the public
good. As an adjacent property owner, one who has reviewed all the application materials, I can say plainly their analysis ignores the lived experience of the people who actually live there. the burden of proof has not been
met. And I am not alone in that view. A petition opposing this proposal has already received over 150 signatures from concerned residents. I understand this board is balancing many interests, but your responsibility is also to
uphold the integrity of the zoning process process and protect the public interest. If this application is approved, I believe it would set a troubling precedent. That's Tom. one where zoning. Thank you for your time. Thank you. Um we have any more speakers? We
have um Councilwoman Ritley. Would you like to come up and speak? Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to proceed the truth and nothing but the truth? Yeah, I do. Okay. Okay. So, I'm just walking in and I don't have all the details, but I
believe we're still speaking on 311 Ocean, right? We are. Okay. I was across the street at the JCEDC meeting and I got a text message. So, I'm here to uh tell you what I do know about 311 Ocean and where we are. Oh, I'm sorry. Councilwoman Denise Rley,
Councilwoman for the Ward Day section in Jersey City. So today I received uh a message from someone from change.org saying there was a petition for a project at 311 Ocean Avenue. I was not able to see the petition and I
haven't seen it in the past, but based off of the address I did provide him uh with some information that I had on the project. Um we do So let me start here. Ward A, uh, we're the only ward that has
community meetings on every project coming to the ward before it gets to you guys zoning or planning, right? And I thank the zoning and planning directors for adhering to my request to do that because it is a good opportunity for our
residents to interact directly with the developers and tell them what they like and what they don't like. for this particular project. The first meeting was in 2023 at PS20. Um at that time the residents were concerned about parking.
The main concern was parking and the next was um local jobs. So they asked the developer to go back to the drawing board. Typically I don't do a second meeting. I I allowed a block association to do that meeting. Um there wasn't a set uh representative that wanted to do
the meeting. So, we did a second meeting in 2024. Uh, and the developer came back with onetoone parking at the neighborhood's request. Um, and also at that first meeting, he answered the question and took residents information
in regards to local jobs for contractors. Uh since that time, I have not received any additional uh outreach from anyone having an issue with the project, but I know that uh I believe
maybe when it went back to the planning department. I'm not sure if that parking was changed or not. I'm not sure where we are with the parking now, but the developer did adhere to the community's request. Uh, so any changes after that would have been at the request of the
planning board. Um, so I'm not sure where the parking is, like I said, but um, I heard the young lady talking about parking when we came in, and I think she said 29 spaces. That wasn't where it was when it left that initial meeting. Um, so from my point of view, the
developer was very accommodating to the residents, listening to their concerns and trying to uh come up with something that they were in favor of. Now, if that has changed, then, you know, I would need those new specs, but that didn't change as far as I know based off of his
choices. Um, but yes, parking is an issue in that area. I don't know if there were other issues raised tonight, but when I walked in, they were talking about parking. Parking is an issue. Uh so anything that this zoning board can do to accommodate any more parking in that project or allow the developer to
add more parking, which is what they did request to do, then I think that that would greatly help our residents. Um you know, I know I'm not allowed to sway the board, so I'm not telling you what to do, but I'm asking you to please take the concerns of my residents into
serious consideration. Okay. Thank you so much. Do we have any more speakers? Good evening. Good evening. Do you swear or affirm the testimony of your giant in this proceeding truth? The whole truth worse than me? Yeah, I do. My name is
Carla Blue Bryant. C A R L A B L U E B R Y A N T. I'm a resident of 15 Warner Avenue. Um, I'm a workaholic. I'm never home. So, unfortunately, I missed a lot of the
meetings and I am unaware of all this happening. So, I'm got upset because I think this was already in in the works. But thanks to my residents, they told me, my neighbors telling me that no,
today is a day to make approval. Um, I'm against the project because the building is exactly is going to be in my backyard like towards my back. I am worried because I have children. I am a resident and and I live in that home for over 40
years and I have windows in the back. I like to leave my windows open. So now we putting a building in the back where people can look through my home. I'm worried about that. I'm worried about, like they say, strangers in the neighborhood. I'm worried about the
parking. I have trouble walking. My mom, my neighbors, and even now we have trouble with the parking because people take up not one parking space, but two. They put their cars. They not um um they
don't think about other people. So bringing in more people and taking up more space is going to be a issue like everyone says. So that's my biggest issue is especially my privacy in my backyard. I use my backyard for
everything. So now that's going to be taken away from me and it's hard for me to keep up with the property as much now. I work two jobs trying to keep it keep it up upgraded and it's still hard for me. So, um, please think about us
and think about my privacy as well as the people parking and everything. Okay. Okay. Thank you. Thank you so much. Did you still um you still need a break? Do we have any any more speakers? Because if not, then we're just going to
take Okay. or affirm this proceeding will be the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. I do. Um my name is Dwayne Patton. Good evening everyone. My name is Dwayne
Patton. D W A Y N E last name Patton. P A T O N. I reside at 9 Warner Avenue. Um I guess today I'm proud of my community. Um they came out, voiced their
opinion, stood up, provided perspective. My wife spoke, my two brothers spoke um eloquently. One gave the technical aspects of why this project should not be a go or approved by the board. Um when we consider densities, when we
consider parking, um besides on just so many fronts, this project is a nogo. Um I hear people not just giving perspective, but pleading to the board saying, "Please do not approve
this." I don't know how how much more emphatic we could be from a social aspect from a economic aspect from a technical aspect that this does not check mark any
boxes and then we also have um the only people that's in approval of such a building going up are those who want to build and who are profiting for it. That's the problem that we have that's going on in America and the world today.
Everything is so much money, profit. We c me as a person who's active in the community. My brothers and I, we do mentorship for younger kids. Like we lose, there's a lot of hope loss when you walk out on MLK. I was born and raised in Jersey City. We have so many
people going crazy cuz they don't have any hope. Now we have a lot of civil people here, educated people here on Warner Way Chapel, master degrees, work for the city, all types of things. We're coming and trying to do this with the proper process. So what I'm asking and
I'm pleading from the board is to respect that we're following due process. We're working hard. We lose a lot of hope in larger government and in those different aspects. Now when we dealing with smaller government, we can't say that we all came out here in
numbers today and we can't even get listened to in a smaller government environment either. So in closing, I'm just asking to consider not only the perspective but the pleading from everyone who attended
here tonight and asked to not approve this build. And it's not just from a mindset of people who don't understand development. these we you have a lot of educated people who stepped up tonight and spoke. We're speaking from a social
aspect, economic aspect, technical aspect. It's a no-go. Okay. Thank you so much. Do we have any more speakers? Okay. If we don't have any more speakers, we we need to take a 10
minute. Are you okay? What you Okay. Okay. So, we're closing the public portion of the uh meeting. Are you okay? Do you still need it or yes? Okay. All right. We're going to take a 10-minut break and yeah, just
give the uh our stenographer a little break. Okay. And we'll be right back. Okay. Okay. Hi. I'd like to um bring up the traffic engineer, please, if we may. Okay. If if I may. Uh we we discussed
this uh out of the presence of the board with my client. I think I'm going to want to carry this application until the next meeting. Smart. What we will do in the meantime is perhaps we're going to meet with the community again. Mhm. Uh
we may meet with the council person again and we're certainly going to meet with planning and have some conversations. Uh we've listened very patiently to the neighborhood and they have concerns. They do. Some concerns cannot be addressed because they're
impossible to address. Some concerns are rational concerns that perhaps we can address. So, I'd like the opportunity at least and the time uh to to do that correctly and come back to the board. Okay. Yes. Do you think should should we
have like board members any questions or anything or we should just vote? Should we wait? All right. Thank you. I'll bring the traffic engineer back the next time. Certainly. Yes, please. Okay. How does he get on the calendar? I don't know, Eric. Are we well I guess the
question is are we carrying to a date uncertain or we think you'll have a quick enough turnaround to where we can make it to May 8th. I'd like to carry it to May 8th and if I have a problem I'll notify you. I'll notify the board. Okay. So it can be carried to me then. Okay. I
want to thank everybody um that came out to speak and also be here to and show their concerns. We're very um concerned. We we hear your concerns. So they do what? And obviously they do. Yeah. So we
hear your concern and as you can see they hear your concerns. So at least we're doing something positive. We're meeting again. They're going to come back. Hopefully they'll come back with a lot of suggestions that you guys have made during the the meetings. Okay.
Okay. And with with that we thank everybody that came in to speak. Thank you. Have a good day. We're still I mean you can still stay. We still have another another uh another case to hear just in case you want to hang out with us. Okay. So the
All right. Good evening everyone. Okay. So, the next case. All right, we're going to give us a minute so that we can let everybody go. Excuse me. Everyone could if you need to talk and gather, can you gather outside
so we can continue with the next case? Thank you. Okay. So, our next case is C is Z 2024 056 and that's 157 Lincoln Street. Boy,
I was there yesterday. Yes. Uh, good evening everyone. Michael Higgins of Castanoquigley Cherami on behalf of the applicant here. All right, hold on a second. Can we please um hold our conversations outside so that we can have hear another case?
Thank you so much. [Music] They're going. What's a few more minutes? One more minute. Yeah. Okay. All right. You have the floor. Thank you. Uh so this is 157 Lincoln
Street. Uh first I I guess some housekeeping. I have the original uh notices uh for the board if you would like. Do we have that? You can give it to the gentleman. The script applicant proposing an addition in a renovation to an existing
twostory building with two dwellings units to a threetory building with a two two dwelling units. Okay, so this is 157 Lincoln Street. It's uh in the R1 zone. Um it's a very undersized lot. Uh
standard lot is 2500 square ft in this area and we have 1,336 ft. So, it's it's a little over half of a regular size lot. Okay. Um there's an existing two-story two family home. We're proposing to renovate that,
make it a three-story two family home. Uh and that also involves an addition in in the rear of the building. Uh to accomplish this, there's only two variances. It's uh rear yard setback. Um and also a variance for the setback of the roof deck. Those are both related uh
as the testimony will show to the very small nature of the lot. Uh so without further ado, I would like to have my architect sworn in uh of Bart Patel. Okay. Yeah, they go up and then back. Do you affirm the testimony you're about
to give in this proceeding will be the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth? Uh, yes I do. Avar Patel. A A V A R T P A T E L. Okay. Go ahead.
It should be that one. No. No. I need a USBC. I thought that was going to be an easy one. I thought this was going to be No, I thought this was going to be attachment. What do you usually have? Is it Jeffrey? I I You're unhappy too. You're
usually a lot more a lot more joy joist. This has been a long me too. I woke up at 5:00. No, but I never wake up. I I'm retired.
I wake up at 9. It's just been a long time. Go ahead. It's not coming up. Can we um Would you please Oh, sorry. Uh it wasn't plugged in completely. Yeah. Oh god. It's doing something.
Got it. You got it. Okay. Can they see it? Can uh can the board see the slides? We don't seem to We don't see the slides. I see it on mine. They don't I don't. No, I see your uh restaurant. Well, that
you know you you see that's because you you were talking about that. No. Yeah, I see that. That we see. I don't you know I want to see a now I see it. Okay. Should I I see that. Do you want us to see something else? Cuz that's all I'm
saying. Yes. It went away. That's what we're saying. So he was trying cuz it was going to go like around. I know. But let's try this.
Well, they got [Music] this. They got to come back. They better cuz I I was ready to say no anyway. Yep. He got it up here. So, I'll turn around. I'm not turning over. You got to fix
that. Oh. It's there. Yay. Okay. Technical issues are resolved. I hope. Okay. Now we're cooking. It's just too big, but make it work.
I know. All right. Sorry about that. Okay. Um Okay. So, the lot is located at the intersection of Lincoln and Columbia Avenue, right? Mhm. Oh, yes. site. Um,
as Michael indicated, the lot is about uh 1336 ft uh 20 foot wide and about 66.75 uh long. Uh, currently there's a a two-story structure with uh uh with a
singlestory two-car garage in the back of the building. Um, and uh we are proposing uh uh additional story. to make it a three-story. And uh there's a small addition in the back uh which would go over the garage. Uh not fully
uh covering it, but uh partially. Um I'm going to quickly go through um the current uh and then the the proposed site plan. Um as indicated, the garage um along the the garage has an
access from the side street uh and uh the the main entrance is located on the the Lincoln Street. The garage is on the Columbia Avenue. Um going to quickly go through the floor plans. Uh this page has three uh drawings. The the one on the left is the the existing condition
uh um uh basement level or uh the seller. Uh then the middle is the the demolition plan and then the the proposed plan on the on the right side. Um this uh level is going to remain more
or less as is. There's no change proposed. Uh uh just uh a little uh the access step would be rebuilt. Um now coming to the main level. Um this one is uh there are two bedrooms and uh I mean there are three bedroom
and a and a living area with a kitchen on the back. It's a um more like a split level. Um the the the front of the building is lower and then the the back where the staircase and the connection to the garage is it's uh elevated uh about three 3 and 1/2 ft.
Um and uh the the proposed layout uh as you can see it will have um two partial units. the the unit number back uh one would have access from the back and then uh uh unit number one will have access from uh uh from the through Lincoln uh
Lincoln Street and I skipped the plan. Sorry. Uh as you can see there uh the uh entrance to unit number two which would what unit number two? Unit number two is uh located towards the front of the building along
uh Lincoln Avenue and this is the access point uh for link uh unit number two and then unit number one access is uh along the the Colombia Avenue and that's how it is right now. So just kind of reiterating uh it will remain um like
that um Go. I'm going to quickly go through the unit number one layout. As I indicated, the side entry here uh come in the living and a kitchen area is located with a windows overlooking the um uh the
Columbia Avenue. And then um uh the staircase will lead to the second level which would be um over here. And the two bedrooms are located uh two-bedroom, two bath is located on the on the second
level. Um unit number one, um that's that. Unit number two, uh you have uh one bedroom on the first floor and then uh um two bedroom would be located on the upper floor with uh the kitchen and the um living areas.
Um this is the uh third floor plan which uh again extends uh the unit number two has uh you know two bedrooms I mean one bedroom and uh um a small rack room located over here. Um, and then the
master bedroom uh is is uh located towards the back. So, I I have a question real quick. Unit number two is a duplex. Yes. Okay. Oh, sorry. No, actually the owner uh he's uh is basically, you know, is going to occupy it. So, you know, that unit is a
little larger. It's close to 1,800 ft² and uh that's why, you know, he decided to keep it that way. Okay. Can you go back on slide? I'm explaining. Yeah, go back. I mean, it's it's a crisscross, so that's a little Yeah. Um, which level you want me to go to? Hold on. See this?
Well, I'm You've lost me. Go to another. I can start at the first. He's going to explain it to me real quick. Can you make it large? Make it large so that we can see. Yeah. All right. Okay. Right there. Okay. So, let me go to the first level.
Go to the first level. Go ahead. Which one is the first level? this uh the one on the right side. That's the proposed plan. Wait, let him explain. Wait, then let him excuse me. If you're speaking for the record, you have to
speak up. Oh, sorry. Yeah. Well, let him explain it. Okay. Yeah, but it's a duplex. That's why you could Okay. All right. Go ahead. Um, so again, this is a a two family house and the the two units are located on three levels. So that's
why you know the the the staircase are interior staircase for creating that duplex situation. Um unit number two as I said has a access or the entry door on the um on the Columbia Avenue and that's how it is. Uh it exists right now. Um
once you come in you have the the open kitchen and a living area here. Uh and then the staircase will take uh go to the the second level. I see. Um there are coke closet. Uh some of the utility closets are located here. Uh a bedroom
towards the front of the building with uh where the windows are. And then uh one bathroom. This is the whole bath. Uh and then the staircase towards the uh at the Lincoln Avenue side, you know, or Lincoln Street, sorry. Uh that door will will
uh go to the second floor. Uh and that's unit number two. Okay. So now going to the second floor. Uh I'm just going to cover the unit number one which is on the back which is continuation of the first floor. Uh as you come up here you have uh master bedroom with the attached
bath and a closet and then the second bedroom with the with the hall bath. Uh now towards the front of the building as you come up the stairs you have kitchen and then the living area located here.
Uh and then one bedroom and a hall bath uh towards the uh along the the Lincoln Street side. Okay. Uh again once you come around and and go to the third level uh taking this stair um it will
come here where you have one two uh two bedrooms. Um, another master with a with a attached bath, walk-in closet, and then uh second bedroom, hall bath here, and then a recreation area,
recreck room uh towards the uh Lincoln Street side. And then again, this staircase will uh lead to the roof deck. Okay, which is over here. Um there's a setback to the roof deck from uh from a front
about uh 11 ft. And then from the side uh the third story is set back 3 ft from uh side the side property line and then the roof deck is another three-foot setback. So overall uh where the edge of the roof deck to uh the property line is
about 6T setback. Okay. Um the the um the condensers are um located in a screened area on the roof. Um going to quickly jump to the elevations. So these are the two existing
elevations. Uh um the one on the left is uh um Lincoln Street and then uh the one on the right is uh um Colombia Street. Um as you can see the existing entrance and then to two uh car garage um along the the Columbia
Avenue. I'm going to quickly jump to the proposed elevations now. Okay. Um so uh we basically the existing structure is twotory with a with a ornate cornice. So we kind of kept that
as is and then uh uh the the third story addition you know we created another corner. So that's why you see the two and then the third story is set back 3 ft from the uh from the uh Columbia Avenue side. So it kind of creates a nice detail and a and a step back uh
with the with the ornate corn is which is uh which exists uh at the moment. Um overall the material treatment uh is horizontal siding um and uh we're trying to keep the um the ornet cornice um um
as is or or similar to what uh what it what exists there. um double hung windows. Um you know, fairly straightforward. The the u uh sighting would would continue around uh along the uh Columbia Avenue
and then the uh the rear of the building. Um and the the existing garage which has a uh little brick facade which is dilapidated right now. We're going to just kind of cover it up with a with a stucco.
Um and uh of course the the new garage door which kind of blends with the with the current style of uh the the architecture. And uh um quickly go to these are the existing um side
elevations which are really not visible for to it full extent. Um there's a rear elevation uh the comparison as you can see uh twotory versus three story with a the balcony uh from the from the um second
floor. Um and then this is uh along the um the uh the neighboring side on uh on uh Lincoln Street which is uh which is going to remain uh plain. We are not
putting any windows on that side. Um, guess that's about it. I can answer any questions now. Thank you. Sorry about that. That's all right. Yeah, you kind of went too fast. Well, we're good. I have one more witness, professional planner. Okay, we
could have uh Caroline Wel sworn in. We We know her. Hi. Do you swear or affirm the testimony you're about to give in this proceeding with the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth? I do.
It's Carolyn Burstelle. W O R S T E L L. Good evening to the board. Um my current my license is still is current and in good standing this evening. You were here last time, so yeah, we know. Go ahead. Um so again, so we're here
this evening for two variances with relation to this uh proposed um expansion of the existing two family home. One is for the rear yard setback and then the second is that up uh the upper roof deck. Um these are both C variances. Um
and we can really look at these under both the C1 which is that hardship criteria as well as the C2 I think which is um you know the positive uh benefits outweigh the detriments. Um so starting off with the minimum roof deck or I'm
sorry with the rear yard setback. Um so obviously this is a very undersized lot. We are little over half the size um of what is required. In addition, we are a corner lot, which, you know, creates that unusual situation of the fact that
with a corner lot, you have two front yards, two sideyards, and then you have the rear lot point. So, the rear yard setback really creates that little like corner in the in the rear yard. And that's sort of what the the ordinance requires and and what you result with
when you apply the the zoning. Um in this case it requires essentially a setback of five feet along the short side of the lot and about 19 um is it no 17 about 17 along the the long side of
the lot. Um we've created uh the existing ground floor has 100% lot coverage. We're not touching that. So the creation of the the rear yard that we're providing is really for those upper stories. And in this case, what we're creating is a a rear yard setback
that um is compliant on that short side. You've got the five feet, but it doesn't meet that 17. But we think overall the what is being created is actually uh superior to what is required by the ordinance. Um because what we're doing
is we're providing that clear um uh I think it's approximately 9 foot almost 10 feet. It's 9 ft 11 in I believe setback along the entire rear of that um property. So what that does is it creates that clear space for more light
and air to reach the interior corner. Whereas a conforming setback would result in essentially that little courtyard, but you wouldn't have necessarily all the light you would be getting from the side from from the side street. So we think overall that this
results in a better um situation. and it does provide more light and air. Um, and when you actually sort of look at how much u massing void, you know, essentially the space on the lot that should be left
empty um from comparing a conforming um rear yard setback versus what we're providing uh we actually are providing more void on this property with this setback than you would with conforming. Um, additionally, um, because of the way
we we didn't do a shadow study for this property, we're under the 40 feet where you you trigger the requirement. Um, but just generally knowing and understanding light and shadows and the fact that this lot has its oriented, the rear yard is on the south side of the property. So,
we're really not going to be creating a large shadow impact to those adjacent properties because they're to the south of us. We don't cast shadows that way. our shadows are going to be cast to the streets on either side or to the adjacent property which already has
essentially you know a full lot coverage on that property. Um so we really don't we won't have be having significant you know adverse shadow impacts uh as a result of this uh setback. When we look at the minimum roof deck setback,
um, strict reading of the ordinance essentially means that you're supposed to have the 10-ft setback on all street frontages. So, because we're corner, we would need a 10-ft setback both not only from Lincoln, but also from the side street. Uh, we provided on Lincoln, but
on the side street creating that 10-ft setback really makes a very limited area that we can create and have the outdoor space. Um the lot is actually even narrower than typical. It's only 20 feet wide versus 25. So we're starting from a
place where we're even narrower and then we'd have to have that 10-ft setback. So it really limits the area that we do provide. Um however, we are providing still providing a setback. Uh there is still a three-foot setback from the facade of the third floor. And because
that facade is even set back from the existing, you know, first and second floor facade that it it ends up being that we have over a six-foot setback from the uh from that um is it Colombia
um from the Columbia Avenue facade. So we still are providing a facade a setback um but it it's more um it's reduced which we think is appropriate considering the fact that um we have a we start with from a place of a narrower lot to begin
with. Um so I think you know again we we have these um the the C1 criteria which is the fact that we have these hardships relating to the fact that we have an undersized lot. It's narrower than typical. much shallower than typical. Um, so I think that we we can look at it
in that respect and say providing some relief here is warranted. Uh, but I also think we meet that site C2 criteria that the benefits here are outweighing those detriments. And I think the benefits here are the fact that we are creating um what we think is a a rear yard that
is um better than what would be um permit or what would be result from a a a conforming rear yard. We're providing more light and air because we have the clear uh space straight from the Columbia uh street frontage and because
we're we're providing we are still providing some additional that set back up on for the the roof deck. Um I do think that this project prov uh promotes uh the municipal land use law. Um you know it's promoting a um a an appropriate residential use of the
property consistent with purpose A. Um we are providing and maintaining adequate light air and open space to the surrounding properties consistent with purpose C. Um as I mentioned by providing that that rear yard setback. Um we are uh promoting a a desirable
visual environment consistent with purpose I uh with the renovation of the building facades and some additional landscaping on the um street frontages the sidewalks. Um so I think overall we result in having a more attractive building here at the corner. Okay. I
don't see that there is a substantial detriment to the general welfare. Um, as I said, it's it's a conforming use. Um, and we're essentially renovating uh this this property. Nor do I see it uh resulting in a substantial impairment to the intent or purpose of the zone plan
or the zoning ordinance. Um it's consistent with the intent of the RO1 district to accommodate existing housing, encourage compatible infill, preserve the streetscape, um uh and and uh just results uh in in a a development
that's really trying to meet that intent of that R1 district. Um so I think overall the project meets both the positive and negative criteria and the variances could be granted. Okay, great. Thank you so much. And that does conclude our direct testimony. Uh I
believe it is maybe a complicated project in terms of uh stairways and uh duplexes, but it's hopefully in my opinion a simpler project in terms of variances and we're happy to answer any questions. Do the board members have any um do the board members have any
questions? No, he answers. Okay. Okay. Can we have um staff comments? Yeah. Um I don't want to add too much.
Um I just would like to point out some of the positive criteria that makes this project uh worthwhile. One of that being that there are green roof trays and three new street trees added which will improve
the storm water mitigation of the site which is currently at 100% law coverage. I also believe that the project improves the streetscape by replacing the facade materials and adding onto the existing
cornice as well as um extending what the what cornice is already there improving the aesthetic of the building and it will also bring the building into building and fire code standards. So with that, planning staff would ask that
the applicant agree to the staff conditions outlined in the memo uh dated April 21st. That's fine. Yes. And uh planning staff recommends approval. Okay. Okay. So if there's no more
questions, may I have a motion? Madam Chan. Okay. Madam Chair, Madam Chair, I'd like to make a motion to approve KZ2024-0056 as presented to the board this evening. I second.
Roll call. Commissioner Shadid, yes. Commissioner Patel, yes. Commissioner Bole, yes. Commissioner Baron, yes. Acting Vice Chair Allen, yes. Acting Madame Chair
rule. Yes. Motion carries. Six in favor, none opposed. All right. Good. Congratulations. Thank you. Good night. Good night. Good night. So, we don't have any resolutions. All right. So, can I have a motion to
adjurnn? I motion second. Okay.