May 2000

Planning Board Ignores Public Outcry, Approves Towers

The proposed towers would rise 365 feet above the Palisades.

On Tuesday, May 9, the Jersey City Planning Board approved amendments to the Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan that will increase the building height limit on the site owned by United Diversified, LLC, of Bayonne from 110 to 440 feet. The tumultuous hearing pitted residents of Jersey City and Hoboken who have been waging a campaign to defeat the proposed 43-story Millennium Towers against a crowd of union members appearing on behalf of the developer. The Planning Board Chairman, Gerald Sheehan, did little to quell the boisterous outbursts by union members during the testimony. Of the 33 people testifying before the Board, only four spoke in favor of the amendments, two of whom were union officials.

Despite the objections voiced by public speakers, including blocking views from and to the Palisades, lack of planning, and increased traffic and densities, the Planning Board devoted little time to discussing the merits of the amendments. The Board approved the changes with one dissenting vote by Scott Seale, a realtor, and an abstention by Councilwoman Melissa Holloway. Among the public speakers was Councilman Arnold Bettinger who said that he opposed the amendments because his constituents were against them.

The original amendments proposed at the first hearing on March 14 increased the height and density for the Millennium Tower site on the condition that New Jersey Transit designate a light rail stop at this location. Attorney John O'Donnell, representing United Diversified, directed the architect and traffic engineer for the Millennium Tower project as they made presentations to the Board at the March 14 meeting. During the May 9th hearing, City officials distributed for the first time a package of amendments that would lower densities and make changes for the remainder of the Jersey Avenue Redevelopment Plan in an attempt to appease community groups. The only people placated by the changes, however, were several leaders from the Hamilton Park Neighborhood Association.

The Millennium Towers project includes 551 luxury residential apartments, 850 parking spaces and 170,000 square feet of retail space. The site is located south of the Erie Lackawanna tracks, between Jersey Avenue and Grove Street. The developer is proposing to build over the Hudson-Bergen Light Rail Transit tracks, creating what amounts to a private light rail station for his building. All traffic from this project would spill onto two of only three major thoroughfares connecting Jersey City to the south end of Hoboken. The heavy traffic leaving Hoboken from these routes are headed to the Holland Tunnel, New Jersey Turnpike, Routes 1&9 and various destinations in Jersey City.

Mayor Bret Schundler and his staff have been vigorously pushing the Millennium Towers project despite the fact that the developers, who own the 3.1 acre property, owe $1.1 million in back taxes. The City of Jersey City, in fact, could begin foreclosure proceedings this month since the owners failed to make payment after being granted a 30-day extension in April.

In spite of the outstanding tax bill, the principals of United Diversified have stated that they are applying for a tax abatement. The City of Jersey City has been regularly granting tax abatements for major waterfront projects for the past 20 years. As part of the agreement to make a payment in lieu of taxes, the developers have also been contributing to a "recreation fund" divided equally among the nine City Council members, to be used at their discretion. According to a May 13 article in the Jersey Journal, the State Board of Local Government Services has put an end to this practice which provided a financial incentive for Council members to approve abatements and also to amend zoning to allow bigger projects.