Plannng Board

City of Trenton Planning Board Special Called Conference and Public Hearing Thursday, October 28, 2021 Via Microsoft Teams or phone: 609-436-9298 The Conference ID is 412 046 968# Members in Attendance: Dan Fatton, Chair John McBride, Vice Chair Randy Baum Jamie Carpenter Jeff Halpern Charles Romanow Anthony Santora Wanda Swiggett Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed Members Not in Attendance: Marcus Green Joe Harrison Staff in Attendance: Jeff Wilkerson, Principal Planner Michael Kolber, Senior Planner George McGill, Planning Board Attorney Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary PUBLIC HEARING Current Planning Board Membership (as of 10/28/21) Class Term Ending Date Board Member I (Mayor’s Representative) Mayor’s Term Marcus Green II (City Employee) 12/31/21 Anthony Santora III (City Council 12/31/21 Joe Harrison Representative) IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 Patricia Ni’ma- Mohammed IV (City Resident) 12/31/23 Randy Baum IV (City Resident) 12/31/21 Jeff Halpern IV (City Resident) 12/31/23 Dan Fatton IV (City Resident) 12/31/21 Wanda Swiggett IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 John McBride ALTERNATES IV (City Resident) 12/31/21 Jamie Carpenter IV (City Resident) 12/31/22 Charles Romanow 1  PUBLIC HEARING Mr. Fatton called the meeting to order at 6:03pm and a quorum was verified. Approved Resolution for Vista Center Development, LLC for 434 Greenwood Avenue Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X John McBride, Vice Chair X X Randy Baum X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Marcus Green X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Approved the Minutes of August 12, 2021 Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X John McBride, Vice Chair X X Jamie Carpenter X Jeff Halpern X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X Wanda Swiggett – abstain X Approve the Minutes of August 26, 2021 Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X John McBride, Vice Chair X X Jamie Carpenter X Jeff Halpern X Charles Romanow X X Anthony Santora X Wanda Swiggett X Randy Baum X 2 Approval of Minutes of September 23, 2021 Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X John McBride, Vice Chair X X Jamie Carpenter X Jeff Halpern X X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X Wanda Swiggett X Randy Baum X Approval of Resolution 640 Greenwood Avenue as amended (Amendment to resolution reporting the park name) Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Randy Baum X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X X Approve Resolution for Athing Mu Park as amended (Amendment—resolution of support and update the name of the named street) Member Aye Nay Ab- Motioned Seconded stain Dan Fatton, Chair X X John McBride, Vice Chair X Jamie Carpenter X Jeff Halpern X Charles Romanow X Anthony Santora X X Wanda Swiggett X Randy Baum X Patricia Ni’ma-Mohammed X Mr. Kolber announced that the City has decided to extend the public comment period for the Land Development Ordinance process until December 31st in order to maximize community engagement. The Board suggested that advertisement of the extension be sent out in the City’s monthly newsletter. He does not believe any specific project will be held up because of the extension. 3 The Zoning Board is in need of applicants. Resumes and Letters of Interest are being taken by Ray Bucchi and he can be reached at rbucchi@trentonnj.org. Item #1 • Presentation: Downtown Redevelopment Area Plans The City of Trenton is receiving support from the NJ Department of Community Affairs to update redevelopment area plans in Trenton’s downtown. This update proposes to align them with the Trenton250 Master Plan, the Capital City Renaissance Plan, the Creek to Canal Plan, and the ongoing update to the City’s Land Development Ordinance. Work has commenced on this project. The presentation will review the preliminary work that has taken place so far on this project. The public will have the opportunity to ask preliminary questions about the process and to provide insights into goals and concerns within the redevelopment areas. Mr. Bob Tessier introduced the project. He indicated that there are 2 resolutions pending before the City Council that are seeking to get on the docket. Via a screenshare he reviewed the process for Redevelopment Plans. He noted that the Resolutions for all Redevelopment Plans in Trenton have not yet been located so that process is being evaluated. Once the Resolutions are addressed review of those plans and whether they should include condemnation powers will be recommended. He described the additional plans that will be reviewed to make determinations about the Redevelopment Plans. Referencing the maps in the presentation he described the areas under consideration. He reviewed some of the criteria used to determine if an area is in need of Redevelopment. The first working committee meeting will be November 9, 2021. The City Council asked DCA to do a report on these Redevelopment Areas as the process is statutorily required so it is unknown what happens if the City Council does not complete a certain part of the process in order to designate an area in need of Redevelopment. Ms. Rachel Lattimer-Cogsville sought clarification on the construct and operation of the working group looking at this process. She noted that a billboard about the Trenton250 Master Plan is needed in order to make the community aware of what it is and what it exists and how they can engage. Mr. Kolber indicated that the City is offering any group who wants to have a presentation about the Land Development Ordinance and 10 groups has accepted to date. Called at 6:49p Item #2 Presentation: Transit-Oriented Development Redevelopment Area Plans The City of Trenton received a Transit and Community Development Initiative Grant from the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission to update seven redevelopment area plans around the Trenton train and light rail stations. This update proposes to align them with the Trenton250 Master Plan, the Transit- 4  Oriented Development Strategic Plan, and the ongoing update to the City’s Land Development Ordinance. Work has commenced on this project. The presentation will review the preliminary work that has taken place so far on this project. The public will have the opportunity to ask preliminary questions about the process and to provide insights into goals and concerns within the redevelopment areas. Mr. Kolber described the consultants doing the work on the project. Via a screenshare Mr. Kolber outlined the designated area and what surrounds it currently. He noted that this is the first step in implementing the Redevelopment Plans. The City is looking to take advantage of the usage of the major assets of the City. This project is on a tight timeline because it is grant funded with an expiration of June 2022. Mr. Kolber described some of the goals of focusing on this area and having a priority of triggering economic development for this area. A planning meeting has been done with all of the government stakeholders as they utilize a lot of space within the City. The reconsideration of any boundaries will be brought to the Planning Board as they start to consider whether or not 42 Redevelopment Plans are desired in Trenton. The team will also come back to the Planning Board with each step of their planning action to make sure desired targets are addressed and to get input on specifics as early as possible. Mr. Kolber indicated that he would distribute this presentation to the Board. Ms. Octavia sought clarification on completion date. Ms. Rachel Lattimer-Cogsville indicated that she was very excited to see what is happening in the City regarding these plans. Case called at 7:12p Item #3 Presentation: Bellevue/Rutherford Redevelopment/Rehabilitation Area Plan On March 3, 2016, the Trenton City Council passed a resolution to accept the Planning Board recommendation to designate the area known as the “Bellevue Rutherford Study Area” as an area in need of redevelopment and rehabilitation and authorizing the development of a redevelopment and rehabilitation plan. A draft plan for the redevelopment and rehabilitation of this area, which includes the former Mercer Hospital and surrounding neighborhood, has been released for public comment. The presentation will review the draft plan. The public will have the opportunity to ask questions about the plan and provide feedback. Mr. Kolber introduced Ms. Octavia Sutphin, President of the Neighborhood Improvement Association (NIA). Ms. Sutphin introduced the project, the founding of NIA, and the partnerships that NIA engages in order to improve that part of Trenton. Mr. Mark Sullivan, a Principal Planner and Architect with Clarke, Canton, and Hintz, via screenshare gave an overview of the concepts for this project area. He described the benefits and functionality of a Redevelopment Plan in City Planning. He outlined the area under consideration and the proposed potential for what can be developed in the area. He described 5 the thinking behind encouraging limited retail in the area in order to boost the retail establishments’ success. He highlighted where open space might be located and where playground area might be designated. Welcoming public space is designed into the recommendations. He noted that the Central -West Redevelopment Area overlaps this area and they are recommending that this plan supercede the Central-West Redevelopment Area. Mr. Tim Eismeier and Mr. Doug Bacher were introduced. Mr. Eismeier described what could be done with the largest land parcels in the Redevelopment Area and detailed the financial scope of the proposed development for the area. He estimated $167M based on the hard cost of construction and the assumed multipliers such as the spending of those who would move into the area, their incomes, and new job creation. Mr. Sullivan described the community meetings held to engage the input of the surrounding community and a follow-up meeting that is planned. There is a building run by SERV Behavioral Health that is not included in the Redevelopment Area because it does not meet the Redevelopment criteria. The Board may want to reconsider its inclusion should it impact access issues mentioned in the presentation. It was recommended that the Serenity Garden remain in place and needs to be designated as open space so that it does not get designated as eligible for infill. It also needs to be relocated on the plans. It was also recommended that the three significant church buildings on the street should be acknowledged on these plans. Ms. Rachel Lattimer-Cogsville indicated that if this project happens others within the City will feel empowered to believe that such development can happen in their part of the City. There has not been a specific request to include a cannabis educational or research facility in this plan. It can be included if the community desires to have it included and once the City makes its intent clear. Additional comments can be provided in the next 2 weeks via the website. The CCRC has a response to comments submitted and has a draft of a memo assembled that will direct the consultant on what to change, update, and include in the planning. There will be a list that will have all of the changes that will be made. The cannabis ordinance recommends that the Planning Board assemble an application for the oversight board and rules for the process. A Board Designee is included on the list of the group to be assembled to draft the application and guidelines. Meeting Adjourned at 8:07pm Cherry Oakley, Planning Board Secretary 6