Planning Board

1 1 CITY OF UNION CITY HUDSON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY 2 PLANNING BOARD 3 : REGULAR MEETING : TRANSCRIPT OF 4 : --------------------: PROCEEDINGS 5 6 Union City High School Media Center 7 2500 Kennedy Boulevard Union City, New Jersey 8 9 Tuesday, January 28, 2025 Commencing at 6:00 p.m. 10 11 M E M B E R S P R E S E N T: 12 ALEJANDRO VELAZQUEZ, Chairperson YDALIA GENAO 13 ALICIA MOREJON JOSE GUARENO, Alternate #1 14 HECTOR OSEGUERA, Alternate #2 15 M E M B E R S A B S E N T: 16 BRIAN T. STACK, Mayor CELIN J. VALDIVIA, Commissioner 17 CAROLINA FERNANDEZ FRANKLIN MEDINA 18 19 A L S O P R E S E N T: 20 BRIAN CHEWCASKIE, ESQ. Board Counsel 21 CARLOS VALLEJO, Board Secretary 22 DAVID SPATZ, P.P. 23 24 SUSAN BISCHOFF CCR CO. 25 201-390-0583 SBischoffccr@yahoo.com  2 1 A P P E A R A N C E S: 2 BIANCA PEREIRAS, ESQ. Attorney for Applicant, Shaista, LLC 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  3 1 I N D E X 2 PAGE 3 CALL TO ORDER 7 4 SALUTE TO FLAG 7 5 ROLL CALL 8 6 ADOPTION OF MINUTES 9 7 HEARINGS 4700 Bergenline Avenue 10 8 507 West Street 18 Shaista, LLC 24 9 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS 50/52 10 ADJOURNMENT 54 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  4 1 I N D E X 2 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 4700 Bergenline Avenue 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 JOHN BARREE 11 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 10 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 11 Exhibit A Redevelopment study dated 10/11/24 15 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  5 1 I N D E X 2 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 507 West Street 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 DAVID SPATZ 19 6 7 E X H I B I T S 8 9 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 10 Exhibit A Redevelopment study dated 12/12/24 22 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  6 1 I N D E X 2 SHAISTA, LLC 522-524 32nd Street 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 MANUEL PEREIRAS 26 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 10 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 11 A-1 3-D rendering 27 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  7 1 MR. VALLEJO: May I have your attention, 2 please. Please take notice that on Tuesday, 3 January 28, 2025, at 6:00 PM, a regular meeting is 4 scheduled for the City of Union City Planning 5 Board to be held in the Union City High School 6 located at 2500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Union 7 City, New Jersey. 8 Opening statement: This meeting is 9 called in compliance with chapter 231 public law 10 of 1975, Open Public Meeting Act. Adequate notice 11 of this meeting has been provided as follows: 12 Notice of this meeting setting forth the time, 13 date, location, and the agenda to the extent known 14 was forwarded to The Jersey Journal, The Hudson 15 Reporter, and The Record, has been posted on the 16 bulletin board in City Hall and has been made 17 available to the public in the office of the 18 municipal clerk, and also the website of the City 19 of Union City. 20 Before we call roll for tonight's 21 meeting, can everybody kindly rise to salute the 22 flag? 23 24 (Whereupon, the Pledge of Allegiance is 25 recited.)  8 1 ROLL CALL: 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: Mayor Stack is absent. 4 Mr. Velazquez. 5 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Here. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Commissioner Celin 7 Valdivia is absent. Miss Genao. 8 MS. GENAO: Yes. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 10 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Fernandez is absent. 12 Mr. Medina is absent. Mr. Guareno. 13 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 15 MR. OSEGUERA: Here. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Let the record indicate 17 there are five present. 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  9 1 ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: All right. Adoption of 4 minutes. Regular meeting held on November 26, 5 2024, can I have a motion? 6 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 8 Any Second. 9 MR. GUARENO: Second. 10 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Guareno. 11 Roll call on the motion. 12 Mr. Velazquez. 13 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 15 MS. GENAO: Yes. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 17 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 18 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 19 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 21 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 23 carries. We're moving to the agenda. 24 25  10 1 HEARINGS/APPLICATIONS: 2 1. 4700 BERGENLINE AVENUE - 3 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION: 4 5 MR. VALLEJO: Hearings on tonight's 6 agenda is first 4700 Bergenline Avenue. 7 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Just briefly, everyone, 8 this Board adopted a resolution on November 9, 9 2024, referring this matter to the planning board 10 to undertake an investigation of 4700 Bergenline 11 Avenue listed as Block 276, Lot 1. This 12 investigation is to determine whether the property 13 would qualify as an area in need of redevelopment. 14 To assist the Board in their review a study was 15 prepared by Heyer Gruel and Associates. That 16 study was dated October 11, 2024, and its entire 17 area in need of redevelopment investigation report 18 CVS - Capital Theatre. That report was put on 19 file with the planning board and the city's clerk. 20 We also provided notice of this meeting by 21 providing notice by certified and regular mail to 22 the property owner on November 26th and publishing 23 twice in The Jersey Journal which occurred on 24 January 6th and January 13th. Mr. John Barree is 25 here from Heyer Gruel to highlight aspect of the  11 1 report. And at the conclusion of Mr. Barree's 2 testimony, the Board will be requested whether to 3 recommend that the Board of Commissioners 4 determine the area to be an area in need of 5 redevelopment. If that does occur, the next step 6 would be a redevelopment plan which would be 7 prepared and then introduced by ordinance by the 8 Board of Commissioners. So unless there's any 9 questions, I believe we can swear in Mr. Barree 10 and go forward. 11 12 J O H N B A R R E E , after having been duly 13 sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 14 15 MR. BARREE: John Barree, B-A-R-R-E-E. 16 I'm a professional planner with the firm Heyer 17 Gruel and Associates. I've been here a couple of 18 times for these presentations in the past, it's 19 nice to see you all again. So, in the interest of 20 keeping things brief because I know you have other 21 items on the agenda, what we have is a 22 redevelopment study. Mr. Chewcaskie gave us a 23 very nice overview of the process. The property 24 in question is Block 276, Lot 1, it's 4700 25 Bergenline Avenue. So it's a nice chunk of  12 1 property between 47th and 48th Street on the north 2 end of the city. Currently, the property is 3 developed with a CVS and a small commercial strip 4 that has laundry, dry cleaner, and a physical 5 therapist's office along with a parking lot along 6 the 47th/48th Street side of the property. And 7 then the most notable is the old Capital Theatre 8 building that's located behind the CVS along the 9 47th Street frontage. 10 So, historically, there were twin 11 theatres side by side here on this property facing 12 Bergenline Avenue. Over the years, the property 13 has experienced some changes as the other 14 commercial developments came about and one of the 15 theatres was completely demolished and the 16 remaining portion of the theatre was partially 17 demolished. 18 This is a redevelopment study where the 19 pictures really speak for themselves. If you look 20 through the report starting on page 17, my 21 colleague Brooke here was nice enough to do a site 22 visit and investigation with some representatives 23 of the property owner and managed to take quite a 24 few pictures that really detail the conditions 25 well. You have the old remnants of the theatre  13 1 that have been gutted out. The conditions with 2 ventilation, lack of light, crumbling walls, and 3 ceilings, you can see those on page 23. There's 4 some open shafts throughout the building. Piles 5 of rubble, so within the theatre itself it's 6 certainly not occupiable. It hasn't been used as 7 a theatre in over 60 years at this point. And the 8 conditions in that portion of the building really 9 speak for themselves. 10 The CVS and the commercial buildings 11 themselves are in fair condition with the 12 exception of the basement of the CVS building that 13 used to have as a fitness center, a gym there, 14 that area experienced flooding. You can see some 15 pictures of that on pages 31 through 33. Standing 16 water, there's some really rough conditions down 17 in that portion and that's not occupiable at this 18 point and hasn't been for a number of years. 19 So we also have attached to the report, 20 there was a structural engineering inspection and 21 general physical condition inspection done by a 22 firm called Hudson Engineering. It's attached as 23 appendix H to the report. That does a more 24 technical substantiation of what the pictures show 25 and what our observations record.  14 1 As far as the redevelopment criteria go, 2 there's two here that really jump to the 3 forefront. Criteria A, talks about unsafe 4 conditions, lack of light, air, and space, and 5 unwholesome living or working conditions. 6 Certainly, the condition of the theatre which is a 7 substantial amount of the square footage and the 8 volume of the commercial space here demonstrate 9 those types of conditions, certainly not safe for 10 any kind of occupancy or use at this point in its 11 current conditions. And, likewise, the health 12 club space, the former health club space in the 13 basement of the CVS building with the standing 14 water further demonstrate unsafe and unsuitable 15 conditions for occupancy. 16 Then, in addition, besides Criteria A, 17 we have Criteria B in play as well. That criteria 18 deals with substantial vacancy of commercial 19 property for a period of at least two years. As 20 the report notes, the Capital Theatre, which is 21 probably more than half of the square footage and 22 certainly most of the volume of the property, it 23 is a tall four-story or so structure has been 24 vacant since the '60s. And the substantial 25 basement area in the CVS part of the building  15 1 currently vacant as well for a period greater than 2 two years. 3 So both of those criteria are met in my 4 opinion by the report and the evidence attached to 5 the report. So unless anybody requires anything 6 further, that's all I have for you this evening. 7 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Mr. Chairman, I just 8 for the record, suggest we should mark as Exhibit 9 A, the redevelopment study which was dated October 10 11, 2024. 11 12 (Redevelopment study dated 13 10/11/24 marked Exhibit A.) 14 15 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So I don't know if any 16 Board Members have questions, this would be the 17 time to ask those questions? Seeing none, I would 18 suggest we open to the public for any questions or 19 comments regarding this redevelopment study. 20 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Do we have any 21 public comments? 22 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Seeing none, Mr. 23 Chairman, as Mr. Barree indicated, the report has 24 been on file and review of the report will 25 indicate that the criteria appears to be satisfied  16 1 to designate the area an area in need of 2 redevelopment. This Board does not do that. This 3 Board, based upon the study, just recommends 4 whether in its opinion that based upon the Heyer 5 Gruel report that the area would qualify as an 6 area in need of redevelopment. So if that is the 7 Board's conclusion, it would be appropriate to 8 have a motion on that. And then I would prepare a 9 resolution for adoption at the next meeting for 10 the recommendation to the Board of Commissioners. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Can I have a motion? 12 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 13 MS. MOREJON: Motion. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Ms. Morejon. 15 Roll call on the motion to approve. 16 Mr. Velazquez. 17 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 18 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 19 MS. GENAO: Yes. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 21 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 23 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 24 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 25 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes.  17 1 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 2 carries. 3 MR. BARREE: Thank you, Commissioners. 4 * * * * 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  18 1 HEARINGS/APPLICATIONS 2 2. 507 WEST STREET - 3 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION: 4 5 MR. VALLEJO: Now we move to 507 West 6 Street. 7 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Okay. Similar to what 8 we've heard, this is another redevelopment. This 9 is the Bruce Walter Recreation Center and it's 10 also known as 507 West Street, it's Block 17, Lot 1. 11 The City adopted a resolution referring this 12 matter for the preliminary investigation on 13 October 8, 2024. And what has been prepared to 14 assist the Board in its review and recommendation 15 was a report prepared by Mr. Spatz, which was 16 dated December 12th. The non-condemnation 17 redevelopment area in need report which has been 18 on file with the city clerk and the planning board 19 secretary. So Mr. Spatz is prepared to go over 20 that report with respect to the conditions that 21 exist on this site and also to answer any 22 questions so it would be appropriate to have Mr. 23 Spatz sworn at this time. 24 25 D A V I D S P A T Z, after having been duly  19 1 sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 2 3 MR. SPATZ: Good evening. You heard 4 what the process is, you had one experience of 5 reviewing a redevelopment report. We were asked 6 to take a look at the Bruce Walter Recreation 7 Center property. As noted, it's Lot 1 in Block 17 8 and it has a street address of 507 West Street. 9 We're asked to look at whether it met the state 10 criteria for declaration of a site as a 11 redevelopment area, the state has about 10 or 11 12 various criteria you heard two of them described 13 earlier. As part of this process, the City had 14 commissioned several studies and reports. One of 15 them was by the Pennoni Group, they're an 16 engineering and planning firm. Another study was 17 done by Colliers Engineering, who is the different 18 name now, they're the City's consulting engineers 19 firm, and then an architectural firm also prepared 20 some structural reports. Those are all appended 21 to the report that was in the file and then the 22 reports were on the City's website. 23 We reviewed the reports, we visited the 24 property as well and we believe that there are 25 also at least two criteria of the state  20 1 redevelopment statute that are met by the site. 2 Criteria D, which is by reason of dilapidation, 3 faulty arrangement, or design, deleterious land 4 uses or any combination of these or other factors, 5 the improvements in the study area are detrimental 6 to the safety, health, morals, and welfare in 7 Union City and the surrounding neighborhood. Both 8 of the engineering studies that were done found 9 conditions on the site and in the building that 10 support the need to replace the building and 11 improve the property. 12 Primarily, the mason report found that 13 there were, from prior development on the 14 property, a number of voids underneath the base 15 flooring of the property. That would -- had 16 caused settling within the pool area as well as 17 other portions of the building itself. And the 18 Pennoni report found there was eight areas of 19 concern within report that they noted that met 20 various environmental conditions. A number of 21 them warranted some further investigation, some of 22 them they felt could be addressed. But there were 23 a number that required further study to determine 24 the impact of that and those were throughout the 25 building in various locations. So the combination  21 1 of both reports which indicated some structural 2 defects within the building itself that might not 3 be able to be met, we believe that Criteria D is 4 met. 5 The second criteria that we think is met 6 is Criteria H, which basically states that 7 redevelopment area can be created if smart growth 8 planning principles of the state's master plan, 9 it's the New Jersey development and redevelopment 10 plan, whether the smart growth principles are met 11 by designating the study area an area in need of 12 redevelopment. And we believe a number of those 13 purposes from the plan are met by this criteria 14 and the project, which again goes towards that the 15 City of Union City under the plan, we're the 16 metropolitan planning area. Some of the 17 principles for that include revitalization of the 18 states, cities, and towns, improvement of 19 livability and sustainability by investing public 20 resources in accordance with current plans. And 21 this project is in the master plan, where there's 22 a lack of available land and buildings to meet 23 some of these controls. So we think that this 24 criteria is met in a number of ways. 25 So based on that, at least two criteria  22 1 are met. Our recommendation was that this area be 2 declared an area in need of redevelopment. And 3 then the process, as Mr. Chewcaskie described, 4 will move forward. So I think that describes the 5 report which you all have copies of. I'll answer 6 any questions you have and obviously anything from 7 public. 8 MR. CHEWCASKIE: And then, Mr. Chairman, 9 as before we should mark Mr. Spatz's redevelopment 10 study as Exhibit A for purposes of the record. 11 12 (Redevelopment study dated 13 12/12/24 marked Exhibit A.) 14 15 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Also in this instance, 16 this was referred by the City, though it does not 17 appear to be any, let's call it immediate plans to 18 effect this area, but this is being done to 19 protect the City with regard to potential 20 findings. So that's why they've asked that this 21 study be done. 22 And as before, unless there are any 23 questions of Mr. Spatz, we should open to the 24 public for any questions. 25 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Any questions?  23 1 Does anybody from the public have any questions? 2 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Okay. And the same 3 thing, Mr. Chairman, it would be a motion to 4 recommend to the Board of Commissioners to 5 designate the area as an area in need of 6 redevelopment based upon the findings in Mr. 7 Spatz's study. 8 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I'm going to 9 make a motion. 10 MS. MOREJON: Second. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Motion to recommend by Mr. 12 Velazquez, seconded by Ms. Morejon. Roll call on 13 the motion. 14 Mr. Velazquez. 15 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 16 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 17 MS. GENAO: Yes. 18 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 19 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 21 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 23 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 24 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 25 carries. Thank you, Mr. Spatz.  24 1 PUBLIC HEARING: 2 3. SHAISTA, LLC - 3 552-524 31st STREET: 4 5 MR. VALLEJO: Now, we're moving to Item 6 Number 3, Shaista, LLC, 522-524 31st Street. Ms. 7 Pereiras, please. 8 MS. PEREIRAS: Good evening, Board 9 Members. May it please the Board, Bianca Pereiras 10 on behalf of Shaista, LLC, for property located at 11 522-524 31st Street, also known as Lots 41 and 42 12 in Block 170. I previously submitted my 13 jurisdiction submission to counsel. 14 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Yes. Mr. Vallejo did 15 provide me a copy via email yesterday. I've had 16 the opportunity to look at the affidavit of 17 service, application and mailing, it's in 18 appropriate order with the Board to proceed. 19 Before you begin, Ms. Pereiras, if I may 20 just bring the Board up to speed? We had a prior 21 application on this property, which was subject to 22 hearings in 2023. That application was denied by 23 the Board and resolution was adopted in July of 24 2023. The application that you have in front of 25 you has been revised primarily to provide for  25 1 parking on the property. Therefore, I'll ask Mr. 2 Spatz whether he agrees with me. My analysis is 3 that since there were changes to the application, 4 the applicant can proceed because I do not see any 5 issue of res adjudicata? 6 MR. SPATZ: So we reviewed the plan as 7 well and we've included this in our memorandum to 8 the Board. Some of the variances themselves is 9 have been modified. One of the major concerns at 10 the prior hearing was lack of parking and parking 11 has now been provided. They still need a 12 variance, but at least now some parking has been 13 provided. So we also think it's a significant 14 enough change in the plan that it could come back 15 before the Board. 16 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Then it would be 17 appropriate for the Board to proceed with this 18 application, Mr. Chairman. 19 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Proceed. 20 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you very much. 21 This property is located in a CN commercial zone, 22 wherein mixed-use properties are permitted, in 23 particular properties such as this, where we're 24 proposing a commercial unit on the ground floor 25 and three residential units above. As you heard,  26 1 this Board -- that application or a similar 2 application came before this Board in 2023, at 3 which point this Board said we want to see 4 parking. So here we are, with an application for 5 the mixed-use building plus parking. We believe 6 this addresses the concerns of the Board. And we 7 have one expert to testify and that is our 8 architect, Mr. Manuel Pereiras. 9 10 M A N U E L P E R E I R A S, after having been 11 duly sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 12 13 MR. PEREIRAS: Manuel Pereiras, 14 P-E-R-E-I-R-A-S, with Pereiras Architects 15 Ubiquitous, located at 1116 Summit Avenue, Union 16 City. 17 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Mr. Pereiras 18 has testified before this Board before, the 19 Board's fully familiar with his qualifications and 20 we accept him as an expert in the field of 21 architecture. 22 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you very much. 23 Mr. Pereiras, are you familiar with the 24 property at 522-524 31st Street? 25 MR. PEREIRAS: I am.  27 1 MS. PEREIRAS: And did you prepare the 2 drawings that are before the Board this evening? 3 MR. PEREIRAS: I have. 4 MS. PEREIRAS: Were you also the 5 architect of record on the prior application? 6 MR. PEREIRAS: I was. 7 MS. PEREIRAS: And if you could please 8 kindly describe the project for the Board? 9 MR. PEREIRAS: I'd be very happy to. I 10 have on the two easels here to my right, I have 11 one the same exact submission that was submitted 12 to the Board simply on the easel for presentation 13 purposes. And on the right easel, we created a 14 3-dimensional rendering as a representation of 15 what would be built, if this Board were to approve 16 it. So this is the 3-D artistic rendering, 17 Counsel, would you like me to mark it? 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: No need to mark the 19 submission to the Board because that's part of the 20 application. If you could mark the 3-D rendering 21 as A-1. 22 23 (3-D rendering marked A-1.) 24 25 MR. PEREIRAS: For purposes of the  28 1 record, I am marking the top left corner as A-1 2 with today's date. And to proceed, I think it was 3 summed up very well. I think the Board -- and I 4 don't want to speak for you -- but overall we were 5 very pleased with the building, but parking was 6 the big issue. So we had to think a little bit 7 outside the box to see how we're going to resolve 8 that, and I believe we have. 9 A little bit of housekeeping. Right 10 now, on the site there are two lots, one is 11 oversized and the other one is undersized. It's a 12 narrow lot. So one of the first things we're 13 doing is redistributing the lots so that it makes 14 sense and we're creating two oversized lots rather 15 than having one oversized and one undersized. So 16 the lot width is 50 overall, if you combine the 17 two and the depth is 110. So we're dividing this 18 perfectly in half, so we have two 25-by-110-foot 19 lots on the property. To do that, we're also 20 demolishing existing buildings that we have there. 21 We have the Domino's which has offices on the 22 second floor. And there's a small house there 23 that's just a one-family house right now, that's 24 in poor shape and we have to demolish it. 25 Turning to sheet Z-101, the second sheet  29 1 of our submission, we could see the two buildings 2 that we're proposing. As we can see here, the lot 3 is divided down the middle perfectly so that we 4 have 25 on each side. The building on the 5 left-hand side occupies the entire lot from left 6 to right, from west to east, and we have a zero 7 yard setback, which is exactly what our ordinance 8 requires for it to be, zero setback. We're 9 proposing a 4-foot rear yard setback. That's a 10 little bit out of the ordinary. However, the 11 reason it's appropriate here is that in order to 12 create parking on the site, what we did is we 13 pushed back the front yard setback to 23 feet. 14 That allows us to have parking for five vehicles 15 along the front of the property and have an 16 additional 5 feet for a beautiful walkway along 17 the side of the perimeter to create access to the 18 buildings. 19 So the building on the west has a front 20 yard setback of 23 feet, the building on the east 21 also has 23 feet; however, we have one additional 22 variance on that building. We thought it was very 23 important to create a life safety mechanism, so 24 that fire trucks could get fire protection and for 25 safety and access of the building. So we were  30 1 allowed to go to zero setback, but we're creating 2 a 3-foot setback in order to provide both light 3 and air to come into the building, so we can have 4 nice windows in the building, and so we could have 5 firemen access to both buildings through that 6 center aisle. 7 In addition to that, there's an open 8 driveway along the side of the building and along 9 the rear of the building, that's a parking lot of 10 another building that we have approved yet. And 11 that provides access to the building all around 12 the perimeter for fire safety as well. 13 The only other variance that we have is 14 parking. There is a demand for parking both for 15 the commercial units and the residential units. 16 Residential units, per our ordinance, require two 17 parking spaces per unit. We have three units on 18 one building and three units on the other. So we 19 have a total parking demand of twelve for 20 residential. And from a commercial standpoint, 21 we're required to have six parking spaces for each 22 of the buildings as well. Actually six on one 23 side and six on the other for twelve as well. 24 We're providing five parking spaces along the 25 front of the building.  31 1 The beauty of the way this works, too, 2 is that they work together. The parking is during 3 the day for the commercial spaces. And at night, 4 they're able to be used for residences upstairs. 5 So each of the residences, five of the residences 6 will have their own parking space in front of the 7 building. 8 And then as far as a variance standpoint 9 we're fully compliant, other than what I mentioned 10 now. The use is permitted, the zone specifically 11 recommends, both the master plan and the 12 ordinance, having commercial on the ground floor 13 with three residences above. We created exactly 14 that. Our setbacks, we're allowed to be zero on 15 both sides, we did a little step further, we're 16 stepping back 3 feet at the one side and zero on 17 the other. We have a rear yard variance setback 18 request because we're at 4 feet, that was in order 19 to accommodate the parking along the front of the 20 building and our building is setback 23 feet. As 21 far as building coverage, our coverage, we're 22 permitted to have 80 percent, we're only at 23 75 percent. Our lot coverage is permitted to be 24 100 percent, we're at 85.5 percent as well. So we 25 are compliant in all other ways.  32 1 And now I'd like to describe the actual 2 floor plans. We have two small basements in each 3 of the units, they're basically for mechanical 4 systems. These are going to be fully suppressed 5 fire suppression systems in each of these 6 buildings, So we have a sprinkler room and meter 7 room for that. We have stormwater management to 8 reduce the impact on our sewer systems, so we have 9 a bay for stormwater management and we have a 10 small storage room in the basement as well. 11 On the ground floor we see the two 12 commercial units. One is for Domino's. Domino's 13 currently is working out of a facility that is 14 subpar. They want to create -- and this is really 15 the generator of this project. The owner, who is 16 seated right here in the audience, he owns the 17 Domino's. And he wants to elevate it and make it 18 a great Domino's for the community. Redo the 19 kitchen, redo all the work, and have a space that 20 is actually able to service the community 21 appropriately. And that's what we're proposing on 22 the right-hand side. So as you could see here, it 23 is set up and designed already for Domino's. So 24 we're relocating the existing Domino's that's 25 there to the space on the right-hand side. And on  33 1 the left-hand side, it's open for a future tenant. 2 We don't know who that would be but it would be a 3 tenant that would service the community locally 4 and would fit the ordinance or they would have to 5 come back before the Board. 6 Also, on the ground floor you see the 7 residential vestibule entry. That is in the 8 center of the building, the two doors that you see 9 here independently, each building has their own 10 entrance. And that entrance leads you to the main 11 stairwell. That stairwell continues up the four 12 stories of the building. And we have an emergency 13 stairwell along the rear of the properties as 14 well. So we have a total of four stairwells in 15 this project that you see here. 16 When you go up the stairs, you open 17 towards the south and you have your living room, 18 dining room, and kitchen area. It's a beautiful, 19 nice large living room, dining room, and kitchen 20 area. It's 23.8-by-16.2 and 28-by-16.2 on the 21 other house. And then you have a hallway for the 22 more private areas of the house and it's a 23 three-bedroom house. The two bedrooms that are 24 10-by-12 share a common hallway bathroom. And 25 then there's a master suite along the back of the  34 1 property. That master suite is 12.6-by-16.9, it 2 has his and hers closets and a master bath as 3 well. Same thing on the other building. 4 We have this same design on two 5 additional floors. And then finally, setback on 6 the roof of the property, setback from the front a 7 total of 20 additional feet, so we're 23 feet from 8 the property line plus another 20 feet, so we have 9 43 feet from the property line, we have our roof 10 deck. And then in the rear, we have the 4 feet on 11 the ground, plus 22-foot, we have a total of 12 26-foot setback from the rear, two roof decks for 13 each the building, so that the occupants of the 14 buildings will have open outdoor space as well. 15 For the facades of the building, we are 16 creating something that really fits into the 17 character of Union City. We are proposing brick 18 buildings. So these are beautiful brick buildings 19 with three tones of brick, one for the columns, 20 one for the walls itself, and one for the headers 21 and sills of the windows, creating some beautiful 22 architectural detail there. The commercial spaces 23 have more of a sleek look, black frame with large 24 storefront glass, beautiful signage for Domino's 25 showing the Domino's logo and their title, their  35 1 name, nice and large on the building for identity. 2 And as you could see here, we have the 3 parking for five vehicles, which is the major 4 difference for the application that we have today, 5 with a clear walkway to get to the apartments, 6 nice and safe, beautiful. And I think we created 7 something that addressed your concerns and I hope 8 you feel the same way. That concludes my 9 testimony. 10 MR. CHEWCASKIE: If I may, Mr. Chairman. 11 Just trying to remember the testimony last time. 12 I guess focusing on the parking shared parking, 13 the Domino's exists on the site today? 14 MR. PEREIRAS: That's correct. 15 MR. CHEWCASKIE: There's no parking for 16 the Domino's? 17 MR. PEREIRAS: That is correct. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So with regard to the 19 shared parking, I know you said like during the 20 day, it would be the commercial, at night, for the 21 residential, but isn't Domino's pretty active into 22 the evening? 23 MR. PEREIRAS: It is. But typically 24 Domino's into the later hours, you have very -- 25 it's unusual to have more than one car at a time.  36 1 So the idea would be to keep one spot dedicated 2 for Domino's right in front of Domino's and the 3 other spots would go directly to the residents. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: When you say dedicated 5 for Domino's, that would be for pick up? 6 MR. PEREIRAS: Pick up and delivery. 7 MR. CHEWCASKIE: In terms of the 8 delivery, and I mean I don't know if you can 9 answer this, is that, you know, when we're dealing 10 with the evening hours, is the majority of product 11 going to be delivered or picked up? 12 MR. PEREIRAS: The majority is being 13 delivered. So today, Domino's does the majority 14 of their business, I think it was 70 something 15 percent is delivery. 16 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Then in addition, I 17 guess, just focusing on the shared parking, it 18 also would depend on what the other commercial use 19 would be? I mean is that -- it's almost if you 20 had another restaurant or some other type of use, 21 you might have a greater demand for the parking 22 where you won't be able to provide for the 23 residential. Just trying to get a flavor of 24 what's going on. 25 MR. PEREIRAS: And that's true for every  37 1 single spot along Bergenline Avenue and any 2 commercial spot in the City. 3 MR CHEWCASKIE: All right. I mean 4 you've answered my questions, I just think, you 5 know, I don't know how well the shared parking 6 will work. Certainly, you're providing parking, 7 but you know depending on the corner, which is now 8 undesignated and the volume at Domino's, unless 9 we're reserving spaces for residents at night, it 10 may be difficult to monitor. 11 MR. PEREIRAS: We're definitely 12 reserving spaces for residences, so four out of 13 the five will be for residences. 14 MS. MOREJON: Are these going to be 15 rental? 16 MR. PEREIRAS: Yes. 17 MS. MOREJON: So each tenants are going 18 to have parking spaces? 19 MR. PEREIRAS: Yes. 20 MS. MOREJON: That's -- 21 MR. PEREIRAS: Well, four of the six 22 will have a parking space, which statistically is 23 actually very good for parking in this area. 24 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: That structure 25 that's next door right now, that's a one-family?  38 1 MR. PEREIRAS: That's a one-family 2 house. It's currently occupied with a tenant, 3 They're about to move out. Mr. Shafiq is working 4 on a house in Jersey City that we've been working 5 on, those tenants are moving into that house. 6 This house is in desperate need of repair, 7 something has to be done with this property, 8 something has to be done with the Domino's. These 9 are properties that require rehabilitation. So 10 this will be our proposal to replace those two 11 properties. 12 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: How long is it 13 going to take to get the tenants relocated? 14 MR. PEREIRAS: I think -- well, we have 15 to finish the other property. So as soon as we 16 finish the other property, we're about two or 17 three months away from that. This project, if 18 this Board were to approve it, it would be another 19 month for the resolution and then Union City 20 permits will take me at least three months, 21 probably four. So we're talking about six to 22 seven months for this to take place. So the 23 tenants will not be displaced due to this project. 24 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Anybody have any 25 questions?  39 1 MS. MOREJON: I just have a question. 2 The color that you have there, what is on top, is 3 that green or block on top? 4 MR. PEREIRAS: This? 5 MS. MOREJON: That's a brick color. 6 MR. PEREIRAS: Yeah. 7 MS. MOREJON: And on the side what is 8 the color? 9 MR. PEREIRAS: This? 10 MS. MOREJON: The side? 11 MR. PEREIRAS: That's white, white 12 brick. 13 MS. MOREJON: It's going to be white? 14 MR. PEREIRAS: Whitish brick, yeah. 15 MS. MOREJON: And in the middle also 16 going to be white? 17 MR. PEREIRAS: Three white columns and 18 the color -- I'll make it whatever color you want. 19 I have no objection to changing colors. If you 20 like a different color, you tell me and I will 21 have it. 22 MS. MOREJON: The Board have to agree to 23 that. 24 MR. PEREIRAS: So the important thing 25 from a zoning standpoint and viewpoint is that  40 1 it's brick. 2 MS. MOREJON: Go ahead. 3 MR. PEREIRAS: Technically, the Board 4 and the construction officials when we go to build 5 this thing, they're going say is it brick, they're 6 going to check it off. The color in reality is 7 finally the end choice of the owner who is here, 8 When we go select the brick, and I help him select 9 the brick. That said, if you were to ask for a 10 particular color, we would be happy. 11 MS. MOREJON: What I'm looking, you 12 know, is the colors that we use on 32nd Street, 13 which is really nice, very elegant. 14 MR. PEREIRAS: They're all my buildings, 15 we can use the same brick. 16 MS. MOREJON: There's a big difference. 17 MR. PEREIRAS: We can do that, all of 18 those are my buildings. 19 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Manny, let me ask you a 20 question, I know probably somewhat out of the 21 Board's jurisdiction, but being familiar with the 22 City, the City will be concerned about the tenant. 23 And, basically, you know if the tenant's going to 24 be relocated, we would want that without cost to 25 the City.  41 1 MR. PEREIRAS: Yeah, absolutely. 2 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Sometimes, if something 3 happens, they're sitting upstairs at the mayor's 4 office and requesting rental assistance and that's 5 a concern, I just wanted to bring that out. My 6 understanding I think that house, because I've 7 been by and I don't think it's in great shape. 8 MR. PEREIRAS: So just -- so that you 9 understand a little bit of history behind this, 10 Mr. Shafiq Kahn has been very concerned of our 11 other project because he's had to move these 12 tenants over there. One of his concerns was 13 actually putting them into this space because he 14 didn't want to cause any trouble putting them in 15 here. So we've been balancing the timing of this 16 properly so that they are comfortable in 17 relocating to the new space. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Where -- and I guess, 19 you know, I know I'm jumping around because I'm 20 just trying to remember back to '23, I'm lucky I 21 could remember yesterday. But, you know, my 22 understanding is that people would park run in in 23 front of where the Domino's is today. 24 MR. PEREIRAS: That's correct. 25 MR. CHEWCASKIE: And that the delivery  42 1 driver was either parking in front or on the side 2 of the property. 3 MR. PEREIRAS: That's correct. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Okay. 5 MR. PEREIRAS: And I hope we've 6 addressed that issue. And now they actually have 7 a place to park, which is a huge improvement of 8 what's there, and would continue to be there if 9 this Board weren't to approve this. 10 MS. GENAO: I have a question. Are you 11 expanding Domino's or are you keeping it the way 12 it is right now? 13 MR. PEREIRAS: So we're demolishing the 14 existing Domino's that's there, and we're going 15 to -- here's our logistics plan of how we're doing 16 it. It's two buildings on-site. So our goal is 17 to keep Domino's open, demolish the one on the 18 right, build that one, move Domino's to there. 19 Then demolish the one to the left and build that 20 one. So that's our overall plan. So it will have 21 two phases. 22 MR. OSEGUERA: Won't the Domino's end up 23 on one side and not -- why would you move the 24 second time? You know, if you're going to do 25 that, don't you run the risk that the Domino's  43 1 will end up where it moves? 2 MR. PEREIRAS: So the Domino's right now 3 is on the left-hand side of the building. 4 MR. OSEGUERA: Right. 5 MR. PEREIRAS: We're keeping that as-is. 6 We're building this one, we're putting the 7 Domino's on the right-hand side. Once the 8 Domino's is operational, we'll demolish the other 9 one. 10 MR. OSEGUERA: Gotcha. 11 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: My only concern 12 is really with that structure with the people 13 living in there. 14 MR. PEREIRAS: And we could -- I'm not 15 sure, Counsel, how we could word it. 16 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Well -- 17 MR. PEREIRAS: To make assurances to the 18 City. 19 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I made some notes that, 20 you know, the property should not be demolished 21 until the tenant is relocated and such relocation 22 is not at the cost of the City. 23 MR. PEREIRAS: Yeah, we could agree to 24 that. 25 MR. CHEWCASKIE: That's my concern.  44 1 MR. PEREIRAS: Yeah. 2 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I just want to 3 really just do a site visit to that building. 4 MR. PEREIRAS: Yeah. 5 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: But I want to 6 make sure of that because I remember last time, if 7 memory serves me correct, I thought that was 8 vacant. 9 MR. PEREIRAS: I think it was vacant. 10 When we came before the application, but he had to 11 locate these tenants. So this was done just as a 12 temporary basis. Have them there, let's finish 13 the other property, and then he'll relocate them 14 over there. 15 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I was driving by 16 and all of a sudden, I saw Christmas decorations. 17 I was thinking that was vacant. 18 MR. PEREIRAS: He had the property, it 19 was available, that's what he did on a short-term. 20 They were actually supposed to be moved already, 21 it's just logistics haven't worked out yet. 22 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I would just 23 want to do one site visit over there and see how 24 we're going to proceed with that. My main concern 25 is the tenants.  45 1 MR. PEREIRAS: We understand. 2 MR. VALLEJO: Okay. 3 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: My other hat 4 that I deal with -- and it's even worse now, in 5 this climate and everything today -- we had about 6 17 evictions that came to the door with sheriffs 7 locking everybody out. 8 MR. PEREIRAS: Wow. 9 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So if I may suggest, 10 Mr. Chairman, at this point in time, I know 11 there's some people here, if we want to open to 12 the public. Then I would suggest that we carry 13 the application to the February meeting. 14 MR. VALLEJO: February 25th. 15 MR. PEREIRAS: I'm going to say two 16 cents just to the dangers of this. Because if 17 the applicants hear that you won't accept an 18 approval unless it's vacant, then they're going to 19 be vacating apartments prior to coming before the 20 Board. 21 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I don't think that it's 22 vacant, I just think, from what Alex said, he 23 wants to familiarize himself with the area again 24 to see how the parking works. 25 MR. PEREIRAS: That makes totally makes  46 1 sense. 2 MR. CHEWCASKIE: What it is. There is a 3 concern and I know the City's concerned with 4 people who live in building. 5 MR. PEREIRAS: Let's adjourn to look at 6 the property. 7 MR. CHEWCASKIE: We would look at the 8 property. I think you answered the question about 9 the tenant. 10 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: If memory serves 11 me correctly, I may be a little off, that island 12 where the bus stop is, how far does that go in? 13 MR. PEREIRAS: The bus stop? 14 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: That little 15 street, the bus stop, because sometimes -- I 16 always have always seen parking in the middle. 17 MR. PEREIRAS: There's three spots at 18 least right in front of the Domino's, parking 19 spaces, the bus stop is a little bit further. 20 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I'm just trying 21 think of where they come and they turn out. 22 MR. PEREIRAS: Remember that's still 23 section where there's a little sidewalk between 24 the other road and this road, so they have -- it's 25 pretty comfortable. All have people turning there  47 1 are the people going in to the parking between -- 2 off of Bergenline, the parking, the parallel 3 parking, that's over there. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So just so that I'm 5 clear, if I have my direction, you have the three 6 spaces in front and then to -- is that to the 7 west? 8 MR. PEREIRAS: The west would be that 9 direction. 10 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So to the east is where 11 the bus would stop? 12 MR. PEREIRAS: Correct. 13 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I just want to get my 14 direction. 15 MR. PEREIRAS: And it's not really 16 there, It's on the other end of the sidewalk. 17 CHAIRMAN VELAZQUEZ: I'm not talking 18 about the bus stop. It's the cars reversing out 19 of there. They're going have an obstruction with 20 that. 21 MR. PEREIRAS: The majority of the 22 traffic is of on the other side of that island. 23 That side has a lot less traffic. 24 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: We'll take 25 questions from the public, anybody? All right. I  48 1 move to adjourn this to the next meeting. 2 MR. CHEWCASKIE: What's the date? 3 MR. VALLEJO: February 25th. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So there's a motion to 5 carry the application to February 25th to allow 6 any Board Members to conduct a site visit. Is 7 there a second to that motion? 8 MR. OSEGUERA: Second. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Oseguera. 10 Roll call on the motion. 11 Mr. Velazquez. 12 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 14 MS. GENAO: Yes. 15 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 16 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 18 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 20 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 22 carries. 23 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So for anyone 24 interested in this application, the Board will 25 reconsider and vote on the application on  49 1 February 25th at 6:00 p.m. There will be no 2 further notice, this is your notice. So if you're 3 interested, mark your calendar for February 25th. 4 MR. PEREIRAS: Thank you. 5 * * * * 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  50 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 1. JBZ Enterprises, LLC, 588-590 32nd Street 3 Block: 204 Lots: 2 & 3. The applicant proposes to 4 construct a one-story addition over an existing 5 two-story mixed-use structure; there will be a 6 restaurant on the ground floor, 2 two-bedrooms 7 units on the second floor and four-bedroom unit o 8 the third floor. No parking is provided. Approved 9 10 MR. CHEWCASKIE: We do have two 11 resolutions, Mr. Chairman. Resolution number one 12 is JBZ Enterprises, that was the one-story 13 addition over the mixed use structure, the 14 restaurant on the first floor with apartments, two 15 two-bedroom units. There was a site visit, there 16 was a traffic study that was done and the Board 17 determined to approve that application. So we 18 would need a motion on the resolution. 19 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 20 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 21 MR. GUARENO: Second. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Guareno. 23 Roll call on the motion to memorialize the 24 resolution. 25 Mr. Velazquez.  51 1 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 2 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 3 MS. GENAO: Yes. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 5 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 6 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 7 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 9 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 10 MR. Vallejo: Five in favor, motion 11 carries. 12 * * * * 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  52 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 2. WEST 13, LLC, 409 4th Street. Block 12 Lot 9. 3 Client proposes to construct a new three family 4 house in the R-Zone. Applicant will require 5 preliminary and final site plans approval as well 6 as any other variances required by the board. The 7 application was Denied on March 23, 2021 and the 8 Resolution was memorialized on April 27, 2021. 9 10 MR. CHEWCASKIE: The next resolution, 11 Mr. Chairman, we discussed at our last meeting in 12 November is West 13th, LLC. This was a remand 13 from the court for the Board to consider 14 additional testimony regarding the application. 15 At the November meeting, it was determined if the 16 application is not completed by the February 17 meeting that the application would be dismissed. 18 We prepared a resolution to that effect and that's 19 the resolution before you. It's basically you try 20 your case or it gets dismissed if you don't 21 proceed on February 25th. 22 Since this was a remand from the court, 23 I wanted to document precisely what was happening 24 by resolution. And we will certainly advise Mr. 25 Alonso, the attorney for the applicant of that.  53 1 So we would need a motion on that resolution. 2 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 3 MR. GUARENO: Second. 4 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez, 5 seconded by Mr. Guareno. Roll call on the motion 6 to adopt the resolution. 7 Mr. Velazquez. 8 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 10 MS. GENAO: Yes. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 12 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 14 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 15 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 16 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 17 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Five in favor, motion 18 carries. 19 * * * * 20 21 22 23 24 25  54 1 ADJOURNMENT 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: There being no other 4 applications on tonight's agenda, can I have a 5 motion to adjourn the meeting? 6 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 8 MR. OSEGUERA: Second. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Oseguera. 10 All in favor? 11 12 (All Board Members indicate in the 13 affirmative.) 14 15 (Whereupon the meeting was adjourned at 16 6:52 p.m.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  55 1 C E R T I F I C A T E 2 3 4 5 6 I HEREBY CERTIFY that the foregoing is a 7 true and accurate transcript of the testimony and 8 proceedings as taken stenographically by me at the 9 time, place, and on the date hereinbefore set 10 forth. 11 12 13 ____________________________ 14 SUSAN BISCHOFF, CCR, RPR LICENSE NO. 30XI00233700 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25