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, June 24, 2025 Commencing at 6:02 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 ALVARO ALONSO, ESQ. Attorney for Applicant, 707 Urban 3 Renewal, LLC 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 SWEARING IN OF BOARD MEMBER GUARENO 10 8 HEARINGS 707 Urban Renewal, LLC 11 9 Fair Share Plan 24 1300 Manhattan Avenue 30 10 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS 36/37/38 11 ADJOURNMENT 40 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  4 1 I N D E X 2 707 URBAN RENEWAL, LLC 707 Summit Avenue 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 ERIN PUMO 13 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 10 A-1 site location key map 17 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  5 1 I N D E X 2 FOURTH ROUND HOUSING ELEMENT AND FAIR SHARE PLAN 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 JOHN BARREE 25 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 10 11 NO EXHIBITS MARKED 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  6 1 I N D E X 2 PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION 1300 MANHATTAN AVENUE 3 4 WITNESS PAGE 5 DAVID SPATZ 31 6 7 8 E X H I B I T S 9 NO. DOCUMENT PAGE 10 A-1 report dated 5/6/25 31 11 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. 3 Please take notice that on Tuesday, June 4 24, 2025, at 6:00 PM, a regular meeting is 5 scheduled for the City of Union City Planning 6 Board to be held in the Union City High School 7 located at 2500 John F. Kennedy Boulevard, Union 8 City, New Jersey. 9 Opening statement: This meeting is 10 called in compliance with Chapter 231 Public Law 11 of 1975, Open Public Meeting Act. Adequate notice 12 of this meeting has been provided as follows: 13 Notice of this meeting setting forth the time, 14 date, location, and the agenda to the extent known 15 was forwarded to The Record and The Star Ledger, 16 has been posted on the bulletin board in City Hall 17 and has been made available to the public in the 18 office of the municipal clerk, and also posted on 19 the website of the City of Union City, ucnj.com. 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: Roll call for tonight's 4 meeting. Mayor Stack is absent. 5 Mr. Velazquez. 6 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Here. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Commissioner Valdivia is 8 absent. 9 Ms. Genao. 10 MS. GENAO: Yes. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 12 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Fernandez is absent. 14 Mr. Medina is absent. 15 Mr. Guareno. 16 MR. GUARENO: Here. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 18 MR. OSEGUERA: Here. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Five present, we have a 20 quorum for tonight's meeting. 21 22 23 24 25  9 1 ADOPTION OF MINUTES: 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: We're going to regular 4 meeting held -- adoption of minutes, April 22, 5 2025, can I have a motion? 6 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 7 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 8 MR. GUARENO: Second. 9 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Guareno. 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 Five minute break, please. 24 25 (Whereupon a short recess was taken.)  10 1 SWEARING IN OF BOARD MEMBER GUARENO: 2 3 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Mr. Guareno, can I ask 4 you to stand up and put your left hand on the 5 Bible and raise your right hand. Repeat after me. 6 MR. GUARENO: I, Jose Guareno, do 7 solemnly swear that I will support the 8 Constitution of the United States, and the 9 Constitution of State of New Jersey, that I will 10 be bear true faith and allegiance to the same, and 11 to the governments established in the United 12 States, and in this state, under the authority of 13 the people. 14 And that I will faithfully, impartially, 15 and justly perform all of the duties as a Planning 16 Board Member according to the best of my ability; 17 so help me God. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Congratulations. 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  11 1 HEARINGS/APPLICATIONS: 2 707 URBAN RENEWAL, LLC - 3 707 SUMMIT AVENUE: 4 5 MR. VALLEJO: We're moving to item 6 number 1, 707 Urban Renewal, LLC, 707 Summit 7 Avenue. Mr. Alonso, please. 8 MR. ALONSO: Good evening, Mr. Chairman, 9 Members of the Board. For the record, Alvaro 10 Alonso on behalf of the applicant. 11 Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board, this 12 is an application for site plan approval and a 13 minor variance. The property is located in what's 14 known as the Teamsters Redevelopment Area, it's 15 part of the redevelopment plan you're all familiar 16 with, as it has come before your Board in the 17 past. Essentially, we're taking the old Teamsters 18 building, we're proposing to construct 25 19 affordable units and they're all 100 percent 20 affordable. There's an adjacent -- not adjacent, 21 there's a lot down the block on Kennedy Boulevard, 22 which is part of this application and provides the 23 parking for this site. 24 The only variance is because of the 25 configuration of the parking lot. We don't meet  12 1 the minimum requirements in terms of the width of 2 the parking spaces, so that will be the only 3 variance that we're requesting in order to comply 4 with the minimum number of parking spaces that the 5 plan provides for. 6 With that said, I have one witness this 7 evening, Erin, who is our architect. And I'm 8 going to ask her to step up. 9 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Mr. Alonso, just before 10 you begin, I had the opportunity earlier today to 11 look at the affidavit of service and affidavit of 12 publication, same was in appropriate form. So the 13 Board does have jurisdiction. As Mr. Alonso 14 indicated, 707 Summit is the old Teamsters 15 building. That building was acquired by the City 16 of Union City. The City of Union City determined 17 to declare the area in need of redevelopment in 18 order to assist with the development of affordable 19 housing on the site. Mr. Alonso's client was one 20 of the responders to the RFP and is the successful 21 designated conditional redeveloper. 22 Basically, there is no change to what is 23 existing. There is a renovation of the existing 24 building and the utilization of existing parking 25 area that exists on Kennedy Boulevard. So it's  13 1 basically the preface. The redevelopment plan 2 requires site plan approval and that's why they 3 are here today. 4 MR. ALONSO: Thank you, Mr. Chewcaskie. 5 6 E R I N P U M O, after having been duly sworn 7 or affirmed, did testify as follows: 8 9 MR. ALONSO: Erin, you're a licensed 10 architect in the State of New Jersey? 11 MS. PUMO: I am, yes. 12 MR. ALONSO: And which firm do you work 13 for? 14 MS. PUMO: I work for Inglese 15 Architecture and Engineering in Cedar Grove. 16 MR. ALONSO: Can you give us a brief 17 review of your qualifications? 18 MS. PUMO: I have a bachelor's of 19 architecture from New Jersey Institute of 20 Technology, I'm a licensed architect in New 21 Jersey. My license is current and in good 22 standing and I'm an associate at Inglese 23 Architects and Engineering. I've been working 24 there for over 13 years. 25 MR. ALONSO: Have you testified before  14 1 boards such as this? 2 MS. PUMO: Not this Board, but others. 3 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I would recommend to 4 the Board that Ms. Pumo's qualifications are 5 acceptable, so please proceed. 6 MR. ALONSO: Thank you. Ms. Pumo, as I 7 indicated to the Board, we're basically reusing an 8 existing building, we're not change the footprint 9 or anything like that. So I'm going to ask you to 10 go over the plan more like as a narrative. 11 MS. PUMO: Okay. 12 MR. ALONSO: Tell the Board how we're 13 proposing to develop the site. 14 MS. PUMO: Okay, no problem. This is 15 just a site plan showing the location of the two 16 properties, the Teamsters building over here on 17 the corner and the parking lot that is a block 18 away, which has currently 15 parking spaces on it. 19 This is a little blowup that shows you a little 20 more information. The general layout of the 21 existing parking lot there. 22 Again, as Mr. Alonso stated, we're not 23 providing any major improvements to the site, just 24 a couple minor things. Regarding the Teamsters 25 building, we're proposing to reuse all of the  15 1 existing utility connections, pending 2 investigating that they're viable for reuse. 3 We're proposing a new storm leader connection into 4 an existing manhole on Summit Avenue. And then 5 we're also proposing some exterior lighting 6 upgrades along the facades along Summit Avenue, 7 7th Street and Paterson Plank Road. 8 Other than that, there's no other site 9 plan modifications. And we're proposing to reuse 10 the existing parking lot in its current layout. 11 If anyone has any questions on the site 12 plan, I can answer. 13 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Just quickly, so really 14 the only change will be with the new stormwater 15 connection? 16 MS. PUMO: Correct. 17 MR. CHEWCASKIE: And then with regard to 18 the parking lot, is there any change to that at 19 all? 20 MS. PUMO: No, we're not proposing. 21 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Thank you. 22 MR. ALONSO: And just with the parking 23 lot, you don't meet the minimum lot width 24 requirement and that's why we need the variance? 25 MS. PUMO: That's correct.  16 1 MR. ALONSO: All right, continue. 2 MS. PUMO: Okay. Just to give you a 3 little overview of the building, we're proposing 4 25 affordable apartments. They're all 100 percent 5 affordable and a ground floor amenity space. The 6 units mix is as follows: There's four studio 7 units, 13 one-bedrooms and 8 two-bedrooms. 8 I'll just walk you guys through the 9 floor plans real quick. This is a page showing a 10 bunch of existing exterior and interior photos of 11 the Teamsters building. 12 MR. CHEWCASKIE: If I may, Ms. Pumo, 13 stop you there for a moment. The drawings that 14 you're referring to were the submission that was 15 made to the Board? 16 MS. PUMO: They were, yes, these 17 drawings. These exhibits were not submitted. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So the drawings that 19 were submitted to the Board, you don't have to 20 mark. Al, if we could just mark what I'll call 21 the exhibit set and we'll mark that as A-1. And 22 does that have a title block? 23 MS. PUMO: Yes. This is called site 24 location key map. And it has today's date, 25 June 24, 2025.  17 1 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So collective -- and 2 how many sheets is that? 3 MS. PUMO: Four sheets. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So collectively, we'll 5 mark the four sheets as A-1. 6 7 (Site location key map marked A-1.) 8 9 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Thank you. 10 MS. PUMO: Okay. I'm just going to flip 11 to the building plans. So this sheet is A100, 12 it's showing the proposed basement floor plan and 13 proposed ground floor floor plan. There's a 14 residential entrance along Summit Avenue here. 15 This is actually the existing -- one of the 16 existing entrances along there. Main lobby with a 17 mail area, a package room, we're proposing a new 18 elevator, upgrading the stairs, new stare core. 19 We have a trash compactor room for the building, 20 the storage maintenance area and a unit for the 21 super, as well as a fairly large amenity space, 22 which is around 2,000 square feet on the ground 23 floor. 24 On floors two, three, four, and five, 25 they're all apartments with a mix of studios, ones  18 1 and two-bedrooms. Every apartment has an open 2 living, dining, and kitchen area. It has an 3 in-unit washer and dryer, a high efficiency 4 heating and cooling unit. And all the units are 5 designed to be adaptable, meaning they're designed 6 to be ADA accessible. There's also a trash chute 7 on each floor. 8 And then this is a roof plan showing the 9 locations of the condensers for all the HVAC units 10 for each apartment. The existing building facade 11 is going to be renovated in kind. We're going to 12 replace all the windows to match the existing 13 historic windows. The brick's going to be 14 rehabbed as needed, cleaned, re-pointed as 15 necessary. Basically, we're refurbishing the 16 building and making it look brand new in its 17 current character. 18 One other thing to note is we're 19 proposing to keep the existing Teamsters signage, 20 which I think was part of the ordinance, the 21 redevelopment plan. And also we're proposing to 22 keep the two existing light fixtures along the 23 Summit Avenue entrance, which was also noted in 24 the redevelopment plan also. And that's about it. 25 I can go to a color elevation, just to  19 1 show you. You guys are familiar with building, 2 but this is basically it. 3 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So that's sheet three 4 of the exhibits? 5 MS. PUMO: Yes, that's correct. And if 6 anyone has any questions, I'm happy to answer. 7 MR. ALONSO: On that exhibit, is there a 8 proposed screening on the roof? 9 MS. PUMO: Yes. We are showing a 10 proposed screening. There's a bunch of existing 11 cell antennas on the roof, so we're proposing the 12 screen. 13 MR. ALONSO: The antennas currently are 14 up along -- 15 MS. PUMO: They're right against the 16 edge. 17 MR. ALONSO: -- the parapet and we're 18 basically looking to screen them. 19 Now, one of the things I want to 20 indicate to the Board is we're also looking to get 21 historical preservation designation on the site. 22 So things like that are going to matter. We may 23 have to tweak the plans slightly, but really just 24 to maintain the historical character of the 25 building. So to the extent that we do, it's going  20 1 to be really for the historical preservation 2 aspects of it, but we're going to basically 3 maintain what you see here. 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Well, the design -- I 5 guess, this is to Ms. Pumo. The design of the 6 building is consistent with the redevelopment 7 plan? 8 MS. PUMO: Yes. 9 MR. CHEWCASKIE: And that required 10 adherence to the current facade and historic 11 characteristics of the building? 12 MS. PUMO: That's correct. 13 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Thank you. Al, did you 14 have anything else? 15 MR. ALONSO: I have nothing further. 16 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Okay. Does any Board 17 Members have any questions? 18 MR. OSEGUERA: You said all the units 19 are going to be affordable? 20 MR. ALONSO: Yes. 21 MR. OSEGUERA: All 25, okay. 22 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Dave, anything to add? 23 I mean I know you provided a report. 24 MR. SPATZ: We provided a report, which 25 indicated that the proposal met all of the  21 1 standards, both zoning and design, that were 2 contained in the redevelopment plan, with the 3 exception of the size of the parking spaces, and 4 they've requested that variance. But everything 5 else fully supports the plan. 6 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I would make a 7 recommendation to the Board that if the Board is 8 inclined to grant the site plan approval, based 9 upon the representation made by Mr. Alonso that 10 there may be some changes in order to obtain the 11 historic designation, that rather than having to 12 return to the Board, that that be reviewed and 13 approved by Mr. Spatz, and also the redevelopment 14 planner, who was Heyer Gruel. 15 So if that's acceptable, that would be a 16 condition to add to the approval. 17 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Does anyone have 18 any questions? 19 MR. ALONSO: Mr. Chewcaskie, only since, 20 along that vein, the county planning board is 21 going to have jurisdiction for the parking lot 22 aspect of it because we are on a county road. So 23 to the extent that there are any proposed changes 24 by the county, do we want to maintain that same -- 25 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Maintain the same  22 1 level. You know, I do not think they're going to 2 eliminate parking spaces, it may be just the 3 location of driveways or the like, they may make 4 you clean it up. So I'm not that worried about 5 that. 6 And then, Mr. Chairman, if any members 7 of the public wish to be heard. 8 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Is anybody from 9 the public here on this project? If not, I make a 10 motion to approve. 11 MR. CHEWCASKIE: With the conditions as 12 identified? 13 MS. MOREJON: Motion. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez, 15 seconded by Ms. Morejon. Roll call on the motion. 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.  23 1 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 2 carries. 3 MR. ALONSO: Thank you very much. Have 4 a good evening. 5 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Good night. 6 * * * * 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  24 1 HEARINGS/APPLICATIONS: 2 FOURTH ROUND HOUSING ELEMENT AND FAIR SHARE PLAN: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: We're going to change a 5 little bit the order of the agenda. We're going 6 to number three from McKinley Mertz, housing 7 element. 8 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So, Mr. Chairman, and 9 Board Members, maybe I could cue this one up also. 10 The City of Union City voluntarily, in the third 11 round, agreed to participate in the affordable 12 housing process for the fourth round. Heyer Gruel 13 and Associates were retained in order to prepare a 14 fourth round housing element and fair share plan. 15 That plan was created and was noticed 16 appropriately for hearing this evening. The 17 reason it's on this evening is that based upon the 18 new statute that came into effect for affordable 19 housing, the plan and any resolution needs to be 20 filed by June 30th, after the adoption of the 21 resolution. 22 The plan has been prepared, reviewed by 23 the City and also reviewed by the City's 24 consultants. The housing element fair share plan 25 addresses how affordable housing is going to be  25 1 addressed in Union City in the fourth round and 2 that is over the next ten years. And it becomes 3 an amendment to the current master plan and that's 4 why it's in front of the planning board. 5 So Mr. Barree is here to briefly 6 describe the plan and to answer any questions. I 7 guess since this is a hearing, we should have Mr. 8 Barree sworn. 9 10 J O H N B A R R E E, after having been duly 11 sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 12 13 MR. BARREE: John Barree, B-A-R-R-E-E, 14 I'm a licensed professional planner with the firm 15 Heyer Gruel and Associates. 16 So thank you for that introduction, Mr. 17 Chewcaskie, I think you covered a lot of the 18 ground. Union City is voluntarily participating 19 in the affordable housing process at the state 20 level. Because it is an urban aid community as 21 defined, so it doesn't have an obligation to 22 provide any specific number of affordable housing 23 units, but it is taking the opportunity to go 24 through this planning exercise, primarily so that 25 it can establish an affordable housing trust fund  26 1 and use the monies that are collected through 2 development fees throughout the City toward 3 different projects. 4 In fact, the development that was before 5 you right before me this evening is an example of 6 one of those types of projects that the City 7 supports through use of affordable housing trust 8 fund money. 9 So for the third round, there were a 10 variety of different projects and a history of 11 different activities in conjunction with the 12 Housing Authority and other entities, including 13 the Hudson County Home Program that is a funding 14 source for rehabilitation and other affordable 15 housing projects. Those are all outlined in the 16 plan and probably 250 of those 300 pages are a 17 bunch of appendices that are the backup 18 documentation for all that work that's been done. 19 Moving forward, over the next ten years, 20 for the fourth round, the plan is really to 21 continue to identify and support projects like the 22 Teamsters building, like the 8th Street Senior 23 project that's under construction now and to 24 utilize -- continue to utilize the affordable 25 housing trust fund and the existing ordinances  27 1 that are in place in the City to collect 2 development fees and to require either the 3 construction of affordable housing units or 4 payment in lieu of construction, when market rate 5 developments take place. 6 We have a couple other projects 7 identified in the plan that are in the works. The 8 Silk Mill redevelopment, which is a redevelopment 9 plan that's being drafted right now. The 4700 10 Bergenline project, the old State Theatre that was 11 designated in need of redevelopment, that will 12 eventually have a plan as well. And then 13 continuing the rehabilitation in conjunction with 14 the Housing Authority and the county. 15 So that's the long and the short of it. 16 It's a good plan that utilizes the tools that the 17 state offers for the City to continue to create 18 affordable housing projects, much as it has done 19 for a number of years. 20 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Thank you, Mr. Barree. 21 And as Mr. Barree indicated, the City has 22 undertaken a process with redevelopment, if 23 affordable housing is not provided on-site, to 24 make in lieu contributions, which the City 25 utilizes those funds to assist opportunities as  28 1 with 8th Street, as with the Teamsters building, 2 and also for acquisition of properties that may 3 lend itself to maintaining or creating affordable 4 housing. And that's really the primary motivation 5 here. You need to have this in place in order to 6 create the trust fund and to get the funds in 7 order to create the housing. And that's basically 8 it. 9 But since we're under a deadline that's 10 why we're supposed to have a hearing this evening. 11 So I don't know if any Board Members have any 12 questions? If none, it would be appropriate to 13 open to the public, Mr. Chairman. 14 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Is there anybody 15 from the public that would like to speak on this 16 matter? If not, I'd like to call a motion to 17 approve this. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Mr. Chairman, we did 19 prepare a resolution for the adoption of the 20 master plan. I believe Mr. Vallejo has circulated 21 that resolution. 22 MR. VALLEJO: Yes. 23 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So the resolution is 24 here and it basically just indicates that the 25 Board held a hearing, reviewed the plan, and is  29 1 adopting the housing element and fair share plan, 2 which I believe was dated June 12th, as part of 3 its master plan. So if we can have a motion on 4 that resolution, please? 5 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I'd like to make 6 a motion on that. 7 MR. GUARENO: Second. 8 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Motion on the table to 9 adopt the resolution by Mr. Velazquez. Seconded 10 by Mr. Guareno. 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. BARREE: Thank you all very much. 24 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Thank you, John. 25 MR. BARREE: Thank you, David.  30 1 HEARINGS/APPLICATIONS: 2 INVESTIGATION 1300 MANHATTAN AVENUE: 3 4 MR. VALLEJO: Going back to number 2, 5 1300 Manhattan Avenue. 6 MR. CHEWCASKIE: All right. So to put 7 this in perspective, this is another redevelopment 8 area. This is what we affectionately call the 9 hole in the ground on Manhattan Avenue. The City 10 was approached by a prospective developer that has 11 provided an appropriate plan for the development 12 of that site, which would not impede any views. 13 As a result of that engagement, the City 14 authorized Mr. Spatz to prepare a redevelopment 15 study pursuant to a resolution that was adopted by 16 the Board of Commissioners on May 5, 2025. And 17 the purpose of Mr. Spatz's study is to review the 18 character of the area and make a determination as 19 to whether any of the criteria under the Local 20 Housing and Redevelopment Law is applicable here. 21 And I will allow then Mr. Spatz in order to 22 enunciate on that. 23 However, again, this is a hearing, so 24 Mr. Spatz will have to be sworn. 25  31 1 D A V I D S P A T Z, after having been duly 2 sworn or affirmed, did testify as follows: 3 4 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So Mr. Spatz prepared a 5 report, which is entitled non-condemnation 6 redevelopment area report, Lot 101, Block 185, Lot 7 2 in Block 187, it's dated May 6, 2025. And I 8 will suggest that we just mark that as A-1 for 9 purposes of the record. 10 11 (Report dated 5-6-25 marked A-1.) 12 13 MR. CHEWCASKIE: And I would ask Mr. 14 Spatz to highlight the salient parts of the 15 report. 16 MR. SPATZ: Yes. We provided the 17 redevelopment report, which is basically to 18 determine whether the property meets the state 19 criteria to be declared an area in need of 20 redevelopment. After that process is done, the 21 redevelopment plan, which is sort of the zoning 22 ordinance for that property, that will be 23 developed as well. 24 The state law sort of sets out what the 25 plans need to include. And you all have copies of  32 1 the report. It describes the zoning areas. Of 2 most importance is beginning on page 6, those are 3 the criteria in the state law, which need to be 4 looked at to determine that it's an area in need 5 of redevelopment. If at least one of them is met, 6 then the Board can make the declaration. 7 We've reviewed the state criteria. 8 Starting on page 9, we have our evaluation of that 9 and indicate that two of -- at least two of the 10 criteria are met. Criteria C, is that the site 11 has remained vacant for in excess of ten years 12 prior to the adoption of the resolution which 13 asked for the study to be made. That certainly is 14 the case here. As the Board knows, that property 15 has been worked on for many, many years and has 16 never been developed. So it certainly meets that 17 standard. There were multifamily developments 18 approved on that, but because of the difficulties 19 of doing it without the redevelopment statute and 20 the abilities of that, it has not been developed. 21 So that criteria is met. 22 Also Criteria H, which is meeting smart 23 growth planning principles. The City is in PA-1, 24 metropolitan planning area of the state's master 25 plan. And that plan sets forth a number of  33 1 planning principles and our report indicates that 2 at least six of those planning principles were 3 met. 4 So the conclusion of the report is that 5 we need to meet one of them, criteria C, the 6 undeveloped nature of the property; Criteria H, 7 meeting state smart growth planning goals. They 8 would be met by declaring this an area in need of 9 redevelopment. And our recommendation was that is 10 what happens. We suggested it as non-condemnation 11 which means the City will not be condemning any of 12 the land for this development. It is totally done 13 privately, but this process will enable us to 14 hopefully get a development going on that site. 15 So if there are any questions, I'll be 16 happy to answer them. 17 MR. CHEWCASKIE: I would suggest that 18 the picture on the cover tell us the story of the 19 area. 20 MR. SPATZ: Yes. 21 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Mr. Chairman, I've 22 taken the liberty of preparing a resolution for 23 the Board. The Board indicates that it has 24 reviewed the report that was marked as A-1 and 25 considered the testimony. The resolution makes a  34 1 recommendation for the Board of Commissioners to 2 designate the area as identified in the report as 3 a non-condemnation redevelopment area. 4 So if the Board doesn't have any 5 questions, I would suggest a motion would be 6 appropriate at this time. 7 Public comment, I'm sorry. I went a 8 little too fast. 9 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Any members have 10 any questions? Anybody from the public? If not, 11 I make a motion to approve. 12 MR. VALLEJO: Motion to approve by Mr. 13 Velazquez. 14 MR. GUARENO: Second. 15 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Guareno. 16 Roll call on the motion. 17 Mr. Velazquez. 18 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 20 MS. GENAO: Yes. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 22 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 23 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 24 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 25 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera.  35 1 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 2 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 3 carries. 4 5 * * * * 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  36 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 1. Central Hotel LLP. 413-417 38th Street Block: 3 220 Lots; 19, 20 & 21. Legalize an additional 4 hotel room that is under construction. The total 5 number of hotel rooms shall be 55. Approved 6 7 MR. VALLEJO: Resolution number one, 8 Central Hotel, LLP, 413-417 30th Street. Can I 9 have a motion? 10 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 11 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 12 MR. GUARENO: Second. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Seconded by Mr. Guareno. 14 Roll call on the motion. 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.  37 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 2. Thereza Georgieva. 2708 New York Avenue. 3 Block: 151. Lot: 5. Legalizing existing ground 4 level residential unit, to go from two families to 5 three families. The approval resolution was 6 memorialized on January 22, 2019. The applicant's 7 attorney is requesting a one-year extension. 8 Approved 9 MR. VALLEJO: Resolution number two, 10 Thereza Georgieva, 2708 New York Avenue. 11 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 12 MR. GUARENO: Second. 13 MR. VALLEJO: Motion by Mr. Velazquez, 14 seconded by Mr. Guareno. Roll call on the motion. 15 Mr. Velazquez. 16 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 17 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Genao. 18 MS. GENAO: Yes. 19 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Guareno. 20 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 21 MR. VALLEJO: Ms. Morejon. 22 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 23 MR. VALLEJO: Mr. Oseguera. 24 MR. OSEGUERA: Yes. 25 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion carries.  38 1 ADOPTION OF RESOLUTIONS: 2 3. 135 JPM Properties, LLC 135 44th Street. 3 Block: 253, Lot: 22 Applicant proposes a new (3) 4 family dwelling. The original resolution was 5 approved on May 25, 2021, and amended on March 22, 6 2022. Counsel for the applicant is requesting a 7 second amendment. Approved 8 9 MR. VALLEJO: Resolution number three, 10 135 JPM Properties, LLC, 135 44th Street. Can I 11 have a motion? 12 CHAIRPERSON VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 13 MR. GUARENO: Second. 14 MR. VALLEJO: Motion my Mr. Velazquez, 15 seconded by Mr. Guareno. Roll call on the motion. 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.  39 1 MR. VALLEJO: Five in favor, motion 2 carries. 3 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Now, Carlos, you 4 indicated that the resolutions were adopted. So 5 everyone here was here at the April meeting and so 6 they were all eligible to vote. We had three 7 resolutions, Central Hotel, Thereza Georgieva, and 8 135 JPM Properties. Those were all adopted, Mr. 9 Vallejo? 10 MR. VALLEJO: Yes, the only thing is -- 11 MR. CHEWCASKIE: So, right now, that's 12 fine. It seems that I just wanted to make sure 13 that the resolutions were appropriately adopted. 14 I have the resolution here that I filled out for 15 1300 Manhattan, I did not see the resolution for 16 the housing element fair share plan. 17 MR. VALLEJO: It's right there. 18 MR. CHEWCASKIE: Here it is. We're 19 good. 20 21 22 23 24 25  40 1 ADJOURNMENT: 2 3 MR. VALLEJO: There being no other 4 applications on tonight's agenda, can I have a 5 motion to close? 6 MR. GUARENO: Motion. 7 MR. OSEGUERA: Second. 8 MR. VALLEJO: Motion, Mr. Guareno, 9 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 6:38 p.m.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  41 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