Planning Board - Planning Board Meeting

1 CITY OF UNION CITY HUDSON COUNTY, NEW JERSEY PLANNING BOARD : TRANSCRIPT OF RECORDED REGULAR MEETING : : PROCEEDINGS ____________ ____: City Hall 3715 Palisade Avenue Union City, New Jersey Tuesday, April 23, 2019 Commencing at 6:00 p.m. M E M B E R S P R E S E N T: BRIAN P. STACK, Mayor ALICIA MOREJON RUDY RIVERO FRANKLIN MEDINA ALEJANDRO VELAZQUEZ, Alternate No. 1 JOSE GUARENO, Alternate No. 2 JEANNE KOEHLER, Vice Chairperson DIANE CAPIZZI, Chairperson M E M B E R S A B S E N T: CELIN VALDIVIA, Commissioner CAROLINA FERNANDEZ A L S O P R E S E N T: CARLOS VALLEJO, SECRETARY TO THE BOARD WILFREDO J. ORTIZ II, ESQ. Attorney for the Board DAVID SPATZ, Consultant Community Housing & Planning Associates, Inc. YDALIA GENAO, Mayor’s Designee (Seated in audience)  2 A P P E A R A N C E S: BIANCA P. PEREIRAS, ESQ., Attorney for Applicant, ADR RE, LLC ADOLFO L. LOPEZ, ESQ., Attorney for Applicant, Narod Najarian  3 I N D E X PAGE CALL TO ORDER 7 SALUTE TO FLAG 7 ROLL CALL 8 ADOPTION OF MINUTES 10 RESOLUTIONS 12/14/16 HEARINGS The Planning Board of the City of Union City to Consider the Proposed Non-Condemnation Redevelopment Area Report of 720 8th Street 22 Faraouk Sheikh 41 ADR RE, LLC 46 Narod Najarian 49 Hudson Yards West, LLC 18 ADJOURNMENT 62  4 I N D E X Hudson Yards West, LLC - 3309 Hudson Avenue and 3308 Palisade Avenue PUBLIC PAGE Larry Price 19  5 I N D E X The Planning Board of the City of Union City to Consider the Proposed Non-Condemnation Redevelopment Area Report of 720 8th Street WITNESS PAGE David Spatz 22 SWORN PUBLIC Larry Price 35  6 I N D E X Narod Najarian - 323 49th Street WITNESS PAGE Orestes Valella 51  7 1 MS. DILLON: It’s six o’clock, Carlos. 2 MAYOR STACK: We’re ready to go. 3 THE SECRETARY: Mayor, are we ready? 4 MAYOR STACK: We’re ready to go. 5 THE SECRETARY: May I have your attention, 6 please? 7 Please take notice that on Tuesday, April 8 23rd, 2019, at six p.m., a Regular Meeting is 9 scheduled for the City of Union City Planning 10 Board to be held in the Municipal Chambers of the 11 City Hall, 3715 Palisade Avenue, Union City, New 12 Jersey. 13 Before we call roll for this evening 14 meeting, can everybody kindly rise to salute the 15 flag? 16 17 (Whereupon, the Pledge of Allegiance was 18 said by all.) 19 20 THE SECRETARY: Thank you. 21 This meeting is called in compliance with 22 Chapter 231, Public Law 1975 of the Open Public 23 Meeting Act. 24 Adequate notice of this meeting has been 25 provided as follow:  8 1 Notice of this meeting, setting forth the 2 time, date, location, and the agenda, to the 3 extent known, was forwarded to The Jersey 4 Journal, The Record, and The Hudson Reporter, has 5 been posted on the bulletin board in City Hall, 6 has been made available to the public in the 7 Office of Municipal Clerk. 8 9 ROLL CALL: 10 11 THE SECRETARY: Roll call for tonight’s 12 meeting. 13 Mayor Brian P. Stack? 14 MAYOR STACK: Here. 15 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 16 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Here. 17 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 18 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Here. 19 THE SECRETARY: Commissioner Valdivia? 20 Absent. 21 Carolina Fernandez? Absent. 22 Rudy Rivero? 23 MR. RIVERO: Here. 24 THE SECRETARY: Franklin Medina? 25 MR. MEDINA: Here.  9 1 THE SECRETARY: Alicia Morejon? 2 MS. MOREJON: Here. 3 THE SECRETARY: Alejandro Velazquez? 4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Here. 5 THE SECRETARY: Jose Guareno? 6 MR. GUARENO: Here. 7 THE SECRETARY: Let the record indicate 8 there are eight present. 9 * * * 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  10 1 ADOPTION OF PREVIOUS MEETING MINUTES: 2 3 ( 1) Regular Meeting held on March 26, 2019 4 5 THE SECRETARY: We are going to adoption of 6 the previous meeting minutes of March 26, 2019. 7 Motion to approve the previous meeting 8 minutes? 9 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: I’ll make a motion. 10 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Ms. Capizzi. 11 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Second. 12 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Mr. – 13 Who was that? 14 MR. SPATZ: I didn’t see. I’m sorry. I 15 didn’t see who -- 16 THE SECRETARY: Who -- who was second? Mr. 17 Velazquez? 18 Thank you. 19 Roll call on the motion. 20 Mayor Stack? 21 MAYOR STACK: Abstain. 22 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 23 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 25 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes.  11 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 2 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 4 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 6 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 8 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 10 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 12 One -- one abstained. 13 Motion carries. 14 * * * 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  12 1 RESOLUTIONS: 2 3 ( 1) 3100 Bergenline Avenue, LLC, 3100 4 Bergenline Avenue. Applicant needs an amendment 5 to the existing resolution stating that the new 6 elevator is acceptable and does not alter in any 7 way the Board’s original approval. Resolution 8 was memorialized on June 21, 2016. Approved. 9 10 THE SECRETARY: Adoption of Resolutions. 11 Number 1. 12 3100 Bergenline Avenue, LLC, 3100 13 Bergenline Avenue. Applicant need an amendment 14 to existing Resolution. 15 Can I have a motion to adopt this 16 Resolution? 17 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: I’ll make a motion. 18 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Ms. Capizzi. 19 MS. MOREJON: Second. 20 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Ms. Morejon. 21 Roll call on the motion. 22 Mayor Stack? 23 MAYOR STACK: Abstain. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 25 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes.  13 1 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 2 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 4 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 6 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 8 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 10 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 12 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 14 One abstained. 15 Motion carries. 16 * * * 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  14 1 RESOLUTIONS: 2 3 ( 2) Forest Wood Investments, LLC, 418 6 th Street, 4 Block 27, Lot 29. Applicant proposes the 5 construction of a new three family. Approved. 6 7 THE SECRETARY: Resolution number 2. 8 Forest Wood Investment, LLC, 418 6th 9 Street. 10 Can I have a motion to adopt this 11 Resolution? 12 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: I’ll make a motion. 13 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Ms. Capizzi. 14 Seconded by Ms. Morejon. 15 Roll call on the motion. 16 Mayor Stack? 17 MAYOR STACK: Abstain. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 19 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 20 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 21 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 23 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 25 MS. MOREJON: Yes.  15 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 2 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: No. 5 THE SECRETARY: I’m sorry. I shouldn’t 6 call you. 7 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 8 THE SECRETARY: I apologize for this. 9 Mr. Guareno? 10 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Six in favor. 12 One -- one abstained, one against. 13 Motion carries. 14 MR. ORTIZ: If I may, Mr. Clerk? 15 For the public’s edification, the Hudson 16 Yards West Property -- 17 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Ortiz, can you allow me 18 for a second to do the Corrective Resolution? 19 MR. ORTIZ: Oh, I thought you -- that’s 20 okay. Sorry about that. 21 * * * 22 23 24 25  16 1 CORRECTIVE RESOLUTION: 2 3 ( 3) N.I.U. Trust, 1713 Bergenline Ave., Block 4 91, Lots 6 & 7. Construction of a three story 5 addition at a rear and a two story addition at 6 front on top of an existing structure. The 7 Resolution was memorialized on 11-22-2016. 8 9 THE SECRETARY: All right. 10 N.I.U. Trust, 1713 Bergenline Avenue. It 11 is a Corrective Resolution request by the 12 attorney’s applicant. 13 Can I have a motion to adopt this 14 Corrective Resolution? 15 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: I’ll make a motion. 16 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Ms. Capizzi. 17 Seconded by? 18 Ms. Morejon. 19 Roll call on the motion. 20 Mayor Brian Stack? 21 MAYOR STACK: Abstain. 22 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 23 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 25 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes.  17 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 2 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 4 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 6 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 8 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 10 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 12 One abstained. 13 Motion carries. 14 * * * 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  18 1 Hudson Yards West, LLC – 2 3309 Hudson Avenue and 3308 Palisade Avenue: 3 4 THE SECRETARY: Go ahead. 5 Mr. Ortiz, please? 6 MR. ORTIZ: For the public’s edification, 7 the Hudson Yards West application is going to be 8 heard May 28, 2019, per court order. There will 9 be no further notice, as per court order, as 10 well. 11 Following up with that, Board members, I am 12 requesting a motion to authorize our attorneys, 13 our attorneys and outside counsel, to file a 14 motion for reconsideration on the Hudson Yard 15 West matter, also a motion to stay the order. 16 And if necessary, appeal the matter to the 17 Appellate Division. 18 I’m requesting a motion as to that. 19 MR. VELAZQUEZ: I make a motion. 20 THE SECRETARY: Motion -- motion by? 21 MS. MOREJON: By Alex. 22 THE SECRETARY: Motion by Mr. Velazquez. 23 Seconded by? 24 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Second. 25 MR. GUARENO: Second.  19 1 THE SECRETARY: By Ms. Capizzi. 2 Roll call on the motion. 3 Mayor Stack? 4 MAYOR STACK: Abstain. 5 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 6 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 8 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 10 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 12 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 14 MR. RIVERO: Yes. Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 16 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 17 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 18 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 19 THE SECRETARY: Seven in favor. 20 One abstained. 21 Motion carries. 22 MR. PRICE: Could I ask a question about 23 that? 24 MR. ORTIZ: Sure. 25 MS. DILLON: You have to come to the  20 1 microphone, please. 2 Name and address for the record. 3 MR. PRICE: Sure. 4 Larry Price, 1006 Palisade Avenue. 5 The question is, obviously not my case and 6 I’m unsure of the dates, but a motion for 7 reconsideration has to be filed within 20 days. 8 And I thought this was well past 20 days ago. 9 MR. ORTIZ: Mr. Price, an order was not 10 entered, a decision was. The order was entered 11 today. 12 MR. PRICE: They entered an opinion before 13 the order? 14 MR. ORTIZ: Yes. 15 MR. PRICE: Okay. 16 MR. ORTIZ: The order -- the decision was 17 entered on February 1st of this year, but not the 18 order. 19 MR. PRICE: And the order was filed today, 20 five months later? 21 Okay. 22 Thank you. 23 MR. ORTIZ: I can’t explain the court’s 24 action. 25 MR. PRICE: I’m not asking you to.  21 1 Okay. 2 Thank you. 3 * * * 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  22 1 The Planning Board of the City of Union City to 2 Consider the Proposed Non-Condemnation 3 Redevelopment Area Report of 720 8 th Street, Lot 9 4 in Block 42 of the City: 5 6 THE SECRETARY: All right. 7 We are moving forward with the agenda. 8 Item number 1. 9 The Planning Board of the City of Union 10 City to Consider the Proposed Non-Condemnation 11 Redevelopment Area Report, 720 8 th Street, Lot 9, 12 Block 42 of the City. 13 Mr. Spatz, please? 14 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 15 proceedings.) 16 MS. DILLON: Mr. Spatz, please raise your 17 right hand. 18 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 19 give this Board is the whole truth? 20 MR. SPATZ: Yes, I do. 21 MS. DILLON: Please state your name for the 22 record. 23 MR. SPATZ: David Spatz, S-P-A-T-Z. 24 MS. DILLON: Thank you. 25 MR. SPATZ: Good evening, everyone.  23 1 We’ve been through this before, but we’ll 2 do it one more time. 3 This is a Redevelopment Area Report, 4 looking at the 8th Street parking lot, is its 5 local name. And this was last revised on 6 December 12th of 2018. 7 So, I’ll just quickly go through the 8 various sections, and then focus on the criteria 9 from the State regulations and how this project 10 meets that, because that’s really the -- the meat 11 of the report. 12 So, the beginning of the report, on page 13 one, is the introduction. 14 It states information from the State’s 15 Redevelopment Law, what the -- the process is. 16 It discusses the Resolution that was adopted by 17 the Board of Commissioners to ask the Planning 18 Board to review the property. The Board asked me 19 to do that. 20 The next section is the definition and that 21 describes the property, in terms of its block and 22 lot, as well as its location within the City, the 23 boundaries of the streets, and then the use of 24 the property and -- and the one structure that is 25 located on it, that being the small United States  24 1 Postal Service property. 2 The next section is entitled Study Area 3 Investigation, and what we did, as part of our 4 review to prepare the report, is we went out, we 5 visited the property, walked around the site, as 6 well as the neighborhood. 7 We looked at the City’s Master Plan, the 8 Zoning Ordinance, other tax documents in -- in 9 the City’s records, and then we described the 10 property, the existing uses, and then, the 11 results of the physical inspection, which 12 indicates issues that we found on the site, as 13 well as just generally describing the site 14 itself. 15 The second part of that section is the 16 Zoning Controls, which lists the uses. 17 The property is in the City’s P or Public 18 District, and it lists the principal uses 19 permitted within that zone. 20 The next section, beginning on page seven, 21 this sets forth the State’s criteria from the 22 Housing Development and Redevelopment Law. These 23 are the criteria that the Board needs to look at 24 to determine whether a property meets the 25 standards to allow it to be declared an area of  25 1 redevelopment. There are one, two, three, four, 2 five, six, seven, eight, nine criteria in order 3 to be declared an area in need of redevelopment. 4 The property has to meet at least one of 5 those criteria. It does not need to meet to all 6 of them, but it needs to meet at least one of 7 them. 8 So, then, if we turn to page ten, that’s 9 really the -- as I said, the meat of the report. 10 It’s the Evaluation of the Study Area where I’ve 11 listed the criteria, that I believe the property 12 meets, in order to be declared an area in need of 13 redevelopment. And I’ll go through that in more 14 detail. 15 So, I believe that it meets Criteria d, 16 which is by reason of dilapidation, faulty 17 arrangement or design, deleterious land uses, or 18 any combination of these or other factors, the 19 improvements in the study area are detrimental to 20 the health -- health, safety, morals and welfare 21 of Union City and the surrounding neighborhood. 22 And as was in my discussion on the actual 23 conditions there, I believe that this criteria is 24 met. The site is irregularly shaped. It’s a 25 municipal parking lot, but there’s lack of direct  26 1 pedestrian access to Summit Avenue, which is the 2 street that the shops are on, that the parking is 3 -- is primarily to serve. 4 There’s no -- person using that parking lot 5 has to go out to the street, either 8th or 10th, 6 walk up the street, and then onto Summit Avenue. 7 There’s no direct access that -- and I believe 8 that that is difficult for a municipal parking 9 facility. 10 There’s a lack of lighting and landscaping, 11 which effects the aesthetics of the property. 12 The surface conditions of the parking lot, as 13 well as drainage, indicates a faulty arrangement 14 or design. 15 And I believe that this negatively effects 16 the safety, health and welfare of the residents 17 of Union City. 18 So, I think Criteria d is met. 19 The next section is Criteria e. 20 I believe that is met as well by the 21 property, that is a growing or total lack of 22 proper utilization of areas caused by the 23 condition of title, diverse ownership of real 24 estate therein, or other conditions as it relates 25 to the parking lot. It’s those other conditions  27 1 that I believe are effected here. And whether 2 these -- the lack of proper utilization results 3 in a stagnant or not fully productive condition 4 of land, potentially useful and valuable for 5 contributing and serving the public health, 6 safety and welfare. 7 So, we’ve noted the conditions in the 8 earlier section and above, which I -- I believe 9 are limitations to the property. 10 Utilization of this site for the 11 construction of affordable housing, which is one 12 of the permitted uses within the zone, I believe 13 that would be useful and valuable and contribute 14 to and serve the needs of the community. 15 Any development would include and should 16 include the replacement of the existing parking 17 that would continue to serve the residents of the 18 neighborhood, as well as the shopping district. 19 So, I believe that you have a municipal parking 20 lot that, although it -- it does have significant 21 use, it is a -- a piece of property that is owned 22 by the City, that could have a significantly 23 greater use in providing affordable housing to 24 benefit residents of -- of the City. 25 The parking lot could continue as a parking  28 1 lot, as part of any designs, so there will be no 2 loss of active use of the property. However, you 3 now have the benefit that I think significantly 4 benefits the municipality. 5 And I believe that this meets Criteria e. 6 Criteria h I believe is also met. 7 And again, remember, you only have to meet 8 one and I believe it meets two and I believe it 9 also meets a third criteria. 10 The City of Union City is located in 11 Planning Area 1, or the Metropolitan Planning 12 Area, as designated in the State Development and 13 Redevelopment Plan. 14 Additionally, the City is located within 15 the designated Hudson County Urban Complex, which 16 is a -- a State planning designation. 17 Criteria h refers to Smart Growth planning 18 principles. And I believe that those are met by 19 the designation of the study area as an area in 20 need of redevelopment. And it meets a number of 21 the purposes, as stated in the -- the State’s 22 plan. 23 The revitalization of the cities, towns -- 24 the State’s cities and towns by the protection, 25 preservation and development of valuable human  29 1 and economic assets and the improvement of 2 livability and sustainability by investing public 3 resources, in accordance with current plans that 4 are consistent with the provisions of the State 5 plan. 6 Building on the assets of cities and towns, 7 such as their labor force, available lands and 8 buildings, strategic locations and diverse 9 populations. That is met by what -- by the 10 declaration of this as an area in need of 11 redevelopment and its eventual development as 12 affordable housing. 13 The provision of affordable housing is one 14 of the State goals. 15 The promotion of beneficial economic 16 growth, development and renewal for all residents 17 of New Jersey, integration of planning and 18 implementation statewide, and then urban 19 revitalization through the preparation of plans 20 that promote revitalization, economic development 21 and infrastructure investments. 22 All of these, I believe, are met by the 23 eventual future development of this property as 24 affordable housing, through the instrumentality 25 of it being declared an area in need of  30 1 redevelopment. 2 So, on page 12 is the conclusion, and I’ve 3 just summarized what -- what I’ve said, that we 4 meet Criteria d, e, and h. 5 The study area contains a deteriorated 6 improvement, the parking lot. And it is also 7 underutilized. And I believe that this could 8 provide valuable and useful development 9 opportunities for affordable housing, which is 10 one of the permitted uses within the zone. 11 And then the designation of the area, I 12 believe, is consistent with Smart Growth planning 13 principles, as stated in the State Development 14 and Redevelopment Plan, the State Master Plan, as 15 well as Union City’s own Master Plan. 16 And we conclude by recommending that the 17 Planning Board recommend to the Board of 18 Commissioners that the study area does qualify as 19 a non-condemnation redevelopment area and that 20 the power of condemnation shall not be used in 21 this area. 22 The recommendation is that it be declared a 23 redevelopment area, but not asking that land 24 needs to be condemned in order to effectuate the 25 plan. It is a municipally owned property, so  31 1 condemnation is not needed. 2 And then, I just have the appendix is the 3 Resolution of the Board of Commissioners that 4 requested the Planning Board study this area. 5 There’s an aerial map showing the property 6 as its location within its neighborhood, as well 7 as the tax map of the property. 8 And then, a series of photographs, which 9 document the conditions of the property, 10 primarily the surface conditions of the property 11 -- of the property, as it relates to drainage, 12 both on the site, as well as the buildings 13 adjacent to the property itself. 14 So, on balance, I think that the criteria 15 are met and the Board could make that 16 declaration. 17 So, if there’s any questions, I’ll be happy 18 to answer them. 19 MAYOR STACK: Sure. Mr. -- sure. 20 MR. SPATZ: And then, open to the public 21 and answer those question. 22 MAYOR STACK: Mr. Spatz, you did a great 23 job, as always, with the report. 24 MR. SPATZ: Thank you. 25 MAYOR STACK: And I agree fully. I mean,  32 1 it’s no secret the City of Union City would like 2 to see a senior citizen building built on the -- 3 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 4 MAYOR STACK: -- property. 5 You mentioned, in your presentation, we 6 will maintain parking on the ground level -- 7 MR. SPATZ: Right. 8 MAYOR STACK: -- for the public. 9 MR. SPATZ: Right. 10 MAYOR STACK: And we’ll do additional 11 parking for the people who live in the building, 12 whatever we can provide. 13 I think this is very creative, especially 14 in a city where you have thousands of people on 15 the -- 16 MR. SPATZ: Right. 17 MAYOR STACK: -- list -- 18 MR. SPATZ: Right. 19 MAYOR STACK: -- for public housing -- 20 MR. SPATZ: Right. 21 MAYOR STACK: -- and for senior buildings. 22 MR. SPATZ: Right. 23 MAYOR STACK: And with the cost of housing 24 being what it is today -- 25 MR. SPATZ: Right.  33 1 MAYOR STACK: -- to provide for those 2 people that want to -- 3 MR. SPATZ: Right. 4 MAYOR STACK: -- stay in Union City. 5 MR. SPATZ: Right. There are -- there are 6 limited opportunities of vacant land within the 7 city -- 8 MAYOR STACK: Absolutely. 9 MR. SPATZ: -- for that. It certainly is 10 easier to use a vacant piece of property, 11 municipally owned, than to, for either a 12 developer or the city, to go out, acquire 13 property, dislocate the people that are -- 14 MAYOR STACK: Exactly right. 15 MR. SPATZ: -- located there. Have to find 16 places for them. Here, you have a -- 17 essentially, a vacant piece of property that can 18 be developed and re-purposed, to continue its old 19 purpose, as well as to provide a new purpose. 20 MAYOR STACK: Exactly. 21 MR. SPATZ: So, I think that this -- 22 MAYOR STACK: Similar -- 23 MR. SPATZ: -- meets the -- 24 MAYOR STACK: Similar to what we’ve done, 25 being creative with the parking garage on 35 th to  34 1 36th Street. 2 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 3 MAYOR STACK: And with the school going on 4 the 36 to 37 lot. 5 MR. SPATZ: Right. 6 MAYOR STACK: So, definitely, it’s very 7 creative. 8 Thank you. 9 MR. SPATZ: Absolutely. 10 MAYOR STACK: Any other Board member have 11 any comment or question at this time? 12 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Quick question? 13 MR. SPATZ: Yes. 14 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: You said this 15 was a revision. Which part was revised? 16 MR. SPATZ: There -- there were a couple of 17 typographical errors. In -- in the initial 18 presentation that we made, the total acreage of 19 the property. I only looked at half of the -- 20 the property. I corrected the math on that. 21 And then there were some issues regarding 22 lighting that I’ve -- I think describe the 23 conditions a little better. That’s a minimal 24 aspect of -- of the issues with the site, but 25 those were the changes that were made since my  35 1 initial presentation. 2 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Thank you. 3 MAYOR STACK: Thank you, Mr. Spatz. 4 Any member of the public have any questions 5 or comments, at this time? 6 Mr. Price, please step forward. 7 Just state your name and address for the 8 record. 9 MS. DILLON: Mr. Price, please raise your 10 right hand. 11 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 12 give this Board is the whole truth? 13 MR. PRICE: I do. 14 MS. DILLON: Name and address for the 15 record. 16 MR. PRICE: Larry Price, 1006 Palisade. 17 Okay. I didn’t quite hear Ms. Koehler’s 18 question but -- 19 MS. DILLON: Keep your voice up, Mr. Price, 20 please. 21 MR. PRICE: I’m sorry. 22 On December 11th, we had a meeting here. 23 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 24 MR. PRICE: Before the Planning Board. 25 MR. SPATZ: Correct.  36 1 MR. PRICE: Where you presented the -- your 2 report. 3 MR. SPATZ: Correct. Yes. 4 MR. PRICE: To justify declaring this an 5 area in -- 6 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 7 MR. PRICE: -- need of redevelopment. 8 MR. SPATZ: Correct. 9 MR. PRICE: Okay. 10 Now, tonight, there’s this new report, but 11 it’s essentially the same. 12 MR. SPATZ: Yes. I -- yes. 13 MR. PRICE: With the exception of we 14 describe the -- it’s not 13,000 square feet. 15 MR. SPATZ: Right. On page four, which is 16 the description of the property, in my initial 17 presentation, I looked at half of the tax map 18 designation of it, and we had listed it as 13,000 19 and change. It’s -- it’s actually a 30,000 20 square foot parcel. 21 MR. PRICE: Okay. 22 MR. SPATZ: It’s -- it’s shown on page 23 four. 24 The first paragraph for Existing Land Use 25 and Survey of Conditions.  37 1 MR. PRICE: Thirty thousand two forty-nine. 2 MR. SPATZ: I -- 3 MR. PRICE: Okay. 4 MR. SPATZ: That -- that's correct. And I 5 -- I corrected the -- the acreage of it. 6 And then, there were comments at the 7 meeting, some I think that you had brought up, 8 regarding the lighting. We had -- I think I just 9 better described the lighting conditions within 10 the area. I think I talked about it being no 11 lighting initial -- 12 MR. PRICE: Okay. 13 MR. SPATZ: No lighting initially. 14 MR. PRICE: Sorry. 15 MR. SPATZ: I -- I corrected it as -- 16 MR. PRICE: Which page -- 17 MR. SPATZ: -- was discussed. 18 MR. PRICE: -- are you on? 19 MR. SPATZ: On page five, I think is -- is 20 probably where I did it, item 6. 21 And there were a limited -- there is a 22 limited amount of lighting. I think that better 23 describes the conditions than what I initially 24 had, and I thought that that was appropriate to 25 make that change.  38 1 Again, the lighting was a minimal criteria 2 for why it would be declared a redevelopment 3 area. 4 But I -- accuracy is obviously what we 5 should strive for. 6 MR. PRICE: Okay. Okay. 7 And -- 8 MR. SPATZ: And then, everything else is -- 9 is the same. 10 MR. PRICE: Everything -- just those two 11 changes. 12 MR. SPATZ: That's correct. Yes. 13 MR. PRICE: Okay. 14 MR. SPATZ: Correct. I may have described 15 the lighting somewhere else in the plan, and you 16 know, described it better, but those are the only 17 two items, the lighting, as well as the -- 18 MR. PRICE: Okay. 19 MR. SPATZ: -- acreage. 20 MR. PRICE: Okay. 21 I would point out to the Board, I don't 22 think you have jurisdiction to hear this. There 23 was a meeting here on December 11. On January 24 22nd, you adopted a Resolution to the Board of 25 Commissioners recommending they declare it an  39 1 area in need of redevelopment. 2 And on that same day, they adopted a 3 Resolution declaring it an area in need of 4 redevelopment. 5 And on March 7th of 2019, I filed a 6 prerogative writ action in the Law Division in 7 Superior Court, challenging that Resolution. 8 I don't think you have jurisdiction to 9 adopt a -- essentially, you’re adopting the same 10 Resolution. 11 You don’t have jurisdiction. This is 12 before the courts now, not before this Board. 13 MAYOR STACK: Okay. 14 Thank you, Mr. Price. 15 I’ll make a motion to accept it. 16 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: I second. 17 MR. VELAZQUEZ: I second. 18 THE SECRETARY: Motion to accept the report 19 by Mayor Stack. 20 MR. VELAZQUEZ: I second. 21 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by? 22 Mr. Velazquez. 23 Roll call on the motion. 24 Mayor Stack? 25 MAYOR STACK: Yes.  40 1 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 2 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 4 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 6 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 8 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 10 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 12 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 14 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Eight in favor. 16 Motion carries. 17 Thank you, Mr. Spatz. 18 * * * 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  41 1 Faraouk Sheikh - 912 Palisade Avenue: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: Item number 2. 4 Faraouk Sheikh, 912 Palisade Avenue. 5 I received an email by the applicant 6 attorney. 7 MS. DILLON: Mr. -- Mr. Vallejo, just get 8 to a microphone when you make your statement. 9 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 10 proceedings.) 11 MAYOR STACK: Okay. 12 Just do me a favor. 13 This -- this letter just says that they’re 14 requesting a postponement, due to the attorney 15 being on vacation. 16 So, this is not something -- and we’ve been 17 dealing with this a lot with different Boards in 18 the City, this is not something where the 19 attorney realized he was going to be on vacation 20 yesterday and had to postpone the meeting for 21 today. 22 So, we should set up a rule, going forward, 23 that it has to be a week in advance to request an 24 adjournment before this Board. Unless the law in 25 New Jersey is contrary to that, we should do that  42 1 immediately. 2 We’ll grant it on this -- on this time, but 3 going forward, it’s got to be one week in 4 advance, or no -- no adjournment is granted. 5 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Um hum. 6 MR. ORTIZ: Now, it would seem that he also 7 has submitted some notices. 8 MAYOR STACK: He’s got to renotice the 9 entire neighborhood, too. 10 MR. ORTIZ: I was going to say, I don't see 11 everything here. 12 MAYOR STACK: It can’t be done willy-nilly 13 anymore. 14 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 15 proceedings.) 16 MAYOR STACK: Just make sure that he knows, 17 for the record, that he has to renotice the 18 neighborhood. 19 And whatever date that you assign, Mr. 20 Vallejo, as the -- as the clerk of the Board. 21 MR. ORTIZ: And just, in light of my 22 announcement and motion that everybody made 23 previously, May 28th may not be a possible date -- 24 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Um hum. 25 MR. ORTIZ: -- that’s viable for this  43 1 presentation. 2 I think -- 3 MS. MOREJON: Oh, he’s on vacation. 4 MR. ORTIZ: Mr. Vallejo, you need to notify 5 his office that May 28th, though that’s what he’s 6 requesting, may not be viable. 7 MAYOR STACK: So, set it up for the June 8 meeting; make it for the June meeting. 9 THE SECRETARY: June meeting. 10 MR. SPATZ: Twenty-fifth. 11 THE SECRETARY: Twenty -- 25th? 12 MR. SPATZ: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: June 25th. 14 MR. ORTIZ: Essentially the 28th, as of 15 right now, just for that one. 16 MAYOR STACK: Exactly. 17 Mr. Vallejo -- 18 THE SECRETARY: Can I have a motion -- 19 MAYOR STACK: -- just check -- 20 THE SECRETARY: -- to adjourn this -- 21 MAYOR STACK: -- check with Mr. Ortiz and 22 Angelo Auteri on setting up a one week notice in 23 advance when they’re going to cancel, or 24 postpone. 25 THE SECRETARY: Okay, Mayor.  44 1 MAYOR STACK: Requesting. 2 THE SECRETARY: I have a motion to adjourn 3 this application for June 25th by Mayor Stack. 4 Any second the motion? 5 MS. MOREJON: Motion. 6 THE SECRETARY: Second by Alicia Morejon. 7 Roll call on the motion. 8 Mayor Stack? 9 MAYOR STACK: Yes. 10 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 11 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 12 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Koehler? 13 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 14 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 15 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 16 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 17 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 19 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 20 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 21 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 23 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Eight in favor. 25 Motion carries, with the condition that  45 1 they need to send new notification to the 2 neighborhood. 3 * * * 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  46 1 ADR RE, LLC - 525-531 32nd Street: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: We are going to item number 4 3. 5 ADR RE, LLC, 525-531 32nd Street. 6 Ms. Pereiras, please? 7 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, Mr. Vallejo. 8 MAYOR STACK: Good evening. 9 MS. PEREIRAS: Good evening, Mayor Stack, 10 counsel, members of the Board. 11 May it please the Board, Bianca Pereiras on 12 behalf of the applicant. 13 This is for property located at 525-531 14 32nd Street. 15 The Board had previously heard this 16 application to construct a mixed use building. 17 The Board had approved this application. 18 As the Board knows, 32nd Street is also a 19 County road, so we’ve been in the process of 20 obtaining County approval, but we’re still not 21 there. We’re waiting for a formal hearing before 22 the Board, so we can obtain approval. 23 So, we are respectfully requesting a one 24 year extension on this matter. 25 MAYOR STACK: Any member of the Board have  47 1 any questions at this time? 2 I’ll make a motion to grant it. 3 THE SECRETARY: Motion to grant the 4 application extension -- 5 MR. VELAZQUEZ: I second. 6 THE SECRETARY: -- by Mr. -- Mayor Stack. 7 MAYOR STACK: Yes. 8 THE SECRETARY: Seconded by Mr. Velazquez. 9 Roll call on the motion. 10 Mayor Brian Stack? 11 MAYOR STACK: Yes. 12 Before -- well, I’ll say yes, but just, I 13 would ask the applicant to please move this 14 project forward. 15 MS. PEREIRAS: Absolutely. 16 MAYOR STACK: All right? 17 Yes. 18 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 19 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 20 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 21 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 22 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 23 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 24 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 25 MS. MOREJON: Yes.  48 1 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 2 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 4 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. -- Mr. Guareno? 6 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Eight in favor. 8 Motion carries. 9 MS. PEREIRAS: Thank you, Mayor. 10 Thank you, everyone. 11 MAYOR STACK: Thank you very much. 12 MS. PEREIRAS: Good night. 13 MAYOR STACK: Have a good evening. 14 * * * 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25  49 1 Narod Najarian - 323 49th Street: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: Item number 4. 4 Narod Najarian, 323 49th Street. 5 Mr. Lopez, please? 6 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 7 proceedings.) 8 MAYOR STACK: Good evening. 9 MR. LOPEZ: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, 10 members of the Board. 11 MR. ORTIZ: Thank you. 12 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 13 proceedings.) 14 MR. LOPEZ: For the record, I’m providing 15 counsel to the Board the jurisdictional documents 16 for his review. 17 (Whereupon, there was a pause in the 18 proceedings.) 19 MAYOR STACK: Was there -- was there a fire 20 at this property a couple years ago? 21 MR. VALELLA: Yes, there was. 22 MAYOR STACK: There was, right? 23 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. 24 MAYOR STACK: I remember being there. 25 MR. VALELLA: Yeah.  50 1 MAYOR STACK: Like, what is it, two years 2 ago? 3 MR. VALELLA: About two years ago. We -- 4 we -- 5 MAYOR STACK: Yeah. 6 MR. LOPEZ: A little longer than that. 7 MAYOR STACK: Yeah. Time goes fast. Yeah. 8 MR. LOPEZ: Because he’s owned it and -- 9 yeah. 10 MAYOR STACK: I remember. 11 MR. LOPEZ: Yeah. 12 MAYOR STACK: I remember. 13 MR. VALELLA: It was the second floor. 14 MAYOR STACK: I remember. 15 MR. VALELLA: Yup. 16 MR. ORTIZ: Members of the Board, Mayor, it 17 seemed that everything is in order, giving 18 jurisdiction to this Board to hear this matter. 19 MAYOR STACK: Please proceed. 20 MR. LOPEZ: May I proceed? 21 MAYOR STACK: Please. 22 MR. LOPEZ: Good evening, Mr. Mayor, 23 members of the Board. 24 Adolfo Lopez appearing on behalf of Mr. 25 Najarian.  51 1 Mr. Najarian is here this evening, should 2 the Board have any questions of him. 3 This project comes to you as the 4 legalization of the existing ground floor 5 apartment. 6 Mr. Najarian bought this house with the 7 intent of occupying that ground floor. Then, he 8 ran into problems with the Building Department 9 and was advised that the legality of this 10 particular unit was in question. And it has been 11 vacant. He has maintained it vacant since. He 12 is anxious to, if the Board approves this 13 project, that he can finalize this and -- and use 14 this for his own personal use. 15 And I have, this evening, for the Board’s 16 consideration, Mr. Valella, who is the architect 17 who prepared these plans and is prepared to 18 testify this evening. 19 MS. DILLON: Please raise your right hand. 20 Do you affirm the testimony you’re about to 21 give this Board is the whole truth? 22 MR. VALELLA: I do. 23 MS. DILLON: Please state your name for the 24 record. 25 MR. VALELLA: Sure. I’d be happy to.  52 1 Good evening. 2 My name is Orestes Valella, V-A-L-E-L-L-A. 3 I’m a licensed architect in the State of 4 New York, New Jersey, and soon Florida, as well. 5 MR. LOPEZ: Mr. Mayor and counsel, Mr. 6 Valella has testified before this Board on 7 numerous occasions. And I would ask that he be 8 accepted as a -- as an expert in the field. 9 MAYOR STACK: Absolutely. 10 MR. LOPEZ: Thank you, Mr. Mayor. 11 MR. VALELLA: Thank you. 12 MR. LOPEZ: Mr. Valella, you prepared the 13 plans that are currently before the Board for 14 consideration. 15 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 16 MR. LOPEZ: And could you please describe, 17 generally, what the project entails? 18 MR. VALELLA: Sure. I’d be happy to. 19 This is a row house, a two family brick row 20 house, very similar to the others in the 21 neighborhood on 49th Street, just before you get 22 to Bergenline. It’s Lot 35, Block 280. 23 It is a 25 by 100, just shy of that, but 24 close, and it is an existing two family. As the 25 Mayor’s memory kicked in, we -- the house  53 1 suffered on a fire on the second floor apartment, 2 a couple of years ago, and we prepared the plans 3 and had that repaired. And now, there are people 4 living there back again in good standing. 5 And there was an existing apartment on the 6 ground floor that we’ve been asked to bring to 7 you for consideration. 8 The house now is in good shape. However, 9 when we visited the basement, there was one 10 little tweak that I wanted to make. It is a one 11 bedroom apartment. It is 744 square feet and it 12 has good ceiling height, seven feet. It has good 13 windows, but the bedroom itself was landlocked in 14 the middle of -- towards the front, but not to 15 the street. And it had one window, but I wasn’t 16 comfortable with the window for egress in case of 17 an emergency, or access in case of one. 18 So, I am making, I’m proposing to make the 19 bedroom bigger, longer, and reach out to the bay 20 window, which faces the street, which I’m 21 confident I can make that window again meet the 22 requirements of a fireman’s access. 23 So, really, the only modification is to 24 make the bedroom a little bigger. 25 MR. LOPEZ: Mr. Valella, let me interrupt  54 1 you, in terms of egress. The apartment also has 2 a secondary means of egress in the rear, does it 3 not? 4 MR. VALELLA: Yes. The -- the apartment is 5 plenty safe. It has a stair that goes down from 6 the second -- from the ground floor, but it also 7 has steps that go out to the rear yard. So, it 8 has two means -- 9 MAYOR STACK: Good separation, right, with 10 the -- where the boiler will be and the furnace? 11 There’s good -- 12 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 13 MAYOR STACK: -- separation there? Fire 14 wall? 15 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. The -- the boiler 16 room, which has the two furnaces and the hot 17 water heater, are in their self-contained room. 18 MAYOR STACK: Okay. 19 MR. VALELLA: And that we -- I am certain 20 we are going to fireproof, per Building 21 Department requirements and standards. So, 22 that’s fine. 23 I mean, the reason I do these 24 legalizations, it’s an opportunity to bring the 25 housing stock up to Code. We would most likely  55 1 be putting a sprinkler system in the basement, 2 fire rating the ceiling, bringing the electrical 3 outlets to Code, et cetera, et cetera. Many 4 little things that ultimately get done. 5 MAYOR STACK: The thing that I -- I would 6 like, Orestes and Adolfo, is I would like a 7 sprinkler system in the basement. 8 MR. VALELLA: Yes. I – 9 MAYOR STACK: And you could -- 10 MR. LOPEZ: It’s -- it’s required. 11 MAYOR STACK: Okay. And you’re going to -- 12 MR. LOPEZ: It’s a -- 13 MAYOR STACK: -- go off the domestic line. 14 Right? 15 MR. LOPEZ: It’s -- it’s a change of use. 16 Once we go to this type of structure -- 17 MAYOR STACK: Right. 18 MR. LOPEZ: -- it becomes a multiple 19 dwelling. Yes, a -- 20 MAYOR STACK: Okay. Good. 21 MR. LOPEZ: -- a limited area sprinkler 22 system will be required for this apartment. 23 MAYOR STACK: And you’ll be able to go off 24 the domestic line that’s there? 25 MR. LOPEZ: We --  56 1 MR. VALELLA: Yes. 2 MR. LOPEZ: That's correct. 3 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. 4 MAYOR STACK: No digging or anything in the 5 street or the brand -- 6 MR. VALELLA: No. 7 MR. LOPEZ: No digging -- 8 MAYOR STACK: -- new sidewalks. 9 MR. VALELLA: Not necessary. 10 MAYOR STACK: Good. 11 MR. LOPEZ: No digging. Up to 20 -- 12 MAYOR STACK: Good. 13 MR. LOPEZ: -- heads and we should require 14 less than ten for this -- 15 MAYOR STACK: Good. 16 MR. LOPEZ: -- apartment. 17 MR. VALELLA: Yup. 18 MAYOR STACK: Good. 19 MR. VALELLA: So, the other thing is, it 20 has parking. There’s a common driveway on the 21 side, for both properties. And then there’s two 22 cars that park in the rear. 23 MAYOR STACK: You know, one of the things I 24 would ask is in the -- in the driveway, going in, 25 being it’s -- it’s a smaller space, right, going  57 1 through? 2 MR. VALELLA: Yeah. 3 MAYOR STACK: If you could get some 4 lighting up in there, and a light in the 5 backyard. 6 MR. VALELLA: Sure. Be happy to. 7 MAYOR STACK: Just something that’s -- so, 8 when the police pass by, it’s well illuminated. 9 They can look down there and just see if 10 anybody’s in -- just for the safety of the 11 occupants in the -- in the building and the 12 neighborhood. 13 MR. VALELLA: No -- 14 MAYOR STACK: We always like -- 15 MR. VALELLA: No -- 16 MAYOR STACK: -- to have extra lights. 17 MR. VALELLA: No problem. 18 MAYOR STACK: Get at least two lighting in, 19 two lighting in the -- one or two lights in the 20 driveway going, and maybe one light in the 21 backyard. 22 MR. LOPEZ: Mr. Mayor, if I could just 23 point something out? 24 My client would gladly do that. Sometimes 25 neighbors are a little bit hesitant, if it’s too  58 1 bright, because it interferes with the lighting 2 into their houses. 3 MAYOR STACK: I think in Union City, 4 though, they’re -- they’re used to it. 5 MR. LOPEZ: Okay. 6 MAYOR STACK: Just -- just a comment about 7 your client. The day of the fire, he was very 8 cooperative. He worked with the people in the 9 building to assist them. It stuck in my mind 10 that day how cooperative. He was on the scene 11 immediately. I worked with him on the scene that 12 day. 13 And whether he moves into the apartment or 14 not, I like to create an extra apartment, whether 15 he continues living there or he rents it out for 16 somebody, somebody that can afford it. 17 MR. VALELLA: Okay. 18 Very good. 19 MR. LOPEZ: Mr. Valella, if we could go 20 over the required variances please? 21 MR. VALELLA: Sure. 22 The property is in the R low density 23 residential zone. And we’re going from a two to 24 a three. 25 The lot area requirement would be 2500.  59 1 This is almost that; it’s 2,437. 2 It has a required lot width of 25. It does 3 have that. The lot depth requirement is a 4 hundred, it’s 97.5. 5 The front yard is ten feet or the 6 prevailing setback. We’re existing at seven and 7 no change is proposed. 8 Side yard, one would be two, five as a 9 combined. It’s 0.6 and 3.2 existing. 10 The rear yard is 25 percent of the lot 11 depth, and we are at 43 percent of the lot depth. 12 The building coverage is maximum 60, we’re 13 at 42. 14 Lot coverage is 85, we’re at a hundred. 15 Maximum stories is three, we are at two. 16 Maximum height is at 40, we’re at 25. 17 And the parking requirement would be six, 18 we have two. And there’s no opportunity for 19 anything further. 20 We are not proposing to make it any bigger 21 or any smaller. So, whatever impacts to the 22 neighborhood has happened decades ago. I don't 23 see any -- any negative impact. 24 MR. LOPEZ: And I would just point out to 25 the Board that as you’re all aware, this is very,  60 1 very close to a transportation center, which is 2 only half a block away and it’s ideal for -- for 3 people who –- 4 MAYOR STACK: Sure. 5 MR. LOPEZ: -- who commute. 6 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Um hum. 7 MR. VALELLA: Yup. 8 MR. LOPEZ: So, I would have nothing 9 further, if the Board has any questions? 10 MAYOR STACK: Any questions of the Board at 11 this time? 12 No? 13 Any member of the public have any questions 14 on this application, please step forward. 15 This would be at 323 49th Street. 16 Seeing none. 17 I’ll make a motion to approve. 18 MS. MOREJON: Second. 19 THE SECRETARY: Motion to approve the 20 application by Mayor Stack. 21 Seconded by Ms. Morejon. 22 Roll call on the motion. 23 Mayor Stack? 24 MAYOR STACK: Yes. 25 I’m sorry.  61 1 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Capizzi? 2 CHAIRPERSON CAPIZZI: Yes. 3 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Koehler? 4 VICE CHAIRPERSON KOEHLER: Yes. 5 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Medina? 6 MR. MEDINA: Yes. 7 THE SECRETARY: Ms. Morejon? 8 MS. MOREJON: Yes. 9 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Rivero? 10 MR. RIVERO: Yes. 11 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Velazquez? 12 MR. VELAZQUEZ: Yes. 13 THE SECRETARY: Mr. Guareno? 14 MR. GUARENO: Yes. 15 THE SECRETARY: Eight -- eight in favor. 16 Motion carries. 17 MAYOR STACK: Thank you very much. 18 MR. LOPEZ: Thank you, Mr. Mayor, -- 19 MS. MOREJON: Thank you. 20 MAYOR STACK: Thank you. 21 MR. LOPEZ: -- members of the Board. 22 MAYOR STACK: Thank you very much. 23 MR. LOPEZ: Thank you so much. 24 MAYOR STACK: Thank you. 25 * * *  62 1 ADJOURNMENT: 2 3 THE SECRETARY: There being no other 4 application on tonight’s agenda, can I have a 5 motion to close tonight’s meeting? 6 Motion by -- 7 MAYOR STACK: Motion. 8 THE SECRETARY: -- Ms. Morejon. 9 Second by? 10 By Ms. Capizzi. 11 All in favor, say aye. 12 13 (Whereupon, there was a chorus of ayes.) 14 15 THE SECRETARY: The ayes -- the ayes have 16 it. 17 Let the record show that the meeting has 18 ended. 19 Thank you and good night, everyone. 20 21 (Whereupon, the proceedings were concluded 22 at 6:40 p.m.) 23 24 25  63 1 STATE OF NEW JERSEY : 2 : 3 COUNTY OF ESSEX : 4 5 6 I, DEBRA A. KASZNIAK, assigned transcriber, 7 do hereby affirm that the foregoing is a true and 8 accurate transcript in the matter of the REGULAR 9 MEETING of the UNION CITY PLANNING BOARD heard on 10 Tuesday, April 23, 2019 and digitally recorded. 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 Monitored and proofread by: Deborah Dillon