Like Kevin Costner in “Field of Dreams,” Sanford Weiss has learned a lesson about development, with one alteration: If you build it, they will come – to Zoning Board meetings. Weiss’ proposed 18-story apartment building caused controversy when it was proposed last year for the city’s northern border, because in its original form, it stood at 21 stories, and residents thought that was too high. To try to nip controversy in the bud this time around, Weiss is holding a public forum this Monday, Jan. 10 at 8 p.m. in the All Saints Church Community Room to tout the “benefits to the community” of the proposed 340-unit building. Eight days later, the plan will be presented to the Zoning Board. Even though Weiss’ firm, the Manhattan Building Company, has scaled back its proposal, a number of uptown residents are still concerned that the building is too big and the impact it could have on traffic too uncertain. “Everybody says, ‘I’m against it,’ but they don’t even know what it is in it,” said Weiss last week. “The point of this forum is for people to be informed. I felt that if I gave them the information on the project, they would not be so afraid of it.” But Kim Fox, an uptown resident who hopes to rally residents against the $60 million development, says she has looked at the Manhattan Building Company’s plans already and she does not like what she sees. “This is crazy,” said Fox. “It’s too large a development for that part of town. We already have a lot of development and we don’t know what the impact on traffic and services the buildings we already have will be.” Congestion will not become a problem, insists Weiss. The developer says that if the building is approved, 16th Street will become a two-way street, a light will be placed at 16th Street and Park Avenue, and a 17th Street bypass road will be constructed. Fox was unmoved. “I don’t think that those real minimal changes offset the negative repercussions of having an 18-story building four blocks from the Lincoln Tunnel, where we already have big traffic problems,” she said. Same height Residents who oppose the new building hope that the zoning board will not grant the development company a variance that would allow it to build about 100 feet higher than zoning ordinances traditionally allow in the area. Weiss noted that the building would be “the height of the Lipton Tea Factory,” the structure at 1500 Washington St. that is currently being transformed into an 868-unit development called Hoboken Cove. The property at 1600 Park, currently the site of a vacant, weed-strewn lot, almost was the site of a major project in the 1980s. In 1988, Weiss noted, the Zoning Board approved a plan for a 23-story building that was never erected because of a real estate downturn. Weiss’ 18-story proposal will include three stories for parking and 15 stories for residential apartments. Various variances Fox said that she thought that Weiss was asking for so many exceptions to the zoning laws to build the structure that it threatened to make the whole zoning plan insignificant. “The proposal indicates that he is looking for five different zoning variances,” said Fox. “If this number of variances is given, then the integrity of the whole zoning plan comes apart. It becomes zoning by negotiation and not by plan.” Despite the complaints, Weiss says that the new structure will be good for Hoboken. “I’ve been building in Hoboken for 20 years, and I truly believe this is the right thing for the community,” said Weiss. “The current vacant lot is like Guatemala back there. The roads are all beat up. It’s just an overgrown lot that brings in only $25,000 in current tax revenue to the city. This building would bring in $3 million. Are we so rich here in Hoboken that we can afford to walk away from $3 million a year in taxes?” Fox countered Weiss’ argument by pointing out that Mayor Anthony Russo had, in the past, expressed opposition to the development. Russo said last week that he still believes the project is too tall and that it won’t provide enough affordable housing. “If [Russo] doesn’t think [the tax revenue] is an argument,” Fox said, “what more do you need?” Weiss plans to set aside 20 of the units for low-income senior citizens. The remaining apartments are expected to rent from $1,200 to $1,600 a month for a one-bedroom to $2,500 to $2,700 for three bedrooms. The facility would also house 560 new parking spaces. The building would have other positive impacts on the community, Weiss said. He pointed out that the cove the building would sit next to is the only protected cove on the Hudson. “We want to bring that harbor back to life,” said Weiss. “We are talking about docking facilities, sailing schools and public access to the water, but it does not just happen. You need people.” Weiss also said the building would have a “unique” lobby devoted to showcasing local artists’ work. The open forum will be held at the All Saints Community Room at 702 Washington St. this Monday at 8 p.m. The Zoning Board hearing on the building is tentatively scheduled for Tuesday, Jan. 18 at 7 p.m. at City Hall.