Failing to provide a “compelling” reason for needing a grab bag of zoning ordinance variances, representatives for the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah’s Witness were granted a second chance to return to the Planning Board on Jan. 22 with better expert testimony.
Planning Board commissioners at a meeting Tuesday focused on the lack of parking provided in the group’s plans. Updated zoning ordinances require a minimum of one parking space for every 10 seats inside a house of worship. But even with “stacked” parking in the rear of the proposed building, only 15 spaces would be available for the expected 200 congregants attending a Sunday service. However, stacked parking, which inhibits a natural flow of traffic by having cars block each other, would need a variance as well.
Also, the plans call for 380 seats, an amount that commissioners used to discuss the parking issue. “It’s not a parcel that allows 380 congregants,” said commissioner Gerald Sheehan.
Although Ricketts said that the building would never have that many people inside at time, he was told that his guarantees do not alter what the plans describe. Therefore, the board would have to make its decision on what the plans indicate.
The proposed plan calls for a two-story temple covering 12,430 square feet in the Heights on 531 Palisade Ave. Ernest Ricketts, the project manager for the Jehovah’s Witness group building the new site, claimed that the minimal parking would not add congestion to the neighborhood because most congregants would be walking. The building would serve two separate Jehovah’s Witness congregations that have recently sold their First Kingdoms in the surrounding area.
Another issue commissioners raised involved the variance requested for making a structure bigger than the zoning ordinance allowed. Because the lot is vacant now, commissioners could not understand why the applicant designed a plan that purposely skirted the zoning ordinance requirements for lot coverage. “You’re asking the board to make major deviations,” said Commissioner Sheehan.
Ricketts said that it was necessary to occupy more space than allowed so it could house all of the congregants attending Sunday services. He guaranteed that throughout the week, there would never be more than 100 people inside the building at a time. By the end of his testimony, Ricketts suggested that the number of seats could be reduced if it would alleviate the Planning Board’s concerns.
William Bell, the applicant’s legal representation, asked for a continuance when he realized that an architect had not shown up for the meeting to deliver expert testimony. Board commissioners recommended that the applicant find a licensed planner to deliver testimony as well.
More than 50 residents of the Heights came to the meeting to speak against the proposed plans. They said that parking is the area’s worst problem. However, the Planning Board decided to postpone any public comments until the applicant completed its testimony.
“We can’t even find one parking spot on the street,” said area resident Ceil Augusta.
Heights Councilman William Gaughan joined the group opposing the plans. “It is very clear that this building is not conforming [to the zoning ordinances,” Gaughan said. “Parking is the key issue.”
Luis Rosario, a minister for the Jehovah’s Witnesses, said that the former Kingdom Halls in the Heights had no parking spaces and did not create parking problems. These Kingdom Halls were sold because renovation costs exceeded the amount of building a new structure, Rosario said.
More pre-schools to come
The small chain of pre-schools known as “It Takes A Village” was granted the necessary variances to convert an old garage on Ocean Avenue into a new pre-school.
Charles Harrington, the applicant’s lawyer, initially discussed the benefits of the pre-school by noting that Jersey City has been designated an Abbott (“special needs”) School District by the state, and is therefore required to provide pre-school education. Because the 4,600 square foot garage is still standing, Edward Colling, a planner, said that the variances needed are based on the fact that the pre-school does not wish to demolish the building and start again. Instead, the applicant has planned to renovate the interior, and provide fresh landscaping for the exterior. “To strictly apply the ordinance would create hardships,” Colling said.
Located in the Greenville section, Colling added that by restoring an abandoned building on Ocean Avenue, a positive effect begins to take shape on the immediate area.
Council President L. Harvey Smith stopped by the meeting to voice his personal support for the project. “These people have invested a lifetime,” Smith said. “We need the type of facility in the area that they’re putting up.”
Each commissioner accompanied his or her approval of the site plans with a sentimental speech.
“There’s such a need for our children to receive an education,” said commissioner Mary Donnelly. “This is certainly a project that must go forward.”
The proposed plan would be the third pre-school for the family-run enterprise. Ardley Fuqua, Doris Fuqua, and Andrette Fuqua Maple launched the first one in 1997 and have subsidized the operational costs through grants. The proposed $600,000 project will be largely funding through the Bright Beginnings State Grant. “Hopefully, we’ll have it open before September,” Maple said.
Korean memorial
The Planning Board also saw initial plans for a Korean War Veteran’s Memorial to be built on the waterfront by the marina. Two engineering students, Michael Gilinsky and Salvatore Cambria, from the Stevens Institute of Technology in Hoboken, designed the memorial as part of a senior project.
The semi-circular black structure has two curved walls that slope upwards from four feet to eight feet. A bronze statute of two veterans standing on a black platform rests at the front of the open-end of the semi-circle. Three tall black obelisks stand behind it, with names of the 135 Hudson County veterans engraved on them.
Touch by the presentation, commissioner Rudolph Conte wrote a $100 check to give the students toward the project’s completion.