At Tuesday night’s meeting of the Planning Board, developers presented a preliminary site plan for 196 residential units at the current site of Pino’s Towing at 620 Jackson St., and the car storage lot across the street.
The addresses of the proposed projects are 601-633 Harrison, 600-632 Jackson, 605-633 Jackson and 628-632 Monroe streets. The developer of the project is listed as Danmarc Partners LLC of New Gretna, N.J. The site will be walking distance to the Ninth Street light rail station and across the street from the Monroe Center for the Arts, which recently won approval for 435 new housing units.
According to an official source from the Hoboken Parking Authority (HPA), Pino’s contract with the city expired in June. For years Pino’s has had the exclusive right to tow cars in Hoboken. The towing company and the HPA currently are working together on a month-to-month basis. According to an HPA official, the body’s attorney is working on the terms of a longer-term contract with Pino’s but the total length of that contract is not yet known. It is also not yet known what would happen if apartments were approved to be built on Pino’s current site.
According to the plans that were presented Tuesday, the proposed project would be built on parts of two blocks and have three stories of one-, two-, and three- bedroom units over one story of parking. The projects would supply 202 spaces of parking for residents. There are no plans for any commercial or retail facilities. The plan is being presented without any variances.
Tuesday’s meeting was the second night of public hearings for the project. The project’s engineer, John Curry of Mayo Lynch and Associates of Hoboken, testified and answered questions from the board and the public.
The board quizzed the engineer on several different topics, one of the most important being the environmental status of the site. Both Curry and the project’s attorney John O’Donnell admitted that it is likely that there are areas of contamination on the site because of the site’s history as a tow yard and car storage facility.
"There may be hotspots," said O’Donnell during the hearing. "The worst case is that these areas might need ‘capping.’ The best case is that [the hot spots] can be fully remediated." Capping is process of covering contaminated soil, often with an impermeable surface.
He added that either way, the site must be fully clear of contaminants before the state’s Department of Environmental Protection will approve the project. Curry also said that the site must be clean before construction could begin. "In order to build a residential development you have to build on a clean site," he said.
Planning Board member and City Councilwoman Carol Marsh said that she is worried that the developer might decide to pave over the entire backyard to cap any contamination. Currently the developers have proposed a landscaped backyard with grass, plants, and trees.
"You are required to build what you promise," said Marsh. "If it shows grass, you have to build grass. Right now there are complexes that have asphalt for their back yards."
Curry responded that any change of plans would require the developer to go before the board again and request an amended site plan. He also added that it is his understanding that developer will go forward with plans presented Tuesday, if the board approves the plans. "We’re planning on having a fully landscaped back yard," said Curry.
Another issue that arose was whether the site is in the flood plane and if the new development would exacerbate the conditions in an already low-lying area. According to Curry, the site averages only seven feet above water level.
Hoboken resident and community activist Scott Gibson questioned whether capping the area would make the area’s problems worse. "This is a flood zone, and the idea of capping the soil with something that is impervious will make things much worse," said Gibson during the public session.
Curry said that determinations about sewage and flooding issues are up to the North Hudson Sewerage Authority and that the developer would comply with conditions the Authority puts forward. He also added that it is not in their plans to cover the entire site with an impervious material, and said there is plenty of room in the back yard area to install an underground catch basin to regulate possible floodwaters.
Gibson also questioned the logic of building more residential units in a city where he said "there are ‘for sale’ signs on every block."
Gibson added that the city needs to do some creative thinking. "We don’t need more [residential] developments," he said.
O’Donnell said the project is in the city’s R-3 zoning district. It is zoned primarily for residential dwellings. The developer would need to be granted variances to build a significant amount of commercial or retail facilities.