A modified plan for the construction of five two-family homes in the 1600 block of Paterson Plank Road received provisional approval by the Secaucus Planning Board at its October meeting, despite nearly 40 residents from the north end raising objections. However, the project will not likely be constructed even with that approval, because conditions were set by the board that would be hard for the developer to meet.
The original application for the small townhouse development, submitted last April, called for the subdivision of property bordered by Paterson Plank Road and Kieswetter Lane, and for the construction of six homes. The proposal also included a 20-space parking lot for the neighborhood to help offset the expected impact of new cars. The area located near Farm Road is particularly lacking in parking.
The project known as Secaucus Commons took a drastic turn when the proposal was changed and resubmitted Oct. 7, reducing the number of public parking spaces to six and moving the small lot to the Paterson Plank Road side of the complex.
Although most residents in the area apparently have no problem with the development itself, parking is one of the key issues.
“People have no problem with the development,” Town Administrator Anthony Iacono said. “Many of them said they believe the project is much better than what is there now. “
The change, according to 2nd Ward Councilman John Bueckner, would have inconvenienced residents who would have to walk out to the Plank Road to park, and some had already thought the original location too far away.
Another issue is the access and exit from the site. According to the plans presented to the Planning Board, cars would exit the development from Paterson Plank Road but would enter on the extremely narrow dead-end street called Kieswetter Lane.
Bueckner said residents had gotten “the short end of the stick,” referring to the increase in the units proposed and the loss and relocation of the public parking.
“Originally, the developer was supposed to donate a 20-spot parking lot to the town for use of residents up there,” Bueckner said. “But later, when the developer came back, the parking lot was six units and on the wrong side of the property.
Bueckner said that an entrance and exit on Paterson Plank would mean the project would have to be reduced by one house.
Residents did not wish to have in excess of nine cars passing through the narrow lane once or more than once a day.
Iacono, who is also a member of the Planning Board, said the Kieswetter Lane problem is irresolvable.
In order for the development to use that street as an exit, the town would have to ban parking on it – making the parking problem that much worse.
“The mayor has no intention of eliminating parking on that street,” Iacono said. “But the parking and the access is a problem.”
A historic problem
Mayor Dennis Elwell called it an historic problem in the area, and one that the developer had tried to resolve.
“We worked with the developer to include parking for other people in the area,” Elwell said. “But each time the developer came up with a plan, people in the neighborhood changed their minds.”
Iacono said the developers, who have a good reputation in Secaucus for other projects, tried to accommodate the neighbors and met privately with people in the neighborhood to overcome some of the concerns.
“Then at the 11th hour, residents came up with other changes they wanted,” he said. “They wanted egress and ingress from the Plank Road, and the developer’s plans did not include that.”
Elwell said parking problems in the area near Farm Road go back a generation to when some of the houses were allowed to be constructed too close to the road. He said last year, the town bent to pressure from the neighborhood and installed a sidewalk along one section of Farm Road. This, however, eliminated parking there, and the parking lot proposed by this development was supposed to help alleviate the lack of parking in the area.
“I think people in that area will regret not accepting the parking lot,” Elwell said.
Iacono said the Planning Board unanimously approved the subdivision of the project, but set stipulations on the project that the developer is not likely to meet, including the difficult street widening.
This means that the project will be on hold until the developer comes up with alternative plans that meet all the requirements of the Planning Board.
“They can’t go forward with the way it is now,” Iacono said. “The project just doesn’t have the clearance it needs on Kieswetter. My guess is that we will see a new application that will likely put an apartment building there instead.” SIDEBAR:
Update on south end development
The Town Council met with members of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission in October to discuss some of the details of the New Jersey Transit Study proposal.
In September, the study recommended the construction of 1,850 units of housing for an area near the Secaucus Transfer rail station off New County Road.
Councilman Bob Kickey said he was concerned about the promise that 800 of the units be reserved for senior citizen residences.
“What if they can’t find enough seniors to purchase or rent that many?” Kickey asked. “What happens to the units then? Do they become marketable to anybody?”
In that case, the project impact of increased students to the local schools could actually be much higher than the plan suggested.
“Everybody keeps saying this won’t have an impact on the schools, but it might,” Kickey said. “Both Huber Street and Clarendon Schools are bursting at the seams. Huber Street as 530 kids, and Clarendon has 560.”
At that meeting, NJMC Executive Director Bob Ceberio said the developer would have to seek new approvals for any change from the NJMC. – Al Sullivan