At this coming Wednesday’s Hoboken City Council meeting (Jan. 7), the council plans to take a final vote on an ordinance that puts parking meters along the east side of Sinatra Drive, from Fifth Street up to the end of the street. Here is a rundown of that and some of the other major issues coming up Wednesday:
Meters on Sinatra
If this ordinance passes on Wednesday, anyone parking on the waterfront along Sinatra Drive will required to pay 25 cents for every 15 minutes from 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. The ordinance also will make the other side of the street, the west side by the mountain, resident parking only.
Right now, residents can park on both sides for free, and visitors can park on either side for free for the standard four hours unless they have a permit.
After the ordinance passes, visitors can only park on the east side and feed the meters. Residents can park on the west side or pay the meters on the east side. If parking fills up on the west side, residents will have to feed the meters on the east side and will not be exempt, officials told the Reporter.
If the ordinance is approved this Wednesday, it will go into effect 20 days later.
Conforming to state affordable housing guidelines
Also on Wednesday’s agenda is a resolution requesting that COAH (the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing) review and approve a new Development Fee Ordinance for Hoboken.
Statewide, COAH recently released updated guidelines for how much each municipality and region of New Jersey must contribute to the area’s affordable housing stock. Now, cities must create more affordable housing units through their own funds or by pressing developers to contribute. These housing obligations, effective beginning Oct. 20, project 3,617 additional affordable units for Hudson County by 2018.
As a result, many municipalities are passing ordinances to force developers to contribute. Under the new guidelines, known as Round III, municipalities are responsible for constructing one unit of affordable housing for every four units of market-rate housing constructed within their borders. COAH guidelines also call for the construction of one affordable housing unit for every 16 jobs created within a municipality.
Some area municipalities have passed specific guidelines in order to confirm, including forcing developers to build more affordable housing (and as a giveback, allowing them to build denser market-rate housing), and asking non-residential developers, including new businesses, to pay a fee to support the creation of affordable housing. For instance, in North Bergen, that town recently asked new non-residential developments to pay a fee equal to 2.5 percent of the value of the construction.
The specifics of the Hoboken resolution were not available by press time, but should be available later, so check back here for updates.
$4.2 in bonds for improvements
Also on the agenda for Wednesday, the council intends to vote to introduce an ordinance issuing and appropriating approximately $2 million for road improvements and other expenses, and another $2.2 million for improvements to the Parking Utility and related expenses. Since this is an ordinance, if it is introduced Wednesday, it will require a final vote at a subsequent meeting.
Church Towers payment in lieu of taxes
Also on the agenda, the council intends to vote on a resolution to authorize an extension of an agreement for payment in lieu of taxes for Church Towers, an affordable housing building. Resolutions only require a vote at one meeting.
Wednesday’s meeting will take place at 7 p.m. at City Hall.
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