Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer said last week that she was able hold up a state bill that may have paved the way for NJ Transit to build 70-story towers in Hoboken.
Last year, residents were presented with a plan for the transit agency to build a massive commercial and residential development near its train station along the city’s southern border. The City Council objected to the size of the development.
Zimmer intends to replace FXFOWLE as the planners for the project.
________
Six months ago, City Council members charged that the planners were taking their orders from N.J. Transit’s developer, rather that the council and residents. Thus, the planners were told to design a plan that reflected the wishes of the community.
In June, two months after FXFOWLE got its new marching orders, State Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Wood-Ridge) sponsored an NJ Transit-friendly bill that would have allowed the state-backed transportation agency to have more freedom to create “mixed use, transit-oriented developments.”
Hoboken’s attorney Steven Kleinman said the increased freedom would most likely have allowed N.J. Transit to circumvent local control over development.
Zimmer also intends to replace FXFOWLE as the planners for the project sometime in the near future, pending council approval.
Won’t go forward
Recently, the City Council passed a toothless resolution opposing the bill. But last week, Acting Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who is running to keep her position on Nov. 3, issued a press release saying that Sarlo “will not go forward [with the bill] unless and until Hoboken is satisfied with its content.”
According to Zimmer, Gov. Jon Corzine arranged a meeting with Sarlo about the bill, at her request.
Sarlo’s Chief of Staff Chris Eilert said the Senator rushed a draft copy of the bill to introduce it before the Senate’s session closed on June 30. Eilert said Sarlo fully intended to revise the bill to include a provision for local governments and communities to be included in the decision making process.
Zimmer also said Sarlo was approached by NJ Transit lobbyists and encouraged to push the bill forward as it was.
Expanding powers
Kleinman said that NJ Transit is granted certain powers over local municipalities, but only transit-related powers. For instance, if NJ Transit wanted to build another Light Rail stop in Hoboken, the city would have its hands tied.
“The city would have limited ability to prevent that going forward,” he said, because providing transportation is defined as a “core function” the agency, while development is not. But this bill would change that, he said.
If NJ Transit were to expand its state-backed functions to include “transit-oriented developments,” as the bill states, Kleinman said the agency’s influence over local municipalities would include these developments too.
I’m just a bill
Sarlo’s bill reads: “As a matter of public policy and for the good of all of the citizens of this State, it is vital that the New Jersey Transit Corporation…revitalize and maximize the value of rail stations, rail yards, and bus stations…through the development of these facilities with mixed use, transit-oriented developments.”
The city said these sweeping changes would have given N.J. Transit “nearly unfettered authority to redevelop any property they own throughout New Jersey adjacent to bus stations, rail stations, or rail yards in any way they see fit without regard to local zoning requirements or the wishes of host communities.”
Timothy J. Carroll may be reached at tcarroll@hudsonreporter.com.