Dear Editor:
This Tuesday evening, October 28th, there is an important decision that will be rendered relating to the Barry family / Applied Companies’ proposed Monarch development (“Monarch”). The Hudson County Board of Freeholders (“Freeholders”) are holding a special meeting to vote on whether the original Hudson County Planning Board’s (“HCPB”) February 2012 decision to deny the application for Monarch will still stand.
The meeting will be held at the Wallace School, at 1100 Willow Ave at 6 pm.
The Freeholders have two real choices that night: To uphold or to overturn the original decision. However, the freeholders are considering a third choice, which is to send it back to the HCPB for them to reconsider and render a new decision.
About twenty Hoboken residents attended the February 2012 HCPB meeting and witnessed Applied’s presentation on Monarch and the HCPB’s thoughtful, detailed review and denial due to specific concerns about traffic, roadways and safety, incomplete and inaccurate expert reports, and Applied’s unwillingness to respond to questions of the HCPB’s engineering consultant.
So Applied’s application was originally denied as a result of their own failures.
And now they are potentially going to be given another bite at the apple? Does this seem fair to the Hoboken residents who have unanimously opposed this project in favor of keeping our waterfront public open space? As a matter of law, applicants are not entitled to a reconsideration if their application was denied. So the freeholders should not even be considering this as a choice.
If the freeholders do send this back to HCPB for their reconsideration, then the concern is that the HCBP will approve the application either because they may not be as thorough as its first review or may include other considerations that would influence their decision like the potential for further litigation costs they would take on if they deny the application again.
The freeholders, by a 5-1 vote, have agreed to hold the meeting in Hoboken given the importance to our community and the freeholders should be commended for this. Unfortunately, because of freeholder Romano’s position on the HCPB, he has been recused and will not be in attendance nor voting that night (he was also recused from the vote to move to Hoboken). What this means is that we are left without direct Hoboken representation on this vote.
Given the importance of this to Hoboken, it should be important to Hudson County. Let the Hudson County Board of Freeholders know how important this is to us by sending emails to them via Albert Santos, Clerk to the Freeholders at asantos@hcnj.us. Even more critical, is that you attend the meeting to show the freeholders that Hoboken is in fact represented, that Hoboken opposes this project and that Hoboken does not think it is fair that once again, that the Barry family be rewarded for breaking promises the made to the Hoboken community.
I hope to see you at the meeting!
Tiffanie Fisher
Hoboken Residents for a Public Waterfront