א אידל פארלירט און יוניאן סיטי צו בויען הויך
06/22/2008
Developersforcedtostopwork
UnionCityresidentwinscourtrulingagainst"high-rises"
TriciaTirella
Reporterstaffwriter
THEPRICEOFPROPERTY–LarryPrice,aUnionCityresident,recently
wonanAppellatecourtdecisionhaltingthedevelopmentofahigh-rise
buildinginthelotpicturedbeforethescaffolding.
Larry
PricehasbattledlocalbuildingprojectsinUnionCityandtherestof
theCountyindozensofcases,andonMay21hisdayiscourtproved
fruitful,fornow.
Thedevelopmentthathewascontesting,locatedbetweenBergenlineand
NewYorkavenuesandbetween13thand14thstreet,wascurrentlyina
residentiallyzonedsectionofUnionCityandpreviouslyapproved
variancewasallowingahigh-riseapartmentbuildingtobeconstructed
onthatsite.
ResidentialzonesinUnionCitypermitone,twoandfourfamily
dwellingsandadditionallymayallowlimitedmulti-familydevelopments
ifabuildingisdeemednecessarytopromotethegeneralwelfareofthe
neighborhood.
Theownersanddefendantsof13-14LLC,AbeWercberger,ofBrooklyn,
andMichelleStreicher,ofPassaic,receivedvariancesfromtheUnion
CityZoningBoardofAdjustmentsinSeptember2006tobuildtwoseven
story,75-foot-highbuildingsthatwouldeachhouse15units.
High-risebuildingsarenotallowedintheresidentialsections
ofthecity,butinitially,theboardfoundthatduetothelackofa
centralheatingplantwhichsuppliesheattoalltenants,thecity
couldallowavariancetozoninglawsandlabelthebuildingan
apartment.
Price,a68-year-oldformerNavyVeteranrepresentinghimself,
foughtthedecisionintheAppellateDivisionofSuperiorCourtanda
three-judgepanelfoundthattheSuperiorCourtofNewJerseyandUnion
City'sBoardofAdjustmentshadbotherredintheirdecision.
"Iamhappytohavewon,"saidPrice."Ihopetouseit[infuturecases]."
WhileMichaelKates,theattorneyrepresenting13-14LLC,is
contestingthedecision,allconstructionmustnowstoponthesite.
Pricesaidthathehasgottenfivedecisionsinhisfavorduringhiscourtbattles.
TheSuperiorCourtdecisionforcedtheconstructiononthesitetostop.
"I'mnotthekindofpersonthatwouldpoundmyheadagainsta
stonewall,"saidPrice."It'salotofwork.Iwouldn't[fightthese
rulings]ifIdidn'tthinktherewasachanceforareasonable
decision."
Dealingwithdensity
TheproblemforPricewasmorethanjusttheheightofthe
buildingsthatweregoingtobebuiltonBergenlineAve.,butalsowith
theamountoflandthatwouldbecoveredineachlot.
AccordingtoPrice,thebuildingwouldbecoveringover84percentoftheentirelot,leavingverylittleroomforopenspace.
"UnionCityisthemostdenselypopulatedcityinthecountry,"
saidPrice,whoaddedthatthereisalimitedamountofopenspacein
UnionCity."Highbuildingsdon'tbotherme.Wehavetobecarefulin
puttingtoomanyhigh-risebuildingsrightnexttoeachother."
AccordingtoPrice,ontheadjacentlotthat13-14LLCalso
owns,theyarecurrentlybuildinga30-unit,seven-story,75-foot
buildingthathewillcontestintheAppellatecourtonJune24th.
RosieTorres,a10-yearresidentofUnionCitywhowaswalking
bythepropertyseveralweeksago,saidthateachyearthedensityof
thecitygetsworse.
"Beforeweusedtoparkinthestreet,"shesaid."Nowwehavetorentaspaceforparkingatnight."
Shesaidthattheparkingproblemneedstobeconsideredevenif
thereisparkingonsite.Torresalsosaidthattheimpactofnoiseis
oftenoverlooked.
KatessaidthathewasnotonlyupsetbytheAppellatedecision
onbehalfofhisclient,butforitsimpactofUnionCityandother
similarcasesfromthepastandthoseslatedforthefuture.
Hehasmovedforreconsideration,askingthejudgestoreview
theirdecisiononthecase,buthedoesnotknowwhenandifthatwill
everbeheard.
ProblemswithUnionCityZoning
ThelegalbattlesofPriceconcernslocalexistingzoninglaws,whileKatessaidrecentlythatthereisneedforchange.
Katessaidthattheordinancesareantiquatedforagrowingcity.
AccordingtoChristineVanek,anattorneyrepresentingUnion
City,thePlanningBoardwillconsiderchangestothezoninglawsas
thesummerprogresses.
VaneksaidthatMayorBrianStackwillholdmeetingswith
residentsthroughoutthecityinJulytomakethemeetingsaccessible.
"Wearelookingforopinionstoseeifthereareanychangesthatshouldbemadetothezoningordinance,"Vaneksaidrecently.
AccordingtoVanek,thePlanningBoardwillconsiderthechangesoradoptit"asis"sometimeattheendofJuly.
Forthetimebeing,shesaidthat13-14LLChadtostopall
constructionfivedaysaftertheruling.Meanwhile,theywillsecure
thepropertytomakesuretherearenohazardstothepublic'ssafety.
Pricealsowasn'tsurehowthisdecisionwouldaffectthemany
developmentshehasfoughtinthepastandwillcrosspathswithinthe
future.
"It'sreallythefaultof[MayorStack]andthecounselthat
theyhavetoleratedastaleandineffectiveandconfusingand
desperatelyinneedofchangingzoningandmasterplanandthey've
knownthisforyears,"saidKates."Theyhaven'tdoneanythingto
correctthesituationuntilnow,butithasbeenwelloverdue."
Stacksaidthatdevelopmentiswelcomedandthatitwillhelp
residentsbyloweringandstabilizingtaxratesandgivingthecitynew
ratables.
StacksaidtheStateDepartmentofCommunityAffairshasgiven
thecitya$150,000granttodesignzoningthatisgoodforresidents.
"Webasicallyinherited[thepresentzoninglaws],"Stacksaid,
whoplanstomeetwithresidentstodiscusspossiblechangestothe
zoninglawstobetterUnionCity.
Commentsonthisstorycanbesentto:[email protected].
http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19788648&BRD=1291&PAG=461&dept_id=523591&rfi=6
תוקן על ידי נסיעהסז ב- 22/06/2008 23:19:31
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