The city had hired the planning firm of Phillips Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc. (PPSA) to guide the board through the process of creating the master plan. The process included more than a half-dozen public workshops over a one-year period. For those who have not read the master plan, copies along with demographic data and summaries are available on the city's web site, www.hobokennj.org. Copies are also available at the public library and in the city clerk's office at City Hall.
The plan will govern how different parts of town can be developed over the next 20 years. According to project manager Paul Grygiel of PPSA, a master plan takes a snapshot of what the city looks like today and sets goals for what it would like to look like in the future. Its recommendations range from small interventions to large-scale actions to create lasting improvements. In total, there are more than 230 recommendations involving economic development, transportation, affordable housing, community facilities, open space, land use and historic preservation.
The last full revision of the master plan occurred in 1979. The draft of the master plan was first unveiled in October of 2003. Since that date, there were a number of meetings where the public could comment on the draft. A number of amendments to the plan, which were approved Wednesday, resulted from those meetings. The amendments can also be seen on the city's web site.
At the meeting, Roberts said the process up to this point, in which thousands of comments from the public were collected, has resulted in a document that will aid the city in planning future development. Roberts thanked those community leaders that took Hoboken to this point and expressed optimism about the benefits of the plan in the future. "I have to give credit to the people that were on the scene over the past 30 years as Hoboken has evolved into the model of urban renewal in New Jersey," said Roberts. "This master plan will take this wonderful city to its next chapter."
Robert also committed to following the recommendations in the master plan. "This master plan sets up very ambitious goals," said Roberts. "This will not be a document that sits on the shelf and not be adhered to. Its concepts will be implemented in a very real way." He reasserted his commitment not to support redevelopment plans or development projects that do not comply with the plan.
More steps to go
While the Planning Board adoption is an important step, there is still work to be done before the document has the full weight of law.
Equally as important is the implementation of the concepts and recommendations listed in the master plan. This will be done by the City Council in the form of zoning amendments. In total, according to Grygiel, it should take about six months to complete this task, although some elements of the master plan could be implemented earlier if the council deems it necessary. For example, if the City Council wishes to implement the open space of affordable housing recommendations before anything else, it is in the governing body's purview to do so.
In this phase of the process, PPSA will help city officials prepare the Unified Land Development Regulations (ULDR), which will primarily involve translating the master plan recommendations into clear implemental regulations and standards, said Grygiel. In laymen's terms, the policies will be adapted into new zoning code regulations. According to Grygiel, work will begin on the ULDR by outlining the changes to the city's current zoning, subdivision and site plan provisions. The outline will describe how those distinct laws will be merged into a single document and how the entire document will be organized and formatted.
To write the zoning amendment changes, the City Council and PPSA will likely solicit the input of the city's zoning office, the city's engineer, the city's planner, members of the Planning Board and the Community Development Department staff. Then, based on that analysis, PPSA will provide a preliminary description of the major changes that will be required to bring the zoning, subdivision and site plan provisions into compliance with the master plan and state law. Based on discussions of the outline with the subcommittee, PPSA will prepare a complete draft of the ULDR, including a new zoning map.
The consulting firm will also undertake a general "cleanup" of the subdivision and zoning regulations to reduce duplication, ambiguity and outdated provisions. According to officials, public involvement in phase three will be limited because of the technical nature of the writing amendments to the zoning. But there will be a meeting at which the public will have ample time to comment on the proposed amendments.
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