February 2nd, 2005

CITY COUNCIL MEETING WEDNESDAY
February 2, 2005 at 7:00pm

This Wednesday evening, the City Council is set to vote on a Resolution to allow another deal between the City and the developers, Tarragon\URSA.

WHO’S IN THE DEAL?
Tarragon/URSA already controls much of a 17 city block area known as the Northwest Redevelopment Zone where massive residential development is underway. The only park we are getting from the developer in these 17 blocks of development is the 0.2 acres Shop Rite parking lot “park.”

WHAT ARE THE DEAL TERMS?
The deal, called a “Memorandum of Understanding”, would give Tarragon/URSA control to develop in another nine block area from 9th to 14th Streets between Adams Street and the Light Rail line.Under the deal, Tarragon\URSA would give the City $60,000 to fund a study by the City to determine whether the nine blocks are “blighted.” Not coincidently, Tarragon/URSA has options to purchase most of this property and has a vested interest in how the study comes out. If the blight study goes their way, Tarragon/URSA will then control the area which will be rezoned from industrial to residential and will dramatically increase the value for the developer.The deal gives Tarragon/URSA the exclusive right to negotiate a redevelopment agreement with the City for three years from the date the City completes the study and adopts the redevelopment zoning. This gives Tarragon/URSA significant leverage and ties up the nine blocks from competition from any other developers. We will never know whether there is a better deal out there for the community because the City has ruled out any competitive process with other developers.

WHAT DOES THE PUBLIC GET OUT THE DEAL?
An outdoor pool and recreation center on a 40,000 square foot lot!! That is less than an acre of land in exchange for a nine block area where Tarragon/URSA gets a major zoning change and exclusive development rights.

WHAT DO WE HAVE TO GIVE UP TOGET A SWIMMING POOL?
The City has to assure that Tarragon/URSA will be able to develop the land with residential development at a very high density.The deal says the City must allow Tarragon|URSA to build residential units with an “F.A.R.” (floor area ratio) of three times the square footage of the land they build on. This means that for every acre of land (43,560 square feet), we must allow them to build more than 3 acres (130,680 square feet) of residential unit floor area. By the way, they don’t want the City to count the square footage they use for parking in that F.A.R. calculation. Thus, we could see millions of square feet of new residential units without even counting the area they need to provide parking. While the deal says Tarragon\URSA will build the outdoor pool and recreation center for us, Tarragon/URSA gets to bail out of the deal if, “in the developer’s judgment”, the redevelopment zoning does not provide them with the type and density of development they want to make it “economically feasible.” Whose got the upper hand in this deal?If the City is going to agree to allow more large-scale residential development, which many feel we already have more than enough of, the City needs to negotiate a better deal for us for active, recreational park land.

WHATEVER HAPPENED TO OUR MASTER PLAN?
Under our Master Plan, adopted last April, over 6 acres of the land that is about to be lost in this deal was designated as public park land for the residents of the west side. Most of these 6 acres of park land span the western edge of the City from 9th to 13th Street west of Monroe. This area is surrounded on all sides by the original Northwest Redevelopment Zone, spanning 17 blocks. It includes many residential buildings which have been or are soon to be constructed, as well as the already completed Shop Rite Supermarket.If the City signs this deal with Tarragon\URSA, we will end up with 26 city blocks of redevelopment with the developers only providing the Shop Rite “park” (less than 0.2 acre) and a swimming pool/recreation center ( less than an acre). We will lose the 6 acres of contiguous land that would have made a great active recreational park. This totally disregards the severe shortage of parks and recreational facilities identified in our Master Plan.Check out the concept design of the West Side Park that we stand to lose if the Mayor’s ill-advised developer deal is approved.

HOBOKEN PARK DEFICIT OFF THE CHARTS!!!!
Under urban park standards, Hoboken should have 2.5 acres of active recreational park land for every 1,000 residents. With a population over 40,000, and growing at a steady rate, Hoboken should have 100 acres of active park land. We have 30 acres. Why would we add many thousands of new residents to the City’s west side without demanding the creation of significant, active, recreational park land rather than merely making the already dire park deficit on the west side even worse.

HOW DO WE GET A POOL AND OTHER PARKS WE NEED WITHOUT TARRAGON\URSA?

If Hoboken was not experiencing the hottest real estate boom in New Jersey, it might be relevant to consider whether it is likely that other developers might come forward with comparable amenities. But not here. That is why Tarragon/URSA wants to exclude others from negotiating with the City for three years! Even if other developers would not come forward with as good or a better offer, Hoboken has other resource to get parks without accepting more density. As a densely populated, “urban aid” municipality, Hoboken qualifies for grants from the State of New Jersey for 75% of the cost of park land acquisition and for 50% of the cost of park improvements. The balance of the money needed is available from no interest loans from the State.

These grant funds come from the Open Space Preservation Tax that was passed by New Jersey voters a few years ago. Hoboken voters may also recall we voted to fund a Hudson County Open Space Tax which provides grants for land acquisition and park facilities. Unknown to but a few, is the fact that the City also has $1,550,000 dollars that is available to be spent on park acquisition. $800,000 dollars of these funds is a State Greenacres park land acquisition grant that can be used only for such purposes and remains unspent. The City Council must take decisive steps to acquire the thirty acres promised to the public by the Master Plan. We should not settle for table scraps from ill conceived deals with developers who are in fact incredibly eager and motivated to develop the remainder of our City (at the highest density they can get).

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