Cuidado!

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Some Highlights from Joint Land Use Meeting

Muhlenberg, the volume of foreclosures, a new municipal complex, impending development and even the city's century-old sewers came up as topics Saturday at a joint meeting of land use boards and commissions.

I missed the beginning of the meeting due to a prior commitment and so did not hear Mayor Adrian O. Mapp's remarks, but there was plenty more to hear in the second half. Plaintalker has already written about some of these topics (click links).

Regarding the 10-acre site that now only holds the empty Muhlenberg hospital, the city has found it "in need of redevelopment" and a request for proposals will be issued next week. The city does not own the site but JFK Health is amenable to discussion of the site's future.  City officials have already decided not to use eminent domain to acquire the site. Planning Board Chairman Ron Scott Bey called eminent domain a "gun with no bullets," as the city would have to pay for the site plus attorney fees.

 Litigation over taxes on the property is underway. Another issue is who will pay the millions of dollars needed to remediate environment hazards and demolish the building. Officials expect a tax incentive will be needed to make a deal. A new marketing effort will extend beyond New Jersey to neighboring states.
(A Muhlenberg update is also listed as a discussion item for Monday's City Council meeting.)

Other topics:
-- Foreclosures and abandoned properties are so extensive that Economic Development Director Carlos Sanchez wants to hire a "point person" to work on the problem. Sanchez said there are 320 abandoned properties that have an adverse effect on neighborhoods. One task might be to pinpoint where there are clusters of vacant buildings in wards or neighborhoods that should be addressed first.

--A new municipal complex might require "taking a property or two" near where the current buildings are, and possibly relocating a firehouse, Mapp said. He said there might be an answer in coming months.

--Planning Director Bill Nierstedt mentioned interest in development beyond the downtown, such as on the south side of North Avenue between Leland Avenue and Berckman Street, on East Second between Leland and Johnston Avenue, in the Edward Paul building on South Avenue, and the Rushmore building which was approved as a storage facility.

--Resident and historian Nancy Piwowar commented on the state of city sewers, expressing fear for a major sewer collapse in the 100-year-old system. (However, the Plainfield Municipal Utilities Authority recently made a sewer capacity study of a proposed 212-unit complex on South Avenue and found the capacity adequate.) 

Nierstedt mentioned two development applications scheduled to be heard on March 17, one for site plan approval of a residential and commercial project on South  Second Street and final site plan approval for the South Avenue Gateway development.

Other topics were how to prevent to proliferation of satellite dishes, outreach to business owners on signage rules and helping homeowners to become more knowledgeable about the property maintenance code.

--Bernice

Downtown Update

Here is the former Mirons Furniture warehouse, now with 12 apartments over ground floor commercial space. Decorations in front windows indicate some apartments are already occupied. Congratulations to developer Frank Cretella!

Here is how the building looked in 2010:


Cretella has completed renovations of two Park Avenue buildings and one on East Fourth Street.

Still in progress is this conversion replacement of the former Romond's Garage to by a five-story mixed-use building with 20 apartments on East Second Street.

This is the building in 2014.

On the to-do list is the largest development, 148 apartments and commercial space on West Second Street.

In all, Cretella has 11 projects in various stages downtown. A busy man!

--Bernice

Sick Leave Pay Ordinance Up for Final Passage

Advocates and opponents of a paid sick leave ordinance are expected to turn out in force Monday as the governing body considers final passage of the legislation.

The agenda-fixing session is 7:30 p.m. March 7 in Municipal Court, 325 Watchung Ave.

The law affecting city businesses would allow employees to earn one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked. It may be used for the employee's own illness or for care-giving to family members. Advocates say it would help workers who now face a choice of going in sick and possibly spreading disease, or losing income by staying home. Opponents claim it will harm city businesses and non-profits and cause job loss.

Further, opponents say it will blindside employers who are unaware of its consequences, while supporters point to other cities that have recognized the need and passed the legislation.

A new boost this time around is an AARP NJ "Advocacy Alert" article endorsing the legislation and urging city residents to ask their City Council members to pass it.

The agenda is chock-full of other interesting topics, giving local bloggers a lot to write about after a long spell between council meetings. An update on the Muhlenberg campus is promised, the 2016 budget process is starting and "Stirred Not Shaken LLC" is seeking a liquor license transfer. Look for another preview over the weekend and coverage to follow.

--Bernice

P.S. - Don't forget, you can bookmark ptalker2.blogspot.com and get my blog directly without waiting for Dan to relay it on his blog.

Planning Board Questions South Avenue Proposal

It was back to the drawing board Thursday for a proposal to build six apartments atop a South Avenue liquor store.

Google image

Owner Jigar Patel, his attorney and expert witnesses were well into a description of the proposal when Planning Board member William Toth said the residential portion needed a five-foot setback for fire safety reasons. Toth, an architect, said the proposed two-story addition would be right on the lot line, a violation of zoning requirements.

When Planning Board Chairman Ron Scott Bey polled members on whether they wished to proceed, the consensus was that they had enough information to say no, but not enough to say yes. Toth said the proposal needed a "serious redesign" and member Siddeeq El-Amin said, "It just needs to be totally redone."

Patel and attorney Daniel Bernstein agreed to return on April 7, and meanwhile will consult with the Planning Division on needed revisions.

Patel's proposal was for six two-bedroom apartments with a roof garden and 21 parking spaces on the L-shaped lot, which opens on both South Avenue and Leland Avenue. Board members questioned the traffic flow, asking for a one-way entrance on busy South Avenue but allowing two-way traffic on the Leland side. The plans called for entrances to the residences at the front and rear of the building, with doors to the liquor store in the middle. Handicapped access was provided near the store entrance, but El-Amin said it should be  geared to residents.

Among other concerns, four of the six apartments were undersized. Patel spoke of expanding the liquor store for storage, which raised questions about increased deliveries. Bernstein's mention of "hardship" in dealing with design for the existing long, narrow building did not sway board members. El-Amin said a 42-inch guardrail on the roof garden was "too low" if children were to use the space for play.

Another application, for a house of worship for up to 297 people on Roosevelt Avenue, could not be heard because an amended legal notice was one day short of the 10-day requirement for publication in advance of the meeting. A Feb. 18 hearing on the application was halted due to the initial notice lacking part of the address. The third try to hear the application for Ministerio Internacional Puerta Del Cielo is expected to take place on March 17.

A lively discussion broke out near the end of the meeting, foreshadowing a joint meeting Saturday of four land use boards. El-Amin raised concerns about excessive signs in store windows and asked who enforces board rulings. Planning Director Bill Nierstedt said Zoning Officer Ron Johnson sends two letters regarding violations before the property owner gets a summons to appear in court. Board member Horace Baldwin suggested a follow-up review, perhaps by an intern, of a year or two of approvals, to see whether applicants actually obeyed terms they agreed to.

El-Amin also spoke about the proliferation of satellite dishes, calling them "visual garbage.".

"Bring it up Saturday," Scott Bey said. "The mayor needs to hear it."

Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and Economic Development Director Carlos Sanchez are both invited to the joint meeting of the Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Shade Tree Commission and Historic Preservation Commission from 10 a.m. to noon Saturday in City Hall Library, 515 Watchung Ave. The public may attend and will have a chance to comment at the end of the meeting.

--Bernice

Say What?

In a departure from past practice, Plainfield Latino's latest post was in Spanish only, sending me back 60 years to high school language classes. With the help of my Cassell's Spanish Dictionary, I figured out most of the message, which was a campaign pitch for Rev. Tracey Brown and Alma Blanco. The redoubtable Norman Ortega had a starring role as a counselor to voters.

I think I did better with my recall of Spanish class than Google did in translating:

Plainfield Latino: Le preguntamos a Ortega como su pérdida beneficia representación Latina en Plainfield. “Alma Blanco”, contestó Ortega.

Google: We asked Ortega as its loss benefits Latino representation in Plainfield. " White Soul " Ortega said .

Oy. Norman had been referring to his losses in running for the school board and council and urged support now for Alma. I think an accent mark was missing on "como," producing "as" instead of "how." The sentence is still a bit garbled.

Anyway, hermanos y hermanas, take a look and see how much you can understand. Now that Plainfield's Latino population exceeds 40 percent, English speakers have probably picked up quite a bit of Spanish from signage alone. 

I must admit, I studied French at the same time as Spanish and so my Spanish tends to come out sounding Gallic. Oh well, c'est la vie!

Back to la vida loca of politics. The field so far includes Rebecca Williams running for the Citywide at-large seat on the Democratic Party line and incumbent Tracey Brown running off the line. In the Third Ward, Democrats chose Charles McRae to run on the line and Alma Blanco is running off the line with Brown. The Blanco-Brown ticket has the support of John and Wilma Campbell, as evidenced by campaign photos.

The filing date for the June 7 primary is April 4, so there may be more candidates running as Republicans or Democrats. Independent candidates can file on June 7 and will be on the November 8 ballot along with those who win in the primary contest.

Well, that's enough chismes for tonight. Remember, the Spanish for "blog" is .... blog.

--Bernice

Land Use Boards to Meet Saturday

The Planning Board, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Historic Preservation Commission and Shade Tree Commission will hold a joint meeting Saturday (March 5) to discuss mutual concerns.

City Hall, 515 Watchung Ave.

The meeting is scheduled to take place from 10 a.m. to noon in City Hall Library. It is open to the public and questions will be taken at the end of the meeting.

Planning Board Chairman Ron Scott Bey will introduce board members and welcome Mayor Adrian O. Mapp and Deputy City Administrator for Economic Development Carlos Sanchez. Opening remarks will be made by Scott Bey as well as D. Scott Belin, chairman of the Zoning Board of Adjustment; Bill Michelson, chairman of the Historic Preservation Commission; and Peter Simone, chairman of the Shade Tree Commission.

Scott Bey, Planning Director Bill Nierstedt and the board and commission members will review topics including current redevelopment plans; development maps; Transit-Oriented Development updates and status of the TOD Downtown and TOD Netherwood areas; and status of the South Avenue Gateway project, Muhlenberg Hospital Tract and Downtown Traffic and Parking Study.

Participants will also brainstorm issues of mutual concern including use of social media prior to, during and after meetings; ways to provide mutual support, communication and consistency; future planning and zoning initiatives; and information on the city web site.

Before the meeting concludes at noon, questions will be taken from any members of public in attendance.

--Bernice