Jones Lang LaSalle

Residents speak out on transit village growth
Redevelopment plan around train station would rise to 2,035 units By Mark J. Bonamo

The preparations are in place to implement five proposed changes to the Secaucus Transit Village Redevelopment Plan for up to 2,035 units of housing near the train station.

But judging from comments from individuals and organizations at a public hearing held on Monday at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission, not everyone who will be affected by these changes was pleased.

"This is about the future of Secaucus and the region," said Paul Bellan-Boyer, 47, of the Jubilee Interfaith Organization, a Hudson County based-interdenominational organization that is concerned with a variety of social issues, including housing.

With the completion of the state-approved project, the population of Secaucus, now standing at around 15,000, could rise according to estimates by 5,000 to 6,000, an increase of approximately 35 percent. This could affect the quality of life in a number of ways.

The original redevelopment plan for the 237-acre Transit Village site was adopted by the NJMC in April 2004.

The changes

The Transit Village site is separated into four zones: the Riverfront Landing, Station Square, Transition, and Passive Recreation zones.

The total original number of housing units planned in all four zones was 1,850, with the vast majority of 1,700 units to be built in the Riverfront Zone by the development company Fraternity Meadows.

The proposed changes would significantly increase that number. The maximum number of allowed market-rate units in the Riverfront Zone would be raised to 1,805 units. This doesn't count the proposed addition of affordable housing.

Other changes include:

· The establishment of the minimum number of "active adult" units at 735. An "active adult" adult is housing for residents age 55 or older.

· The exclusion of "active adult" units from the yearly limitation on the issuance of occupancy certificates. According to NJMC Public Information Officer Christopher Gale, the reason for this exclusion is that since the financial impact of these units is very positive for the town, it would be highly beneficial for those units to come onto the tax rolls first.

· An increase in the maximum allowable height for housing units from 8 to 12 stories, with the overall building height not to exceed 15 stories, including parking.

· The on-site inclusion of the 230 affordable housing units, which comply with the requirements of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). COAH units would not count towards the maximum number of housing units permitted. Therefore, the total maximum number of new units permitted for the entire Transit Village would stand at 2,035.

Debate about affordable housing

At the hearing, Fraternity Meadows was represented by attorney Thomas O'Connor from the law firm of Waters, McPherson, and McNeill in Secaucus. O'Connor made the case for the developers, stating that while they were clearly running a for-profit business, they were also trying to comply with affordable housing regulations.

The idea is that by allowing them to add more units of market rate housing, they can also make enough money to build the affordable housing.

"The purpose of these amendments is to address the COAH regulations," O'Connor said. "These regulations changed to a great degree some of the assumptions and requirements of the development of the property."

Paul Chrystie, the executive director of COAH, agreed that the NJMC should be commended for including affordable housing in the current proposal for the Secaucus Transit Village. However, Chrystie went on to say that the NJMC was only "doing the bare minimum."

"For more than 20 years, the Meadowlands Commission ignored its responsibility to low- and moderate-income New Jerseyans," Chrystie said. "It is financially feasible to include an affordable component of 20 percent or more in the transit village. Accordingly, the question before the Commission is not whether it can make up for prior bad acts, but whether it will. It should."

The drumbeat of criticism continued to be sounded by Fred Moser, an architect who lives in Secaucus.

"I'm questioning the logic of increasing the overall density on this parcel of land," Moser said. "We're supposed to be concerned about affordable housing. It's an issue around the country and here in Secaucus. But the density and height requirements seem to be set aside because of the state mandate for affordable housing. We're all going to live around this facility. How are the site services going to be adjusted to meet the increased needs?"

Kevin Walsh, 32, an attorney for the Fair Share Housing Center based in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, chose a geometric approach when criticizing the proposed changes in the redevelopment plan.

"When I look at what's happened in Secaucus and the other Meadowlands district towns, there's been a triangle set up," Walsh said. "On one side is Mayor [Dennis] Elwell of Secaucus, on the other side is COAH, and on the other side is the Meadowlands Commission. Each of them are pointing at each other saying 'We don't have to do it. Somebody else is going to do it.' As a result there's been virtually no affordable housing built in the Meadowlands towns. This really continues that, although in some ways it's a step in the right direction. It's a half-hearted effort by the Meadowlands Commission to satisfy its affordable housing obligations. The developer, in partnership with the state, should use the public subsidies available to ensure that the poor have an opportunity to live in Secaucus."

Complaint about building height

Alice Allured, 75, has lived in Secaucus for 30 years. She has enjoyed the opportunity of living in Secaucus, but doesn't like the way the proposed changes could change her town. "My big objection is to the building height," she said. "Secaucus is a low-rise community. Putting buildings like these 15 stories high on the river is like trying to make New York City on the Hackensack. This will destroy the entire mystique of the area."

Mayor Elwell, who spoke about the issues at hand during and after the public hearing, does not believe that the possible changes to the Transit Village plan will steer Secaucus down the road to ruin.

"I commend the Meadowlands Commission and the developer for being willing to change the plan and satisfy state regulations," he said. "This way, the town of Secaucus will not fall under a court order where someone from out of town can come in here and tell us what to do."

Elwell further stated that fears about the potential negative impact have been heard before in Secaucus. "Some residents said that the building of Harmon Cove would destroy the character of our town, too," he said.

The NJMC will now review the comments made at the hearing and wait for an impact statement from Dr. David Listokin, the co-director of the Center for Urban Policy Research at the Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University, according to NJMC spokesman Gale.
The minimum time for further progress regarding the changes is three weeks. Gale defended the NJMC's role in trying to meet affordable housing standards.

"This agency has really taken the issue of affordable housing seriously in recent years," he said. "We are trying to follow the mandates in a way that we perhaps had not done in the past. This transit village would be the first one in New Jersey with affordable housing."

He added, "The people who are moving up though the middle class are the ones who need to live in transit villages and not be stuck in isolated areas."

©The Hudson Reporter 2006