Time to reproduce responsibly and leave the quote "go forth and multiply and fill the earth" behind. It's full to capacity already. The condos are not intended for families of five. Too bad so sad that you can't raise your 3+ kids here anymore. Shouldn't be so narcissistic as to multiply so profusely in the first place. All this talk about making things sustainable and no one ever mentions overpopulation as the cause of the problem.

Awesome Mayor Healy - you are such a civic leader!

Way to tackle a pressing issue in our community!

I think the rising cost of mediocre public education or crime might have been a couple places to focus.... but no..... you go after those illegal apartments!

When is the next skyscraper apartment building going up? Can I see the infrastructure impact from that please - I expect in depth analysis.

Yes, let's never build another apartment building ever again. I mean, people might actually want to LIVE here, and if you keep building more apartments, they might actually find a place to live.

Quote:


When he says, "would make the population too dense for its infrastructure", does he mean like Grove PointE?

Seriously, here we have an issue apart from crime that clearly illustrates what is wrong with the approach of the clowns in charge....

Something illegal that you can't control?

Simple!

Change the law to allow it and collect some extra $$$ too!

Quote:

Single family homes are being converted into apartments because there is a demand for housing that is not being met otherwise. Decreasing the available housing by eliminating conversions would dramatically increase the cost of housing. So do the people living in smaller homes benefit if they can no longer afford to live in the larger home?

The shortcomings of the infrastructure can be resolved by upgrading the infrastructure. Of course, that would require competent leadership on the part of elected officials, so maybe they are correct in assuming such improvements are impossible.

The bottom line is, illegal apartments exist because there is a demand to fill them.

How would they make it legal for the people living in the illegal units?
Im sure theres alot of illegal units espically in the newly built houses that have the garage in the front bottom & rent out that area behind the 1 car garages.

They need to crack down on all of these cars using out of state plates. Theres so many cars in this city that have out of state insurance & licence plates & the owners live here in JC.

"We'd like to consider an amnesty program to recognize them (the landlords with illegal apartments) and have them increase their tax payments to the city," Healy said during an interview last week. "There are literally thousands (of illegal apartments) out there. It will bring in a significant about of money to the city's coffers."


SO, Illegal is OK as long as the city makes more money!

*&#@*AMAZING!

If they are concerned about density STOP allowing beautiful one family homes to be turned into 3-4 family condos. It is becoming IMPOSSIBLE to raise a family of 2 or 3 children here without living like a sardine. That's a shame.

Jersey City Mayor Healy wants to put 'illegal' apts on tax rolls

by Amy Sara Clark
The Jersey Journal
Thursday May 28, 2009

Jersey City Mayor Jerramiah Healy wants to bring illegal apartments in the city up to code and put them on them on the tax rolls.

In Jersey City, thousands of homeowners have illegal apartments tucked away in basements and attics. And if Mayor Jerramiah Healy has his way, he'll make honest landlords out of all of them.

But several people, including at least one city official, said Healy's idea might be impossible to implement and would flout zoning rules already in a place.

"We'd like to consider an amnesty program to recognize them (the landlords with illegal apartments) and have them increase their tax payments to the city," Healy said during an interview last week. "There are literally thousands (of illegal apartments) out there. It will bring in a significant about of money to the city's coffers."

City spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill estimated that each illegal apartment that went legit would bring in between $522 and $833 extra money per year to the city due to the increased value of the property.

City Zoning Officer Tony Lambiase estimated that 25 to 30 percent of the buildings in Jersey City have illegal apartments, and perhaps 80 percent of these units could be brought up to code, which would include creating secondary exits in case of fire.

Several people questioned the practicality of Healy's idea, which the mayor acknowledged needs to be fleshed out.

"I understand the mayor would like to make it legal for the people living in the illegal units, but I don't know how it's done," said city Planning Director Bob Cotter.

Bringing each case before the Zoning Board of Adjustment would overload the system and is arguably illegal, since zoning variances are meant to be granted only rarely, Cotter said.

One option would be to change the city's zoning laws, Cotter said. Most of Jersey City falls under the "R-1" category, which allows one- or two-family homes. Illegal apartments are usually added to two-family houses, Cotter said.

The city could change the R-1 category to allow three-families, but then the city could see a huge influx of new basement apartments, which, Cotter said, would make the population too dense for its infrastructure.

Barbara Petrick, president of the Sergeant Anthony Park Association, agreed. "Higher density is something that can be okay (but only) if it's built for it," she said.

Rebecca Hoffman, president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association, said she didn't think many landlords would take the mayor's offer since under state law, three-family homes are considered "multi-family buildings" requiring a slew of expensive upgrades such as sprinklers and second egresses.

Plus, they'd have to pay more in taxes.

"It's a complicated issue, but I guess the bottom line is I don't think this really addresses the problem," Hoffman said.

The city needs to enforce the current zoning laws and build more affordable housing so people wouldn't need to live in illegal apartments, she said.