Getz, That sounds *just like* our experience. The support staff in the Zoning office seemed to have no idea what we were talking about, and after getting frustrated by the their rudeness over the course of several phone calls, we contacted our council-person. He helped us out and we got the letter.

Ihatethiscity, Yep, we couldn't help laughing when we heard about Zoning's computers being hauled away today. The irony. Of course, who knows how many innocent JC residents are going to be further messed up by their documents being wheeled away in those machines...

I hope the letter you are to recieve from teh Zoning Dept. wasn't on the four computers that were seized out of that office early Monday morning. Seems that they are under investigation...I wonder what for? :)

Hopefully you will get your letter before they are all lead out in handcuffs.

Hi,

My wife and I bought in JC this past May and had to provide a similar letter for our lender, HSBC. We too were referred to Anthony Lambiase's office, but several conversations with the staff there, as well as Mr. Lambiase, didn't get us what we needed. There seemed to be a lot of confusion about our request, and were essentially told that no one could provide us such a blanket guarantee. It may have had something to do with the area where we bought (Morris Canal Redevelopment Area), but it struck us as odd that no one in that office seemed to understand the purpose of the letter we sought. Incidentally, I have a law degree, so I was pretty comfortable with the point of the letter and how to pose my request.

Frustrated and confused, we in the end turned to our council rep, who put us in contact with the JC Division of City Planning (30 Montgomery St., Suite 1400 - Tel. 201-547-5010). I spoke with the division's director, Robert Cotter, who was phenomenally helpful and who wrote and faxed a perfect letter within 30 minutes.

Hope this helps. Good luck!!

Thank you, everybody! We've confirmed this with a phone call and sent a request for the letter, to Anthony Lambiase in Zoning. I appreciate all the input.

Tony Lambiase is still the director of zoning enforcement:

http://www.cityofjerseycity.com/hedc.aspx?id=1184

I had to get such a letter about 10 years ago. I went to Tony Lambiasi (?) at 30 montgomery. I had to pay a small fee, go over what I was looking to do, and the letter was mailed to me the next day. It was a very simple process. I don't know if Mr. Lambiasi is still there (he was an older gentlemen at that time) but the zoning dept. is where you want to go.

A Rebuild Letter, also known as a Burn Letter, is essentially a confirmation to the lender (from your local zoning official), which confirms that the municipality will recognize the grandfathered, zoning status of a pre-existing, non-conforming use, in case of the building's destruction. If the building were to burn down (or be destroyed), it confirms that the building could be replaced in the same configuration as it was prior to it's destruction.

I do mortgages for a living (since 2001) and I've never heard of a "rebuild" letter. What kind of loan are you obtaining? What bank?

My husband and I (first-time home buyers) are finishing up our application for a mortgage, and at the last minute, the bank has requested a "rebuild letter." Does anyone know exactly which city/county office handles this kind of request? or how long it would take? Thanks...