This is a very tricky situation, and you had better get solid advice from someone who knows how things work here.

Most attorneys won't bother to check with the zoning and get a
reliable report. And the "zoning" here is so weird
(in that we have lots of laws and restrictions on the books
but it seems like nobody pays any attention and just
goes ahead and does whatever) that you might well
end up with some awful business underneath you that
the zoning people have allowed, even if the zoning
laws forbid such an enterprise.
Developers are now doing pretty much what they
want, regardless of the rules == and the city seems
to be supporting them, when neighbors question
their development plans.

Do not buy anything in Jersey City until you have
done a ton of homework. After you own it, it is
too late to find out all the troubles. Once a
feeding place goes in under you, nobody is gonna
want to buy your lovely apartment. Keep that in
mind.

James C. McCann, Esq.
Connell Foley, L.L.P.
2510 Harborside Plaza 5, Jersey City, NJ 07311-4029
201-521-1000 2267 Fax 201-521-0100
www.connellfoley.com jmccann@connellfoley.com

Eugene T. Paolino, Esq.
Schumann Hanlon, LLC
30 Montgomery Street, P.O. Box 2029
Jersey City, NJ 07302
201-434-2000 205 Fax 201-938-1503
www.shdlaw.com etpaolino@shdlaw.com

Thank you for your advice, brewster! I was actually considering asking the closing attorney, assuming simplistically they'd know what to look for in the building's contracts.

Does anyone know of a good RE attorney they'd recommend with expertise in this area? :)

Given that any answer the building dept might give you they might later repudiate and leave you screwed, I would talk to a lawyer with real expertise in the subject. Beware generalists and "closing attorneys" who really don't know much about zoning or commercial RE regs. You're considering a big purchase, it will be money well spent.

Hi! I am considering buying a condo in downtown JC, and would appreciate your advice/directions regarding the zoning/planning codes in the city.

We found a place we really like, the only (potential) problem is that the ground floor is being sold as commercial, and the unit we like is right above it. This is a brand new condo building, with an extended ground floor protruding in the back. Our unit, on the 2nd floor, includes a terrace that takes ups roughly half of the flat roof of the ground floor's extension. All of my windows are facing in the same direction. On the 'commercial' part of the roof there are some small exhaust vents.

My worry is that whoever buys the commercial space below might stick a huge compressor on his side of the roof. Even worse, if a restaurant opens downstairs they might install all their kitchen exhausts on the roof, right besides my deck and windows.

I was wondering if anyone knows whether the city imposes any restrictions on commercial owners in a residential building, if it is possible to find such information for a specific building, and who to ask these questions...

Any advice is highly appreciated!