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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Not too shy to talk
 
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Didnt Fulop come up with a plan to address the parking issue...about 6 months ago. And the council tabled it, I think because they just dont like him. I'm getting the feeling that anything Fulop comes up with...no matter how good...the council is going to ignore it because it came from him. And NOW Gaughan is saying...oh here's an idea I just thought of...we should address the parking problem. But of course he comes up with some lame stupid idea not nearly as good as Steve's. (Im not sure here, but I think Fulop's idea was to limit parking permits to the new tower residents who have spaces already in the building...)
And PLEASE tell me that Gauhan really didnt say the comment about the homo's with email...PLEASE. Somebody made that up...right?
Posted on: 2006/8/29 13:18
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
 
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Just in terms of optimizing parking, I don't think this would work. The problem is that a curb cut out has to remain empty of cars 24/7 while street parking opens up when people use their cars to go to work, etc. With on street parking if someone leaves to go to work (or whatever) that spot can be used by someone else. If the same person moves their car out of their (former) front yard, the driveway has to remain vacant.
The lack of garage or private parking is a problem for housing that was built before car ownership became common. Still, this idea strikes me as both making the problem worse and insired by people too lazy to walk a little. Quote:
Posted on: 2006/8/28 2:15
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Hey GrovePath, go easy on the slew of postings simply copies of what's been published by JJournal, JCReporter, etc. We all see these articles/papers and perhaps just a link and a few paragraphs would be better. As by example your post above is the same post info already posted in this thread: Quote: Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete #20
Posted on: 2006/8/26 21:02
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Can you park on your own land?
Ricardo Kaulessar - Jersey City Reporter Already an unpopular proposal with the public, the proposed changes to the city's R-1 zoning were tabled by the council. The main issue in the changes was an alteration that would allow residents to park on land in front of their houses. Some residents said this would eliminate street parking and put historic homes in danger of being altered to fit the driveway rule. The changes would have allowed homeowners with 15 feet of space in front of their house park to on their land. The would allow homeowners to change their property so the houses were further back from the street, and their backyards could be smaller. The changes were suggested by Ward D City Councilman Bill Gaughan to address the problem of on-street parking, especially in the Heights section of the city. The increased development there has brought more cars. But there was flood of disapproval expressed by residents at the Aug. 9 Planning Board meeting, where the issue was also discussed. This past Wednesday, a vote on the matter was put off. Gaughan said Wednesday that the proposed changes "take a little more initiative and study" to see what changes can be left alone and others that can be tweaked. But he was unrepentant in pursuing the issue of on-street parking. He will plan a meeting with the public, council members, the city's traffic engineers and representatives of the Jersey City Parking Authority in September to discuss "this important issue" further. Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com
Posted on: 2006/8/26 20:48
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Not too shy to talk
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I'd hate to think if a bunch of gays were up in arms:
"Just because we get 50 Homo's that send e-mails about saving the trees doesn't mean that we shouldn't consider it," [Councilman]Gaughan said.
Posted on: 2006/8/18 5:37
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Not too shy to talk
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Gaughan's a tallywacker.
Did he really say this?
Posted on: 2006/8/18 5:30
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Carport, garage vote delayed
Thursday, August 17, 2006 A vote on changes to residential zoning laws that would have allowed future and current homeowners to build carports and garages throughout the city was tabled by the Jersey City City Council at a meeting yesterday. The proposed ordinance would have allowed property owners with at least 15 feet of property between their home and the sidewalk to build a carport. Advertisement The changes would have also reduced the required backyard space from 30 feet to 20 feet, enabling developers to set back homes by 10 feet to accommodate a driveway or garage. "I am glad the council tabled this, and I hope it's one of those that they keep tabled forever," said one resident. Councilman Bill Gaughan, who spearheaded the proposal, said the city must begin a debate on the parking problem and come up with some solutions. "No matter what happens. We got to do something," said Gaughan. In the fall, he hopes to bring together members of the council, the community and Parking Authority officials to help tackle the problem. One of the items they will look at is eliminating the city's 10 parking zones and creating one master zone, he said. JARRETT RENSHAW
Posted on: 2006/8/18 3:59
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Here we go again.
You have a huge public outcry against something that our politicians want to do, and there are attempts to marginalize the public as special interests ("yuppies with e-mail"). Well then, the obvious solution is to not simply send the e-mail, but to call Gaughan's office. Handy tip: To reach Gaughan you don't call him at his city council number, but call him at the county executive's office (he serves as Tom DeGise's Chief of Staff). The main number for the county executive is (201) 795-6200. Ask for Bill Gaughan. You will most likely be connected to Peggy, his assistant. She is a very nice woman and will take your message. So follow up with a phone call to Bill Gaughan and tell him you oppose the proposed changes to the R-1 zoning. One other thing to ask. In the Hudson County Reporter article published on Sunday, Bill Gaughan admitted that he had someone write the ordinance for him. He refused to disclose who it was, but that it was someone with expertise in urban planning that did not work for the city. Notably, the city's own planning department refused to recommend this ordinance. So it's not surprising that Gaughan went to the outside to find someone to write it. My guess it is someone who is a developer or beholden to developers who want to tear down older houses to build the new cookie cutter "Bayonne Boxes." But rather than make accusations, we should simply have full disclosure. This is a common problem. We most recently saw it with the Powerhouse Arts District, where the city agreed to capitulate to New Gold Equities's demands and rewrite the PAD redevelopment plan, even though planning was opposed to the settlement. We should not replace smart planning with politics. So when you call Gaughan's office, tell him not only that you oppose the ordinance, but that you demandi that he disclose the name of anyone who helped him craft the ordinance. Also tell him that any further work on this ordinance should be done not by anonymous friends of his, but should be done in open consultation with neighborhood associations, preservationists, and open space advocates. Joshua Parkhurst President Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
Posted on: 2006/8/16 15:07
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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My thoughts exactly. What a backwards idiot.
I'm sure those "people who want carports" have telephones and can write letters. How many calls and letters in support of this were received by council members? I'm sure it was below 50, if any at all. Quote:
Posted on: 2006/8/16 14:25
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Not too shy to talk
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Jersey Journal 8/16/06:
"Just because we get 50 yuppies that send e-mails about saving the trees doesn't mean that we shouldn't consider it," [Councilman]Gaughan said. "Most people who want carports don't even have e-mail." Is this guy for real?
Posted on: 2006/8/16 12:46
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Good  Bad & Ugly  Glad the parking issue was tabled for now by planning board. My concerns are that the subtext of this issue is not about Gaughan's constituents wanting parking in front of their houses (I'm sure they do), but that as Joshua pointed out here above, this parking issue becomes the Trojan horse that allows developer encroachment/destruction of historic neighborhood houses, as well as historic houses not in a historic district. The proposed changes to the Master Plan for R1 zoning, with the setback proposal and front yard parking, cannibalizes the land/house use footprint and thereby provides the crack in the door for developers to move on all R1 zoning and by changing the Master Plan they will impact the historic neighborhoods as well, long term. The net result is that with all the 10/15K units planned downtown to 25,000 units citywide scheduled for development, the pressures of developers on council/mayor is to: *provide parking for their current developments (Hoboken requires 100% on site parking for new developments: see car stackers), *provide more available land for multi-apt condos for development This will result in a quick solution at the expense of all issues of open space for parks, historic neighborhood encroachment, disruption of R1 zoning and erosion of current zoning restrictions in the Master Plan allowing possible future development of multi-apt condo development. It's all a land grab by proxy for developers and filling the mayoral coffers with PILOTS/abatements/ward grants to assuage voters as the Mayor gets what he wants ( to subsidize the budget shortfall just like what Schundler did in FY 2000/2001 budget when he liquidated $40 million loan to Lefrak for .12cents on the dollar) and the developers get what they want: *more land for parking * more land for development downtown. Check this out here: A chronology of Schundler's mismanagement that nearly bankrupted Jersey City during one of the greatest economic booms!... 1992 to 2001 http://www.stopbretschundler.com/ Quote: "City ready to sell stake in Newport?. Price: 10 percent of '85 UDAG loan" read Brian Donohue's JJ front page article, 1/5/98. I know DanL and some other old timers like me know this fact and you newbies should check out the recent history of JC since '82 when Gerald ("Jerry") McCann was Mayor, then how Schundler used abatement PILOTS and barter donations to plug his budget shortfalls. As someone said to me: :SOS, just better packaging under Schundler" . 
Posted on: 2006/8/15 22:44
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Not too shy to talk
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Here's a novel solution to the parking problem:
How about SMALLER Fu%#ing cars people!!!??? I mean really, do people ALL need to have 15-20 foot pickup trucks and Vans and SUV's here in the Heights? My only consolation is that these massive guzzlers are getting maybe 11-15 mpg city and are paying for it at the pump. Another BRILLIANT idea: How about revisiting the No Parking from corner signs??? Example: When two One Way streets intersect, not ALL FOUR Corners need to have cars 10-15ft back.. Just 2. Where the red is, is no parking, yet there are only TWO directions one can possibly go from either Webster or Hutton. Youd never turn LEFT from Hutton and NEVER Turn Right on to Hutton from Webster, so why all the extra parking set backs?  I have a house and I could totally to a curb cut in like a lot of my neighbors, but it's just ugly. It pains me every time I see a new 2 family infill go up, and here in the Height's there is one ever damn 5 feet. because it takes away a spot. Example, have 2 new vacant 2 family infills on my block. Been for sale for about 3-4 months now. No one lives there, but you can not park in front of the driveways. additionally, the space between the driveways is big enough for a Mini Cooper, but that's it.. So really 3 spaces are lost. The ineptitude of our "leaders" is truly mind blowing.
Posted on: 2006/8/15 3:27
Edited by byrd on 2006/8/15 3:44:54
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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By the way folks, the e-mails have had an effect. Councilmembers Fulop and Sottolano both remarked at the planning board meeting that they were impressed with the overwhelming response that they received, universally against the ordinance (Steve estimated his office received about 100 e-mails). I heard second that the Council President 's office was also impressed with the e-mails coming in.
And if you haven't e-mailed yet, it's never too late to do so. It actually helps to have a "second wave" of contacts from some people to show that there is continued interest in the matter. And if your council representative did not respond to the e-mail, please follow up with a phone call! Make it clear that you are concerned about this issue and expect your councilmembers to be responsive to your concerns! Joshua Parkhurst President Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
Posted on: 2006/8/15 3:07
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Quote:
Posted on: 2006/8/14 17:28
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Should people park on their own property?
Residents say council measure will subtract, rather than add, parking Ricardo Kaulessar Reporter staff writer 08/12/2006 SPEAKING ON ZONING – City Planner Claire Davis addresses the Jersey City Planning Board on the proposed changes to the city’s R-1 zoning regulations. Ward D City Councilman Bill Gaughan says he wants to create more parking. But residents say his proposal will actually take away street parking. Gaughan's ordinance, introduced at the July 19 City Council meeting, would let homeowners with 15 feet of space in front of their house park on their land. But other residents say that the curb cuts will take away on-street parking. The ordinance would apply to the city's R-1 zones, where one and two-family homes are located. Gaughan said he wrote the ordinance in response to complaints he received from his constituents in the Heights section over the lack of parking. "Parking is a problem, not in Ward D where I represent over 19,000 people, but throughout the city," said Gaughan. "People tell me more about parking than other issues, and if anyone has a better suggestion, let me know." Gaughan said he enlisted the help of a friend whom he would not name but who is a "a professional planner who does not work for the city." While there is agreement that there needs to be more parking, there is disapproval about Gaughan's approach to the problem. Will speak out Wednesday Among those in opposition is Becky Hoffman, president of the Riverview Neighborhood Association, who sees far less parking will be produced if the ordinance is approved at the next council meeting this coming Wednesday. The association represents many residents living in Gaughan's ward. "You'll have all these curb cuts, and you have driveways two feet apart from one of another that will cut down on on-street parking," said Hoffman. Residents aren't only ones who are unsure about Gaughan's idea. Some of his City Council colleagues would like to see this ordinance studied further. One of them is Ward E City Councilman Steven Fulop. "It's a knee-jerk reaction that I don't think will solve the issue of parking," said Fulop. "It would be like paving over Pershing Field to produce more parking." Pershing Field is a city park located between Summit and Central Avenues, within Gaughan's ward. Change in the zoning The change in the R-1 zoning would allow houses to be built further back from the street, allowing for more parking in front of the house. Before, the setback from the street was 10 feet, but with the change, a 15-foot setback would be allowed. In accordance with that, back yards could be smaller. The rear yard setback would be cut from 30 feet to 20 feet. In terms of parking, the maximum length of a curb cut along the street would be 10 feet along the street. The maximum width of a driveway and garage would be 12 feet. Garages built in any new two-family home have to be 13 feet wide and 44 feet wide and should accommodate at least two cars. Part of the ordinance does not pertain to parking. Because the houses may have to be slimmer, building heights could be three stories with floor-to-ceiling height between 9 to 12 feet, with at least two floors connected solely by staircase. A setback that many see as a setback Some residents are concerned that residents may tear down the front of their house to make room for parking, and this could affect historic houses that are not actually located in one of the city's four designated historic districts. Homes in historic district are protected by stringent regulations put down by the city's historic commission that govern how the exteriors are changed. Houses outside of the district, however, can be changed. Joshua Parkhurst, president of the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy, said last week that the ramifications of any change to the city's R-1 zoning would be tremendous from a historic preservation standpoint. Many historic homes do not have enough set back from the front property line to comply with the proposed zoning changes, and therefore would either be torn down or renovated to allow for more front yard room. "This would give developers carte blanche to tear down historic buildings," said Parkhurst. "I live in a brownstone in an historic district in Downtown Jersey City which is protected, Parkhurst said, "but there are areas such as the Italian Village and Bergen Hill where homes will be greatly impacted." Parkhurst also took issue with other proposed changes such as decreasing the backyard space from 30 feet to 20 feet. "This reduction of backyards is a stealth de-greening and a loss of privacy," said Parkhurst. Monya McCarty, a Heights resident and another member of the Riverview Neighborhood Association, would like to see the ordinance studied further, and not during summer months when people are away. "When we pay taxes, we pay for due process. It shouldn't be circumvented in July and August," said McCarty at Tuesday night's Planning Board meeting. Planning Board gives thumbs down The Jersey City Planning Board had a meeting Tuesday and voted to recommend to the City Council that the ordinance not be adopted, and should be sent back to the city's Planning Department for further study. Commissioner Leon Yost asked Robert Cotter, head of the city's Planning Department, to draft a letter to the City Council stating that the Planning Board disapproved of the ordinance. "Streets are for cars and sidewalks are for people," said Yost. "The minute people start going out into the street and cars start going onto the sidewalks, then it is anarchy and chaos." Residents at the Planning Board meeting also complained that cars parked in the new driveways would stick out into the sidewalks. They said cars could hit people who have to walk into the street to avoid cars getting out of their driveways. Planning Board Commissioner Michael Sottolano, who is also a city councilman representing the Greenville section, agreed with Yost about recommending that the City Council vote against the ordinance. He also expected that this issue will be discussed further at the council caucus Monday morning, where a decision may be made to table the ordinance for further study. What's next? When asked about the Planning Board's reaction, Gaughan said that he had no problem with their recommendation, but will still pursue the ordinance with some further changes. As far as other council members, City Council President Mariano Vega said last week that he would like to see further study of the ordinance before the council votes on the matter. Mayor Jerramiah Healy's spokesperson, Maria Pignataro, said that Healy "is currently looking into the proposed amendments to the R-1 zoning and is not in favor of many of them." Ricardo Kaulessar can be reached at rkaulessar@hudsonreporter.com
Posted on: 2006/8/14 14:06
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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If you disagree with "Brickrowman" and want to save parking for EVERYONE in Jersey City, then click on this link here, ActionStudio,to sign and send this message below: http://www.actionstudio.org/public/pa ... ?option=begin&pageid=7244 SAY GOOD-BYE TO ON STREET PARKING! On August 16th, the City Council will vote whether to amend the zoning for neighborhoods with predominantly 1- and 2- family homes, the R1 category, the single largest zoning category in Jersey City. While purportedly drafted to address the parking problem in Jersey City, instead the amendments will: *Decrease ON STREET parking by allowing any home with 15 Ft in front of it to create front yard parking and/or driveway. The multitude of curb cuts will reduce continuous curb space needed for ON STREET parking. *Trade ON STREET parking that any resident can use for private parking that only an individual homeowner can use. *Blight the streetscape by encouraging homeowners to cut down trees and pave over front yards to make way for parked cars. *Create a safety hazard for pedestrians using the sidewalk and drivers who must back out into oncoming traffic. In addition, these zoning amendments will: *Eliminate green space 10 feet at a time by reducing the rear yard setback to 20 feet from 30 feet. This means less privacy for homeowners as well as less light and air. Take Action Now! Scroll down to send an automatic letter to your mayor and councilman! Encourage the Council to Vote NO on the R1 Zoning Amendments on August 16th. Save Our Neighborhoods. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELIVER TO Your letter will be delivered to the following individuals. Peter Brennan Willie Flood Steve Fulop Bill Gaughan Jerramiah Healy Steve Lipski Viola Richardson Michael Sottolano Mary Spinello Mariano Vega ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- SUBJECT Please personalize the subject line. YOUR MESSAGE This portion will be included at the top of your letter and can not be changed. Dear Mayor and Councilpersons, The proposed amendments to the R1 Zoning category (areas with predominantly 1- and 2-family homes) are ill-conceived and will destroy my neighborhood. I urge you to vote NO. Although positioned as a solution to the parking issues in Jersey City, these amendments will worsen the problem and create additional issues. These amendments will: 1. Decrease onstreet parking by allowing any home with 15 Ft in front of it to create front yard parking and/or driveway. The multitude of curb cuts will reduce continuous curb space needed for onstreet parking. 2. Trade onstreet parking that any resident can use for private parking that only an individual homeowner can use. 3. Blight the streetscape by encouraging homeowners to cut down trees and pave over front yards to make way for parked cars. 4. Create a safety hazard for pedestrians using the sidewalk and drivers who must back out into oncoming traffic. In addition, these zoning amendments will: 5. Eliminate green space 10 feet at a time by reducing the rear yard setback to 20 feet from 30 feet. This means less privacy for homeowners as well as less light and air. 6. Remove "predominant setback" language - no longer will a building have to fit into the existing streetscape. 7. Create potential for abuse - illegal apartments (in garages), parking across sidewalks, etc. 8. Provide no enforcement protections. At the next City Council meeting on August 16th you will have a chance to save my neighborhood. Vote NO to the amendments to the R1 zoning if you would like to count on my vote in the next election.
Posted on: 2006/8/14 7:30
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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BOTH!   Just like Chertoff & Rummy who don't want a paper trail.
Posted on: 2006/8/13 2:36
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Newbie
 
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I hope this passes.
It will increase street parking. I have three cars in the family that I used to park on the street. Now because of my driveway, I park two inside and one on the street in front. If you do the math, that means two additional parking spots for two very lucky opponents to this.
Posted on: 2006/8/13 2:06
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Newbie
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In Seattle we expected our elected officials to be responsive to us when we called or wrote. You should say something to those who are not responding and applaud those who do.
Posted on: 2006/8/11 19:46
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Home away from home
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A reply just emailed from the Mayor's address to everyone who wrote in via the actionstudio link:
Thank you for sending an email correspondence voicing your concern about
the proposed amendments to the R1 zoning category.
I am sending you this email as a follow up to let you know I am asking
the members of the City Council to table this vote. I also believe that
these amendments would create additional parking issues for the residents
of Jersey City and that further solutions must be explored.
Please feel free to contact the Mayors Action Bureau at 201-547-4900 to
obtain any further updates on this issue. Thanks again for your
continued support.
Best Regards,
Mayor Jerramiah T. Healy
Fulop was the only council person who replied to me, saying he would vote against the proposed changes. Do the others, including my council person (Mary Spinello) not really use email, or just don't care to reply to constituents?
Posted on: 2006/8/11 18:45
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Just can't stay away
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 Check out the car lift above from San FranciscoNeighborhood parking lifts are a better idea, smaller parking garage of maybe 3 stories, 100 cars, you get the idea. You basically can doouble or triple the amount of parking without a huge ugly concrete parking garage. You get the added neighborhood security of having a 24 houyr security guard and cameras. Also, what about passing an ordinance allowing for the construction of these instead of encouraging everyone to pave over their front yards.
Posted on: 2006/8/7 21:03
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Just can't stay away
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Here's the new electronic newsletter from the Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy regarding the proposed amendments to the R-1 Zoning Districts. If you'd like to get on their list, send an email to jclandmarks@gmail.com. - historyrules
Posted on: 2006/8/7 5:22
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Home away from home
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In response to a question above, I don't have a zoning map handy, but R-1 is by far the most predominant district in Jersey City. It is essentially everywhere where you see one and two family houses.
The historic districts are not included, but everything adjacent would. Italian Village, for example, would be subject to this. Each Ward has this, and would have its streetscape ruined. Ward E might have a little less because of a) the historic districts, and b) the large number of redevelopment plans (which have their own rules). But make no mistake, this affects everyone. Even if you don't live in R-1, you probably live close to it. And if you ever want to drive to any other part of the city to shop or visit friends, good luck finding parking. I already have a problem when I go to services at Temple Beth-El because there are so many curb cuts (either grandfathered in or illegal) and I can't find a place to park). A few other things that make this ordinance so bad. 1) Currently, the ordinance requires that any building follow the predominant setback on the block (that is, the space between the property line and the building line). If you have a row of houses with front yards set back, the new buildings have to fit in. If you have houses with stoops that come out to the property line, the buildings also have to fit in. The ordinance creates a 15 foot maximum front yard set back with no minimum and no predominant setback requirement. This would essentially destroy any uniformity of streetscape. One planning board member compared it to looking at a face with broken teeth. 2) To make up for the lost building space that will be created with carports, the ordinance lowers the required backyard space by 10 feet. This will lead to a "stealth de-greening" of the city. 10 feet at a time doesn't seem like much, but when you multiply it over every R-1 lot it is disastrous, particularly in the low lying flood hazard zones. 3) As noted by others, the carports would create a sea of concrete and make our streets pedestrian unfriendly. The proliferation of carports detracts from streetscapes, encourages tear downs of older, historic properties in order to build "cookie cutters, creates a safety hazard especially for children and the disabled, will make it near impossible to plant or keep trees on the streets. The ultimately irony here is that this actually DECREASES PARKING. The proponent of the ordinance, Ward D councilman Bill Gaughan, justifies this by saying that one can create three spaces (two in a garage and one outside) which will ultimately increase parking. But this does nothing to create public parking. And any carport removes a space 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Bill Gaughan's response to this is that his primary concern is his homeowners in the Heights, who want to be able to park in their front yard. He admitted that parking for visitors or shoppers does not concern him. All this ordinance does is benefit a) homeowners who own multiple cars and treat Jersey City like its a suburb and b) developers who are devoted to tearing down older historic houses in order to create ugly cookie cutters. It hurts everyone else. This ordinance was first reviewed by the planning board last month. The planning board members recognized the problems in this ordinance, and public comment was unanimously against it. The public speakers included preservationists, environmentalists, neighborhood associations and merchant's groups. The planning board in fact REFUSED to recommend the ordinance. But it nevertheless went to the council for a first reading (during the summer, when they have day meetings and no one shows up). It was approved on the first reading. It now goes back to the planning board on Tuesday and then for a second reading at yet another day meeting in August. I have spoken with various council members about this, and they all acknowledge that the ordinance has flaws. The only thing they say in support is "but Gaughan really wants it." This ordinance can be defeated or at the very least mitigated if people work hard enough. But what is needed is widespread public comment from all areas of the city. If you can, please attend the planning board meeting to voice your opposition. In addition, opposition is needed at the city council meeting. In the meantime, call your ward councilmembers (and the at large council members) asking them to at the very least delay voting on the bill until September, when there can be more widespread public comment. It may also be possible for the planning board to ask for major re-working of the bill. Ultimately, this bill turns much of Jersey City into an ugly and poorly planned version of suburbia, and does not even get to the root of the parking problem. Although it appears innocuous on its face, the bill is fatally flawed and should be vigorously opposed. Joshua Parkhurst President Jersey City Landmarks Conservancy
Posted on: 2006/8/5 12:19
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Just can't stay away
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A QUICK NOTE TO OUR ELECTED OFFICIALS:
This has to be the most reprehensible idea ever. Treeless streets? Concrete up and down every corridor? Can we uglyfy Jersey City any further? Can we strip a city of its charm and character and essence even more? I don't think so. Come on, elected officials--don't do this to future generations. Don't do this to US. A mistake unlike any Jersey City has ever seen--that's what this is. It's unacceptable and downright distressing that this is even on the table. Take it off and do Jersey City right--no, do it proud. Give us some greenery--no, don't GIVE us, just let us KEEP what's in place already. We'd like to continue stepping outside our own front doors to confront shade and beauty. Thank you for coming to your senses, and we expect you to fully demonstrate that on August 16 at the City Council meeting you so strategically scheduled for 10AM.
Posted on: 2006/8/5 4:39
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Quite a regular
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i like that the 'bad and ugly' example on the 1st post...
http://www.savethepalisades.org/pages/zoning.html is my block in the heights! oh the shame.  we might have more 'parking spaces' cause of this R1 zoning on my block, but we still have the same parking issues ... no parking. and still lots of ticketing by the parking authority. ugg.
Posted on: 2006/8/5 4:08
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Quote:
It wouldn't add any parking, it would take it away. Think about it--how wide are the houses in JC? If each house on a street had a driveway, it effectively would mean no parking at all. Look at 4th street west of Jersey, where they have driveways--how many cars can park on those streets where the driveways are? Zero. And those are one-car driveways. Look at the houses on York west of Grove--those are two-car driveways, no one can park there, either. You may want to rationalize that parking two cars in a driveway will take them off the street, but it doesn't create space, it simply promotes car ownership. And think of Hoboken, where there are tons of single-car garages and deeded spots--how easy is it to park there? That's where we're headed.
Posted on: 2006/8/5 2:51
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"Someday a book will be written on how this city can be broke in the midst of all this development." ---Brewster
Oh, wait, there is one: The Jersey Sting. |
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Posted on: 2006/8/4 23:14
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Help US Sue Spectra! Join OR Donate! |
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Newbie
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Beware the Jersey City Parking Authority
Posted on: 2006/8/4 23:08
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Home away from home
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Might I point out that a driveway takes 10 feet of curb while a car takes 20 feet. A 2 car driveway, while ugly, would actually add 1 new parking spot to the street total. Of course 2 of those might be empty but unavailable some percentage of the time, but that would coincide with the times it's easy to find a spot anyway.
Much of San Francisco's lowrise areas (and much infill in Hoboken and Downtown) have garages at streetfront with no setback, and the neighborhoods are quite beautiful. I would far favor that plan over setbacks with driveways in front. Is the complete text of the R1 revision available anywhere? I'm sure there's blocks where R1 is perfect to preserve their character, but there's lots of blocks currently zoned R1 that are being vandalized by that zoning, like rows of 4 floor brick apartment houses with 20 foot shorter setback unattached 2 families jammed in.
Posted on: 2006/8/4 21:10
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Re: COMING SOON: A Sea of Concrete
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Just can't stay away
Joined:
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That is not good, in Boston you have whole historic victorian neighborhoods where the landlords paved over the front yards to make parking. Also, this will only make the Asthma problem here much worse. It will lower property values. I think having parking garages makes alot more sense.
Posted on: 2006/8/4 21:04
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