County Planning Board stuns Monarch developers with a “no” vote

At the end of its second hearing on February 22, the Hudson County Planning Board rejected the application for the Monarch project by a vote of 6 to 2. The Commissioners and consultants to the Board were baffled by attempts from the developer’s attorney and traffic consultant to explain why they termed the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway at the site, a “street.” (See link below, Can the waterfront walkway be a “street”?)

The Shipyard Associates’ problems at the hearing were compounded by a long list of speakers all of whom opposed the project, complaining about traffic gridlock, broken agreements to create open space and conflicts with the Hudson County Master Plan. The initial hearing in March had to be continued to February 22 due to the number of speakers. One Commissioner commented after the hearing that this was the first time in eight years they voted down a development project!

The Monarch project consists of two eleven-story towers on a pier at the north end of the Shipyard Development at Hoboken’s northeast waterfront. The developers are brothers Michael and David Barry of Ironstate Development/Shipyard Associates/Applied Companies. The final buildings of this 1160-unit project were completed last year, approved by the Hoboken Planning Board in 1997. This approval required the Barrys to develop this last block, Development Block G, most of which is on a pier over the Hudson River, as open space with tennis courts and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The Monarch project would build over area originally slated for the tennis courts and most of the open space to add another 78 units to the Shipyard Development.

The County Planning Board will adopt a resolution at its March 14 meeting listing the reasons for rejecting this high-rise project. The developer’s application to Hoboken Planning Board is now scheduled for April 3. The Hoboken Board, however, will likely not hear the application unless the Shipyard Associates can reverse the decision of the Hudson County Planning Board. According to the attorney for the Fund for a Better Waterfront, Michael Garofalo of Laddey Clark & Ryan, the Hoboken Planning Board cannot hear an application that has been rejected by the County. The developers can appeal to the Board of Chosen Freeholders and the court system but that could take a number of months to resolve.