Did NJDEP ignore its own coastal zone regs in granting permit? Appellate Court to decide

In December 2011, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) issued a waterfront permit to the Shipyard Associates to build two eleven-story residential towers — the Monarch Project — on a Hoboken pier. This permit ran counter to the following items issued in 1997 on behalf of the 10-acre Shipyard Project: Hoboken Planning Board Planned Unit Development (PUD) approval, the Shipyard Associates/City of Hoboken developer’s agreement, and the original NJDEP waterfront permit.

In 1997, the Planning Board approvals, developer’s agreement and state waterfront permit all designated the pier — also known as Development Block G — as open space that included tennis courts, a tennis pavilion and the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. The state permit and local approvals all required the Shipyard Associates to construct the open space at Development Block G after completion of the final units of this 1160-unit PUD.

Yet, after completing the last of the units in 2011, the Shipyard Associates flouted their agreement and approvals by seeking instead to build an additional 78 units — the Monarch Towers. Currently, there are five cases before New Jersey Superior Court, four of which are before the Appellate Division. The objectors — the City of Hoboken, Hudson Tea Building Condo Association (HTBCA) and the Fund for a Better Waterfront (FBW) — have all persisted in this marathon legal battle with the developer.

Of all the cases, the challenge to the NJDEP waterfront permit may be the next up for a ruling. Appellants City of Hoboken and HTBCA filed their briefs a year ago in May 2015 with the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court. The NJDEP failed to hold a public hearing as they were required to do and ignored a long list of Coastal Zone Management regulations in granting this permit.

Section 7:7E-7.11 of the state regulations states: “The proposed structure must not block views . . . that are currently enjoyed from existing residents, roads, or pathways to the maximum extent possible.” Significant private and public funds have been utilized to construct the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway at the Weehawken Cove. The Monarch Towers would introduce a serious impediment to the remarkable views to the Hudson River and New York City skyline enjoyed by both the public using the Walkway and private residents at the Cove .

Section 7:7E-3.48 specifies open space requirements at the landward and waterward ends of piers. The Monarch developers fail to comply with this section of the regulations. The state also requires new buildings on piers to be built on structurally sound existing pilings which no longer survive support this pier, large sections of which have collapsed into the Hudson River.