Council to re-advertise amendment requiring prior approvals for construction permits, adds forestry and tax-assessor checks

The Jersey City Municipal Council on April 9 voted to amend and re-advertise a construction-permit ordinance (city ordinance 25-026) that requires applicants for building permits to document prior approvals from specified city agencies before a construction permit will issue.

During the public hearing, residents and contractors asked for clarity about when prior approvals are required and whether builders must secure every listed clearance (zoning, water, health, electrical, plumbing, traffic and engineering, plan review, fire safety and — after the amendment — forestry and the tax assessor). Speakers said the change is intended to reduce last-minute conflicts by ensuring forestry and other technical checks happen earlier in the review process.

City staff clarified that the local construction board of appeals has already been abolished and that appeals will be heard at the Hudson County level; applications in the review pipeline before the ordinance’s effective date would not be subject to the new rule. Corporation Counsel described the changes as “prior approvals that are applicable” to the specific permit request — if a particular discipline is not applicable to a job, it would not be required.

Because the council approved a substantial amendment (adding Jersey City Forestry Division and the Tax Assessor), members voted 9-0 to re-advertise the ordinance for final public hearing on April 23, 2025; the amendment vote was 9-0. Council members said the re-advertisement would allow the public to view the redlined changes and for staff to provide additional clarifying guidance.

Ending: The council published the amended language online and set a second public hearing for April 23 to consider final adoption after the redrafted local prior-approval list is publicly posted.