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Clifton planning board finds HLR Phase 4 redevelopment plan consistent with master plan; submits detailed comments to council
Summary
The Clifton Planning Board voted that the HLR Phase 4 redevelopment plan is consistent with the town's master plan and directed counsel to transmit the board's comments to the City Council. Commissioners pressed for more detail on traffic, schools, emergency services, setbacks, parking, and community benefits before site-plan stage.
The Clifton Planning Board voted that the Clifton HLR Phase 4 redevelopment plan is consistent with the Clifton master plan and directed counsel to prepare and send a letter to the City Council outlining the board’s comments and concerns.
Joe Baumann, special counsel on the redevelopment process, told the board the plan has evolved over several months and that adoption of the plan will be followed by negotiation of a redevelopment agreement and community benefits with the municipality. “A condition to them appearing before you for site plan approval is the execution of a redevelopment agreement with the municipality,” Baumann said.
Kristen Russell, project planner with Colliers Engineering and Design and author of the plan, presented the staff position that the plan furthers goals in the master-plan reexamination by encouraging reuse of vacant industrial land and a diversified mix of uses. “I believe that this redevelopment plan is consistent with those goals,” Russell said.
Commissioners raised detailed concerns they want addressed before the developer returns with a site plan: traffic capacity and alternative access off Route 3 and county road improvements; fiscal-impact studies covering taxes, school enrollment, police and fire needs and possible construction of community facilities (police outposts or firehouses); parking counts and circulation within the development; setbacks and building separations for fire safety; stormwater, impervious coverage and green-roof specifications; and a requirement for escrowed funds so municipal experts can independently review developer-submitted studies.
Vice Chair Withers and other board members called for explicit requirements in the redevelopment plan text that the developer provide traffic and health-and-safety impact reports, a financial report, and a community-benefit negotiation framework. Commissioners referenced the project site’s constrained access and the need to coordinate with Passaic County and NJDOT on bridge and roadway capacity improvements.
The board asked that the council respond in writing to each planning-board comment when the ordinance returns to council for adoption. Baumann said the council would formally respond to comments and that the redevelopment agreement and any site-plan review would follow.
On a roll-call vote the board approved a motion stating that the Clifton HLR Redevelopment Plan Phase 4 is consistent with the Clifton master plan and asking counsel to prepare the board’s letter to council. The motion passed with a single no vote from Commissioner Benasso; other members voted yes. The board instructed counsel to distill tonight’s remarks into a written communication to the City Council.
