Planning introduces Hackensack River Greenway overlay: developers to build and maintain riverfront sections

City planning introduced an ordinance to create a Hackensack River Greenway Overlay District that would coordinate public greenway creation along the Hackensack River waterfront with private development along Jersey City’s western riverfront.

Under the overlay, development applicants along the river would be required to develop, maintain and manage a portion of the greenway, adhere to county-coordinated design standards, and enter developer's and public-access agreements to ensure long-term performance. To help offset the cost of providing the greenway on private property, the ordinance provides a lot-coverage exemption and a credit formula: the 30-foot easement required for the greenway would be subtracted from lot-coverage calculations.

Planning staff emphasized the overlay is part of master-plan implementation and was developed in coordination with county staff. Staff said the overlay does not create new density allowances via floor-area or height increases; rather, it adjusts lot-coverage calculations so that landscaping and pathways dedicated to the greenway are not counted against a developer’s lot-coverage limit.

Council members asked for practical examples. Planning staff said the mechanism would allow, for example, a large retail site to provide a contiguous greenway alignment rather than scattered green islands in parking lots; the 30-foot dedicated path and landscaping would be excluded from lot coverage calculations so the public amenity would not count against impervious-surface limits.

The ordinance was introduced for future hearings; no final action was taken at caucus.