Jersey City Annual Zoning Board Report - Wild Apricot

Jersey City Annual Zoning Board Report

2014 and 2015

Tanya R. Marione, AICP, PP 1/21/2016

"The life of the law has not been logic; it has been experience. The felt necessities of the time, the prevalent

moral and political theories, intuitions of public policy, avowed or unconscious, and even the prejudices

which judges share with their fellow-men, have had a good deal more to do than syllogism in determining

the rules by which men should be governed. The law embodies the story of a nation's development through

many centuries, and it cannot be dealt with as if it contained only the axioms and corollaries of a book of

mathematics."

~ Common Law, Oliver Wendell Holmes

2014 Findings

In 2014 there were 40 applications submitted to the Zoning Board of Adjustment.

The zoning board heard and decided 37 cases. 35 were approved, 2 denied, resulting in a 95.6% approval rate.

From those 37 cases, 83 variances total were granted. 14, or 38%, of all the cases included major site plan approval or a subdivision.

34 were "d" variances:

Types of "d" Variances d(1) Use d(2) Expansion of a nonconforming use d(5) Density d(6) Height exceeding 10% Total

# of total "d" variances 19 2

1 12 34

% of total "d" variances 56% 6%

3% 35% 100%

49 were "c" variances*

2 principal structures on one lot Maximum Building coverage Minimum floor to ceiling height Maximum Lot coverage Minimum lot area Minimum lot depth Minimum lot width Parking between the building and street Minimum parking spaces required Minimum parking aisle width Maximum driveway width Minimum percentage of ground floor for garage Minimum dimensions of ground floor garage Front Yard setback Rear yard setback Sideyard setback Signage Tandem Parking Valet Parking

Type of "c" Variances

# of total "c" Variances

% of total "c" Variances

Minimum parking aisle width 5

10.2%

Minimum number of parking

7

14.3%

spaces required

Rear yard setback

8

16.3%

*Only number and percentage of c variances provided if the percentage was greater than 10%.

The greatest numbers of variances granted were for the R-1, One and Two Family Housing District: 56.6% of all the variances were for the R-1 zone.

The next highest percentage of variances granted were in the: 10% of all the variances were for the NC, Neighborhood Commercial, Zone

2014 Variances Specific to the R-1 and NC Zone

16

14

12

10

8

6

4

2

R-1

0

NC

Number of Variances

2 principal structures on one lot building coverage density

expansion of non-conforming use height - minimum

height 10% or greater lot coverage lot size-area

lot size-depth lot size-width parking betw. bldg & street parking- dimensions parking-# spaces parking-aisle width parking-curb cut width parking-driveway width parking-front yard parking-garage % of gr.fl.area parking-garage dimensions parking-space dimensions residential on the ground floor setback-front yard setback-rear yard sideyard-both signage-freestanding signage-max # signs tandem parking

use valet parking

Variance Types

Variances Granted in the R-1, One and Two Family District d(1) use variances - 12, or 25.5% of all variances for R-1 zone d(6) height variances - 6 or 13% of all variances for R-1 zone

Inversely: 67% of all the use variances granted (regardless the zone), were in the R-1 district 50% of all the height variances granted (regardless the zone), were in the R-1 district

Location of Use and Height Variances for the R-1 zone 5 out of the 12 use variances granted were in the Village Neighborhood. 5 out of the 6 height variances granted were in the Village Neighborhood. The Village Neighborhood is the approximate area east of Coles Street, west of the Turnpike extension, north of Christopher Columbus Blvd, and south of 7th Street.

Variances Granted in the NC District 50 % of all variances in the NC zone were d(1) use variances. All NC d(1) variances were in the Village Neighborhood.

2015 Findings

In 2015 there were 69 newly submitted applications to the Zoning Board.

The zoning board heard and decided 43 cases. 36 were approved, 5 denied, and 2 were withdrawn resulting in an 83.7% approval rate.

From those 43 cases, 95 variances total were granted. 25, or 58%, of all the cases included major site plan approval or a subdivision.

33 were "d" Variances

Types of "d" Variances d(1) Use d(2) Expansion of a nonconforming use d(5) Density d(6) Height exceeding 10% Total

# of total "d" variances 15 4

1 13 33

% of total "d" variances 45.5% 12%

3% 39.3% 100%

62 were "c" variances*:

Maximum Building coverage Expansion of a non-conforming structure Minimum percentage of front yard landscaping Minimum floor to ceiling height Maximum Lot coverage Minimum lot area Minimum lot depth Minimum lot width Parking between the building and street Minimum parking spaces required Minimum dimensions for parking spaces Minimum parking aisle width Minimum percentage of ground floor for garage Minimum dimensions of ground floor garage Front Yard setback Rear yard setback Signage

Type of "c" Variances

# of total "c" Variances

% of total "c" Variances

Maximum building coverage

9

14.5%

Minimum number of parking

7

11.3%

spaces required

Rear yard setback

13

21%

*Above Table only represent c variances with percentages greater than 10%.

D and C Variances Granted in 2015

16 14 12 10

8 6 4 2 0

HC NC PHHD PPOD R-1 R-2 R-3 VVP

The greatest numbers of variances granted were for the R-1, One and Two Family Housing District: 58% of all the variances were for the R-1 zone.

The next highest percentage of variances granted were in the: 13% of all the variances were for the NC, Neighborhood Commercial, Zone

Variances Granted in the R-1, One and Two Family District d(1) use variances = 10, or 18.2% of all R-1 variances d(6) height variances = 7, or 13% of all R-1 variances

Inversely, 67% of all the use variances granted (regardless the zone), were in the R-1 district 54% of all the height variances granted (regardless the zone), were in the R-1 district

Location of Variances Granted in the R-1 District

Village Neighborhood/Ward E (see attachment #1 for reference) 4 out of the 10 use variances granted (40%) 5 out of the 7 height variances granted (71.4%)

Ward D (see attachment #1 for reference) 2 out of the 10 use variances granted (20%) 2 out of the 7 height variances granted (29%)

Finally, Ward C (see attachment #1 for reference) is the third highest for use variances granted in the R1 zone.

2, or 20%

Location of Variances Granted in the NC District d(6) height variances = 25 % of all NC variances The 2 use variances granted were both for residential on the ground floor, behind the storefront retail.

Location 100% of all height variances in the NC zone were in the Village Neighborhood 100% of all use variances were along Central Avenue

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