The relationship between the mayor and city administrator/redevelopment director doesn’t seem to be getting any better.
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Category Archives: City Council
Flood-prone W. Grand properties to be acquired
A state program to buy out flood-prone homes will fund the acquisition and demolition of two West Grand Avenue properties near the Wheatena section of Rahway River Park.
Continue reading Flood-prone W. Grand properties to be acquired
City Council approves sidewalk cafe ordinance
The City Council unanimously approved an ordinance Monday night to regulate sidewalk cafes, including an annual $500 fee for a license.
Continue reading City Council approves sidewalk cafe ordinance
City considers review of redevelopment plans
The city may consider reviewing and updating the nearly 15-year-old redevelopment plan that set the tone for the downtown construction over the past several years.
Continue reading City considers review of redevelopment plans
Council to introduce sidewalk cafe ordinance
The City Council is scheduled to introduce an ordinance at its regular meeting Wednesday night, establishing regulations and licensing for outdoor sidewalk cafes. The ordinance (O-19-12) would come up for a public hearing and final approval at the July 9 pre-conference/regular meeting, and would take effect 20 days after/if it’s signed by the mayor.
The annual application for a sidewalk cafe would be accompanied by a $500 fee. The fee would cover the cost of the location being inspected and plans reviewed by the police chief, fire chief, city engineer, health officer and construction official.
Director of the Department of Building, Planning and Economic Development Richard Watkins told the governing body tonight that there is no existing ordinance and the city needs a method to regulate and license the practice since it would be a private business operating in the public right of way, requiring indemnification to protect the city as well as neighbors. The ordinance would require a minimum of six feet of paved sidewalk and not operate past 10:30 p.m. (11:30 p.m. on Fridays, Saturdays and certain holidays).
Watkins said that Hotel Indigo has expressed interest in a sidewalk cafe and while no other restaurants have yet to do the same, he’s hopeful others will follow. Until now, eateries have had sidewalk seating under special arrangements with the city, he said. BYOB restaurants would be included in the ordinance.
Watkins estimated the process of filing an application until approval for a restaurant might take two to three weeks.
Ordinance would allow temporary, ‘pop-up’ uses
The City Council is scheduled to adopt an ordinance Monday night that would allow property owners to use vacant storefronts as “pop-up” galleries or cafes until a tenant can fill the space.
City Council President Samson Steinman said the amendment will strengthen the city’s current outdoor dining ordinance while also allowing the temporary use of vacant storefronts for such things as “pop-up” galleries or cafes.
As an example, he cited an Irving Street property currently under renovation (across from the Klavierhaus Piano Conservatory) that is likely to participate. The ordinance would amend existing regulations to include permanent or temporary food establishments and outlines the application process, which includes a $45 fee.
Pop-galleries are being employed in Chicago’s Loop area and this 2009 story from The New York Times details various neighborhoods in New York City where the initiative has been employed. Some places have even used parking spaces to create “pop-up cafes” — decked out with seating, tables and plants — including Lower Manhattan, Westport, Conn., and Austin, Texas.
Alternate parking plan for Water’s Edge
Almost two dozen more spaces will be constructed under an alternate parking plan to accommodate the 108-unit Meridia Water’s Edge project. The developer, Capodagli Property Company, will pay $25,000 for 3,700 square feet (in red on this accompanying map) to build spaces for the rental project, in addition to constructing 22 spaces (in green on the map) for use by the Rahway River Condominium Association.
The 22 spaces will be created along the levee in the outdoor parking lot adjacent to the library building, which is owned by the condo association. The Redevelopment Agency, which is a 50-percent owner of the association along with Rahway Office Center, approved the sale of the property at its meeting last week. The City Council is scheduled to introduce an ordinance next week that would grant an easement to allow construction on city property.
The $25,000 sale price was based on the sale of land for the five-story Water’s Edge project. The Water’s Edge plan that gained approval proposed the use of 21 existing parking spots out of the roughly 160 spaces, which the newly created spaces will replace, along with 87 spaces on the ground floor below apartments.
The condo association needs the parking for future tenants of the commercial space above the library and could not provide for parking related to Water’s Edge unless additional parking would be provided and paid for by the developer, according to Redevelopment Director and City Administrator Peter Pelissier. “The intent is to have a zero loss of spaces for the condo association while providing the spaces needed by Meridia, at no cost to the condo association.”
New commissioner for Redevelopment Agency
Michael Staryak was unanimously confirmed by City Council on Monday night as a commissioner to the seven-member Redevelopment Agency, replacing Nancy Saliga, whose term expired. His four-year term runs through 2016.
Saliga was a commissioner since the inception of the agency more than a decade ago. She first was elected as an at-large City Council member in 1990, and her current term expires in 2014. Staryak has served for many years on the Board of Education and his current term concludes this year (.pdf); no word on whether he’ll seek re-election to the school board.
Unlike a few other recent appointments put forth by Mayor Rick Proctor, Staryak’s appointment was confirmed unanimously by the governing body, along with a new Republican commissioner on the Alcohol Beverage Control Board (Eric Rickes, 2014) and a member of the Zoning Board of Adjustment (Andre Bryant, 2015).