Fellow Citizens concerned about the proposed 226 Park Avenue zoning variance application (and about upzoning through variance in general):
Attached is file "226 Park Avenue ZB hearing statement 05.doc" which contains my statement to the Zoning Board opposing the 226 Park Avenue application for variances to increase the building height to 4 stories, the lot coverage to 70%, and to decrease the front yard setback from 10 feet to 0 feet.
Please have a look at this document and if you have any questions, comments, corrections, or additions, please send them to my email address: symbitar@aol.com.
Also, please come to the Zoning Board hearing on Tuesday, August 18th, at 7 PM at City Hall. (Enter from the Newark Street entrance.) It is vital that as many citizens as possible question the applicant's experts and make statements to the Board explaining how the proposed changes will negatively effect them and the neighborhood and asking the Board to deny the variances. This is the only way that the Board will be persuaded to deny the variances.
This application is an example of a very serious problem in Hoboken involving upzoning - that is increasing Hoboken's height and density. Aside from the harm to the residents in the immediate neighborhood (e.g. covering up windows, blocking light and air, increased flooding and traffic, less parking, destruction of historic structures), there is the more general harm of creating a precedent for giving variances when the public is harmed and when the law specifies that no variances can be given. This undermines the protections of the zoning law, and will result in a City-wide decline in our quality of life.
I therefore also ask that you forward this email and attachment to any other concerned citizens to encourage them to come to the meeting as well and to testify to the harm that will be done and to demand that the variances be denied. Only our united presence and protest at the zoning board hearing will stop these harmful variances from being granted and stop this illegal and damaging upzoning of our town.
I hope to see you Tuesday! Best wishes.
Sincerely,
Dan Tumpson
Here is the attachment Dan was refering to on Slideshare:
226 Park Avenue ZB Hearing Statement 8 18 2009
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