Council steals from (your) DONUT-- a developer FAVOR

Gotta hand it to Mike DeFusco... 

He timed the final vote for his developer-bonanza-- an ordinance to shrink the Hoboken 'donut hole'-- for the middle of summer.

GA can tell you that preserving the Hoboken donut is a constant battle fought at our Zoning Board of Adjustment.  Developers want approval for larger buildings that 'bite' into the donut, and  their architects, planner, and attorney argue for relief from Hoboken's donut-protecting ordinance.   

What is the Hoboken 'donut' and why does this matter?

The 'donut' is the protected open space in the middle of your residential block. (Protected by ordinance.)

Whether you live in an apartment building or own a rowhouse, Hoboken's zoning ordinance limits your neighbors to building out to 60% of their property ('lot coverage"), leaving 40% as open space for your property to get sunlight, air, and visual openness.

Truly, what does Mike DeFusco give a shit when he's got $92K in P2P violations? Tiffanie? Hello?

DEFUSCO, GIATTINO, CUNNINGHAM, RAMOS, FISHER, RUSSO AND FALCO BIT YOUR DONUT.

On July 11, 2018 seven members of the Hoboken City Council voted to bite your donut by passing Mike DeFusco's "Donut Chomp" ordinance. 

DeFusco's "Donut Chomp" ordinance changes zoning law to allow (at least) 62% in lot coverage, by removing the rear staircase from the original 60% lot coverage. 

Trust GA on this:  DeFusco has bitten your 'donut' so that developers will build larger condo interiors (instead of larger decks); building walls will take a giant step back into the open 'donut' space. Mike DeFusco has increased lot coverage for the same group that stuffs him with cash.  

And one bite leads to the next.  Give it 20 years: your donut will resemble a canyon.Which is why the Hoboken donut is treated by Zoning and Planning Boards as sacrosanct-- hands off.

And, worst of all...

On June 22, 2018, absentee Planning Commissioner DeFusco (who appears to sit on the Planning Board as a mole for developer-donors) received the Planner's 'compliance review' of his "Donut Chomp" ordinance, and was told that his changes to lot coverage were "substantially inconsistent" with 2018 Master Plan Re-Examination Report & 2018 Land Use Element.  (See full memo at bottom of page)

The Planner concluded:

"The primary concern is that the exemption from the lot coverage for the proposed projections into the rear yard are inconsistent with the Plan’s recommendations for the preservation of the “donut hole” and proposed recommendations for the District Standards."

 Next, on July 11, 2018 at 10:48 AM, the entire City Council received this:

PLANNING BOARD RESOLUTION 

Fact: the Planning Board review of DeFusco's "Donut Chomp" ordinance compliance with Hoboken's 2018 Master Plan Re-Examination Report & 2018 Land Use Element was a thorough, deliberative process. 

So then why did 7 members of our City Council choose the dissembling of Mike DeFusco; his denigration of the Planning Board  as "a bureaucratic board that looks to hold as much power as they can?"  They accepted the argument of their political ally-- clearly a developer  favor-- instead of following the Planning Board's recommendation to preserve the donut. 

Jim Doyle and Emily Jabbour fought for your donut...

...to no avail!  

Jen Giattino, Tiffanie Fisher and Peter Cunningham joined their allies to disregard the Planning Board.  Chomp chomp chomp.  

Yes, that is what occurred on July 11, 2018. And now, it's only a matter of time until another developer-shill proposes another bite from the donut, and another and another.

Why bother with a Planning Board review, if the City Council is pimping for developers?  

People, we must replace such seriously dysfunctional council members-- all of them. Tiffanie Fisher, Jen Giattino, and Peter Cuningham have voted against the interest of their constituents, many of whom are homeowners who will suffer the consequences.

Hoboken Master Plan Compliance Review Memo- DeFusco ordinance