WOODCLIFF LAKE, N.J.—A developer whose previous application at 188 Broadway was rejected will appear before the ZBA on Tuesday, Feb. 23 with a similar proposal for a two building complex with 60 apartment units.
Zoning Board Secretary Meg Smith told Pascack Press Feb. 18 that residents can find the new application posted on the borough website, wclnj.com, by clicking on the following tabs: Departments, Zoning Board of Adjustment, Application Information, 188 Broadway.
Following the Zoning Board’s July 2019 rejection, 188 Broadway LLP appealed the denial via a lawsuit now before Superior Court Judge Gregg Padovano. Recently, Borough Attorney John Schettino said the outcome of that lawsuit is unlikely to affect the current preliminary and final site plan application submitted to the Zoning Board.
“This pandemic has dramatically changed how the world operates and drastically reduced the demand for and utility of office space,” states the application.
It adds, “As more workers have adapted and begun to work remotely as a result of the pandemic, office uses have become even more obsolete, resulting in an increase in vacant, dilapidated office buildings.”
It notes economic inutility is a special reason for a land use variance, which is being applied for due to the site’s Special Office (SO) zoning.
“Further, as a result of the pandemic, there has been a significant demand for housing outside of New York City,” states the application. It says Woodcliff Lake lacks enough housing to accommodate demand.
Taken together, demand for use and site suitability constitute a special reason for a land-use variance, states the proposal.
Asked her views on the new proposal, Veronica Appelle, a member of SHINE, a local citizens group opposed to over-development and high-density housing, told Pascack Press, “The Covid-19 rationale is that now many people will be working from home and not need to rent office space. When [the applicant] purchased the building there were businesses renting there.”
She said, “They eliminated them and never had any intention of making that anything but rental apartments and they must have had some inside track because Woodcliff Lake is not zoned for rental apartments.”
Paul Kaufman, an attorney from Kaufman, Semeraro, and Leibman, and part owner of 188 Broadway LLP with Rich LaBarbiera, said that the site is “a perfect residential site because it’s right across the street from a train station.”
He said there is no market for office space and the site would not be a good retail location, as most people now are shopping online. He said the only prior tenant in the office building, its owner, was moving out when they purchased the site.
The proposal notes the new application resolves issues raised by the fire department, board planner and board engineer, cited in the board’s 2019 resolution of denial. The Zoning Board had cited high density, traffic, current zoning for office space, and quality of life concerns in rejecting the original application.
The applicant requests a use variance for multi-family housing in the zone; a bulk variance for an additional half-story for Building 2’s three stories where 2.5 are allowed; and a variance for interior parking landscaping.
The applicant also seeks three waivers from site plan requirements.