NEWARK, NJ - Getting approvals for development in Newark is so slow the city is counting on pending state legislation that would allow it to create a secondary zoning board to handle backlogs of variance applications.

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A variance allows a developer to build on their property in a way that is not permitted by the city's master plan. In Newark, the zoning board of adjustment approves -- or denies -- variances at a painstakingly slow pace: It sometimes takes an application seven months to receive approval.

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“Almost everything in our city, when it comes to development, requires a variance,” said North Ward Councilman Anibal Ramos, later adding that “The delays are just ridiculous.”

Now, a bill sponsored by state Sens. Teresa Ruiz and Ron Rice (D-Newark) would allow municipal councils to create a supplemental zoning board to quicken the process. The bill was approved in the Senate in February.

City council is also implementing its own policies to help hasten development in Newark.

This past month, the council increased the number of regular zoning meetings from 22 annually to 30. The city also advanced a measure that would allow developers to pay a fee to convene the zoning board for a special meeting, explained Economic and Housing Development Planning Officer Chris Watson.

Watson expects the number of applications for project approvals to increase by 25 percent from last year -- up to 185.





“It's important to recognize that we have seen an increase in applications in the City of Newark just because our development landscape is changed,” Watson told the council during a presentation on March 26. “Someone let the secret out that Newark is the place to be. So everybody is here. We're seeing an uptick in these applications.”

The solution is two-fold: create a policy that makes it so applications don’t even have to go before the zoning or planning board, and then also expedite the approval process if and when an application has to be heard by a board.

WHAT CAUSES APPLICATION DELAYS

Municipalities have to update and adopt a new master plan every 10 years to keep up with changing development patterns. The city’s latest master plan, which creates guidelines for land use in a municipality, was approved in 2012.

A lot has changed since then.

Developers now want to build on irregular plots of land, which often requires them to get variances for density or height. That usually means they have to go to the zoning board.

“Beginning at the fourth quarter of this year, it's time for us to start thinking about revisiting our master plan and start doing the type of planning that is going to be responsive to the changing development landscape that we're seeing in Newark,” said Watson, the city’s chief planning officer.

Each variance application is presented before the zoning board in a way that is similar to a miniature court case. An attorney often represents the developers and uses experts -- like engineers or architects -- to convince the seven-member board that a variance is warranted.

The zoning board currently meets twice each month, usually at 7 p.m. every other Thursday. Generally, no new cases are heard after 10 p.m.

The board hears a wide variety of applications too. Some come from homeowners who want to make small improvements to their property, while others are for huge towers in the Downtown.

It’s often difficult to get through an entire agenda of about six applications during each meeting.

“As these larger projects come in, they take far more time for the board to consider them,” said Angelo Cifelli, Jr., an attorney for the city’s zoning board. “So consequently there are times you don’t get to all the cases on the agenda.”

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If the zoning board doesn’t get to every application on the agenda for a regular meeting, it gets pushed back to a later date. But that causes other applications to be delayed too.

This is when the backlog effect starts, especially since the zoning board is required to hear each completed application within 120 days. To get to all applications within that time frame, special meetings need to be held.

In February, the zoning board technically met four times -- or once each week -- because of two additional special meetings, Cifelli said.

Some nights, not every zoning commissioner is present, which reduces the chances of a project receiving a needed variance.

Certain variances require five out of seven votes, not just a simple majority. If only six members are present, developers sometimes get nervous and ask for their application to be adjourned to a later date. Developers often have to wait up to seven months for a next available slot, when hopefully, all seven members would be present.

“Two years ago, you usually got on in the next meeting” when an application was adjourned, said Cifelli. “Now, we’re so jammed up. That’s why the applications have to be so far out.”

THE SOLUTIONS

The bill sponsored by Ruiz, the state senator who represents parts of Newark, is one solution. It would essentially create a supplementary and temporary zoning board to handle the backlog.

A secondary zoning board would be created through a municipal ordinance. The chairperson of the permanent zoning board would refer new and pending applications to the supplemental zoning board.

The temporary zoning board would exist for about one year and consist of seven regular members and four alternate members who are approved by the city council.

Ruiz said she introduced the legislation at the request of Ramos.

"As a lifelong resident of Newark, I am thrilled that there is so much interest in investing in our city," Ruiz said. "Councilman Ramos introduced this concept to deal with the volume of applications we are seeing. I am hopeful this legislation will help Newark continue its economic resurgence."

While the bill goes through the state legislature, Newark is already trying to get a hold on the influx of applications.

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The council has approved a measure that increased the number of alternate zoning board members from two to four, which would help ensure that there is more than a quorum at each meeting.

The ordinance would also increase the number of regular zoning meetings from 22 annually to 30. There would also be up to 10 special meetings allowable each year.

“That’s 40 meetings a year, that’s unheard of,” said Cifelli, the city’s zoning board attorney. “It’s just unheard of. There’s no other place in the State of New Jersey…”

A separate ordinance already advanced that would require developers to set aside money that would pay for the city to process and review applications. Larger accounts are necessary for larger projects. For example, a residential project with 100 or more units would need to post $10,000, while large commercial and mixed-used developments would need to post $20,000.

Those fees would help the city hire more staff members and planners in the Economic and Housing Development departments.

Not every application needs to go through the zoning or planning board for approval either. Some applications are already approved administratively, said Watson, the city’s chief planning officer.

“We should only use our zoning board as a last recourse when we're developing a city,” Watson explained to council members. “We should be prudent and be cognizant of how the development landscape is changing, and write the kind of prescriptions to respond to that. And that's what city planning allows us to do.”

Even before an application reaches the planning or zoning board, it needs to go through a review process by the city’s planning office before it’s deemed complete. Some council members noted that there just simply isn’t the personnel needed to get applications ready, but the added revenue will help to hire more city employees.

“Our city is moving forward and we need to move our departments forward as well up to speed to the 21st century to accommodate the development -- the bump of development -- that we're getting in our city,” said Central Ward Councilwoman LaMonica McIver.

Correction: An earlier version of this article indicated that a fee could be paid by an applicant to hold a special planning board meeting. The fee applies to the zoning board, not the planning board.

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