Redevelopment Agency Meeting Special Meeting Thursday, September 28, :00 p.m. City of Passaic, Mayor's Conference Room

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1 Page #1 Redevelopment Agency Meeting Special Meeting Thursday, 7:00 p.m. City of Passaic, Mayor's Conference Room Commissioners Present: Commissioners Absent: Staff Present: Public Present: Proper Notice: David Spector, Angel Torres, Peter Cedeno-Castro and Arthur Soto Chaim Munk and William Diaz Ricardo Fernandez/Executive Director, John Kaplan, Esq. /Attorney and Joe Buga/Project Manager Jarislow Jackowitz, Joseph Conosenti, Charles Sarlo, Esq., Fadi Samaan/Developer, Kathy Anderson/Progress Capital Advisors, LLC Adequate notice of the meeting was provided by notice to the Herald & News and Bergen Record, and by posting on the City Clerk s bulletin board specifying the time, place and known agenda I. Roll Call II. III. Pledge of Allegiance Public Session No members present IV. Minutes of the meeting for July 27, 2017 Moved: David Spector Second: Arthur Soto For: 3 Against: 0 Abstain: 1 Not Present: 2

2 Page #2 V. The bill list for in the amount of $13, was reviewed and approved. Moved: Arthur Soto Second: Peter Cedeno-Castro For: 4 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Present: 2 Presentation from Properties At Casa Bella, LLC team about the proposed project for Hope Avenue. The project involves the construction of a 4-story, elevator serviced residential apartment building containing 40 apartment units and comprised of 35, 2-bedroom and 5 1-bedroom units. VI. RESOLUTIONS RESOLUTION NUMBER Resolution Designating Properties at Casa Bella LLC as the Redeveloper for Property located at 224 and Hope Avenue, Passaic, New Jersey Block 4063, Lots 62 and and Authorizing an Interim Costs Agreement WHEREAS, Properties at Casa Bella LLC (hereinafter referred to as the Redeveloper ) is the owner of properties located at 224 and Hope Avenue, Block 4063, Lots 62 and (hereinafter referred to as the Property ), which is located within the boundaries of the City of Passaic (hereinafter referred to as the City ) in an area that has been designated by the City as an area in need of redevelopment/rehabilitation, which property is included in a duly adopted zoning plan known as the Redevelopment/Rehabilitation Plan for Property Designated

3 Page #3 as Block 4063, Lots 62 and on the Official Tax Map of the City of Passaic, NJ (hereinafter referred to as the Plan ), as amended; and, WHEREAS, the Redeveloper submitted a redevelopment proposal on or about July 18, 2017 (hereinafter referred to as the Proposal ) to the City of Passaic Redevelopment Agency (hereinafter referred to as the Agency ) for the Property for uses in conformity with the Plan as amended; and, WHEREAS, the Redeveloper proposes the following: Development of the existing land/property into a residential project consisting of four (4) stories and forty (40) residential units consisting of approximately thirty-two (32) two (2) bedroom units and eight (8) one (1) bedroom units (hereinafter referred to as the Project ); and, WHEREAS, a committee of the Agency s Board of Commissioners has reviewed the Proposal and found same to be generally consistent with the intent of and uses set forth in the Plan as amended; and, WHEREAS, the Redeveloper shall comply with the Plan and/or shall apply to the Planning Board for all necessary variances, approvals, and/or permits as may be required under the Plan and/or or may seek amendment of the Plan by request to the Agency and the City. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Passaic Redevelopment Agency that: 1. The above recitations are incorporated herein as if set forth at length; and, 2. Properties at Casa Bella LLC is hereby designated as the Redeveloper for the redevelopment of the Property; and,

4 Page #4 3. This designation is expressly contingent upon amendment, if necessary, to the Plan and/or variances and approvals from the Planning Board; and, 4. This designation is expressly contingent upon the Redeveloper being responsible for and assuming all costs incurred by the Agency, including, but not limited to legal, appraisal, title, environmental, financial, engineering, etc.; and, 5. This designation is also expressly contingent upon the Redeveloper providing all funds for the acquisition, relocation, property maintenance of and demolition, if necessary, at the Property and construction of the proposed Project; and, 6. This designation is also based upon the Agency s previous due diligence into the Redeveloper, including the Redeveloper previously providing the Agency with a non-refundable Application Fee of Ten Thousand Dollars ($10,000.00) and the Redeveloper having previously provided to the Agency all of the necessary financial documentation necessary to perform a full financial evaluation that the Redeveloper is financially qualified to undertake this Project to the satisfaction of the Agency and its professionals; and, 7. This designation is also expressly contingent upon payment by the Redeveloper to the Agency of an escrow, under the terms of the Interim Costs Agreement, in the amount of Twenty Thousand Dollars ($20,000.00), such escrow fee to be paid within ten (10) calendar days of the execution of the Interim Costs Agreement between the Agency and the Redeveloper; and, 8. This designation is also expressly contingent upon payment by the Redeveloper to the Agency of a one (1) time non-refundable administrative fee of Fifteen Thousand Dollars

5 Page #5 ($15,000.00) to be paid within ten (10) calendar days of executing the Interim Costs Agreement between the Agency and the Redeveloper. 9. The Interim Costs Agreement between the Agency and the Redeveloper is approved for signature by the Agency, subject to the final approval of the Agency s General Counsel and Executive Director; and, 10. Once the Interim Costs Agreement is approved and payments are made by the Redeveloper as required hereunder, the parties will commence the negotiation of a redevelopment agreement, which is subject to review and approval by the Agency and its professionals; and, 11. The designation herein is for a period of ninety (90) calendar days, which period may be extended if necessary at the sole discretion of the Agency s Executive Director for an additional period of ninety (90) calendar days. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairman, Vice Chairman and/or Secretary of the Agency are hereby authorized to execute any and all documents necessary to effectuate this Resolution subject to review and approval of the Agency s General Counsel and Executive Director. INTRODUCED BY: David Spector SECONDED BY: Arthur Soto Chair David Spector Vice Chair Peter Cedeno-Castro For Against Abstain Absent

6 Page #6 Commissioner William Diaz Commissioner Chaim Munk Commissioner Arthur Soto Commissioner Angel Torres Adopted on _ORIGINAL SIGNATURE ON FILE Ricardo Fernandez, Executive Director RESOLUTION NUMBER Resolution Recommending that the City Council of the City of Passaic Direct the City of Passaic Planning Board to Conduct a Study into the Entirety of the Area In and Around First Street to Determine if the Area is an Area in Need of Rehabilitation or Redevelopment WHEREAS, the Passaic Redevelopment Agency (the Agency ), a public body corporate and politic of the State of New Jersey, was created pursuant to subsection a. of section 11 of P.L. 1992, c.79 (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-11); and, WHEREAS, there exists in various parts of the City of Passaic (the City ) conditions of deterioration in housing, commercial and industrial installations, public services and facilities and other physical components and supports of community life and improper, or lack of proper, development that result from forces that are amenable to correction and amelioration by concerted effort of responsible public bodies and without this public effort are not likely to be corrected or ameliorated by private effort; and, WHEREAS, the City Council of the City of Passaic must duly adopt a resolution to direct the Passaic Planning Board (the Board ) to conduct a study of an area within the City to

7 Page #7 make a recommendation to the City Council as to whether or not a certain area is an area in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Passaic, County of Passaic, State of New Jersey, recommend that the City Council of the City of Passaic direct, by resolution, that the Board conduct an study of the entirety of the area in and around First Street to recommend that the area is an area in need of rehabilitation or redevelopment. INTRODUCED BY: Arthur Soto SECONDED BY: Angel Torres Chair David Spector Vice Chair Peter Cedeno-Castro Commissioner William Diaz Commissioner Chaim Munk Commissioner Arthur Soto Commissioner Angel Torres For Against Abstain Absent Adopted on _ORIGINAL SIGNATURE ON FILE_ Ricardo Fernandez, Executive Director RESOLUTION NUMBER 17-23

8 Page #8 Resolution Recommending that the City Council of the City of Passaic De-designate the Area In and Around River Drive as an Area in Need of Redevelopment and Rescind the River Drive Redevelopment Plan WHEREAS, the Passaic Redevelopment Agency (the Agency ), a public body corporate and politic of the State of New Jersey, was created pursuant to subsection a. of section 11 of P.L. 1992, c.79 (N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-11); and, WHEREAS, there exists in various parts of the City of Passaic (the City ) conditions of deterioration in housing, commercial and industrial installations, public services and facilities and other physical components and supports of community life and improper, or lack of proper, development that result from forces that are amenable to correction and amelioration by concerted effort of responsible public bodies and without public effort are not likely to be corrected or ameliorated by private effort; and, WHEREAS, on or about October 7, 2003, the Passaic City Council adopted a resolution directing the Passaic Planning Board to conduct a preliminary investigation into whether certain land parcels located within the City of Passaic meet the statutory criteria for designating them as an area in need of redevelopment as defined in the New Jersey Local Redevelopment and Housing Law (hereinafter referred to as the LRHL located at N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq.); and, WHEREAS, the Passaic Planning Board held a public hearing on the investigation results on June 23, 2004 and adopted a resolution on July 14, 2004 recommending that the City Council designate each of the subject properties as an area in need of redevelopment; and, WHEREAS, the City Council adopted a resolution designating the subject areas in need of redevelopment on July 19, 2004; and, WHEREAS, one of those subject properties deemed an area in need of redevelopment was the River Drive Redevelopment Area, which covers approximately six (6) acres (inclusive of public rights-of-way) in the southeastern portion of the City of Passaic bounded by New Jersey Route 21 to the west and north, the Passaic River (and the Rutherford municipal boundary) to the east, and the Clifton municipal boundary to the south (the redevelopment area is comprised of Block 1325, Lots 1 and 5 and Block 1326, Lots 1, 6, and 19 and the River Drive right-of-way, as designated on the official tax map of the City of Passaic); and, WHEREAS, the City Council passed an Ordinance on second reading to adopt the River Drive Redevelopment Plan on February 7, 2005; and, WHEREAS, a significant amount of time has passed since the River Drive Redevelopment Area was deemed an area in need of redevelopment, as well as a significant

9 Page #9 amount of new guidance and interpretation having been provided by the New Jersey courts into the criteria necessary to deem property as an area in need of redevelopment under the LRHL; and, WHEREAS, a renewed investigation into the River Drive Redevelopment Area may be necessary due to the passage of time and law with regard to the criteria necessary to designate area as an area in need of redevelopment. In the interim, the current designation of the River Drive Redevelopment Area needs to be de-designated. NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED by the Board of Commissioners of the Redevelopment Agency of the City of Passaic, County of Passaic, State of New Jersey, that the Board of Commissioners recommend that the City Council of the City of Passaic do the following: 1. De-designate the River Drive Redevelopment Area as an area in need of redevelopment so that a new study can be conducted to determine whether or not the River Drive Redevelopment Area meets the current criteria necessary to be designated as an area in need of redevelopment under current laws and standards; and, 2. Rescind the River Drive Redevelopment Plan. INTRODUCED BY: David Spector SECONDED BY: Arthur Soto Chair David Spector Vice Chair Peter Cedeno-Castro Commissioner William Diaz Commissioner Chaim Munk Commissioner Arthur Soto Commissioner Angel Torres For Against Abstain Absent Adopted on

10 Page #10 ORIGINAL SIGNATURE ON FILE Ricardo Fernandez, Executive Director VII. NO CLOSED SESSION ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION VIII. UPDATES BY EECUTIVE DIRECTOR RICARDO FERNANDEZ In the State of New Jersey there is a document is called The Best Practices which gives all municipalities a score that potentially can jeopardize State funding. One of the requirements of the document is that the City Council meet with its relevant agencies at least once a year. The Council has re quested the meeting with the Redevelopment Agency for Monday, October 2, Tonight I am sharing a detailed power point presentation of the status of the majority of the redevelopment projects for your review and comments. The presentation describes the status of the active, pending and completed projects considered by the Redevelopment Agency. It also shows the amount of dollars of redevelopment projects that the City has accomplished through the designation of developers and the completion of their projects. In response to a recommendation from the Commissioners, The Executive Director agreed to add the estimated tax revenue from all the projects at the end of the presentation. I. ADJOURNMENT Moved: David Spector Seconded: Peter Cedeno-Castro For: 4 Against: 0 Abstain: 0 Not Present: 2 Respectfully Submitted, ORIGINAL SIGNATURE ON FILE Asenett Martin Secretary