Harold Fitzpatrick, counsel for the Bayonne Housing Authority, said the redevelopment areas is located near 17th and Andrews streets and Avenue C.
"The property has on it three empty public housing buildings," he said.
An agreement with the federal department of Housing and Urban Development will allow the Housing Authority to add five townhouses in their place, which will be sold at a reduced price to accommodate possible first time home owners and will become taxable properties.
The design, he said, would fit the streetscape - and once the designs are available, the Housing Authority would come back before the city council and Planning Board with a full presentation.
The sale of the redeveloped houses would be accomplished through a lottery system. A similar system was used for sale of property in 1999 when other homes were sold.
He said work would start as soon as the Planning Board approved the designs with expectations that construction would be complete sometime in 2006. The e Housing Authority has already awarded the design contract to DAL Design Group, of Bayonne to draft construction plans for five two-family townhouses.
Councilman Chiappone said the new properties will be a vast improvement, but requested that one of the homes be made available as affordable housing, and that the design of driveways not eliminate street side parking.
The council once again tabled two ordinances that were scheduled for public hearing saying information is still needed before the final boat. One ordinance would create a radio interference zoning ordinance, but awaits a report by the Planning Board. The second ordinance that would establish a development fee and Affordable Housing Trust Fund is also waiting for a Planning Board report.
School construction bond introduced
The city council also introduced a $15.6 million school bond ordinance for capital improvements and passed a resolution setting Wednesday, Aug. 17 for a public hearing.
This follows approval by the Board of School Estimate in June.
The bond would cover various construction and sewer improvements to the Water F. Robinson School, various construction improvements to and rock removal from Woodrow Wilson, the construction of a new PS #14, the purchase of a district wide communication system and the purchase of furnishings.
The city council, seeking to support a recent effort by Mayor Joseph Doria, passed a resolution supporting a possible sister city agreement with the City of Catania in Sicily, Italy.
Earlier this month, Doria met the Mayor of Catania, Dr. Umberto Scapagnini at a reception in West Orange. Catania is one of the largest cities in Sicily, and is noted for its two Roman amphitheaters, a medieval cathedral, Ursino Castle, and a history of volcanic activity. About 12,000 of Bayonne residents claim Italian ancestry, and many of them are of Sicilian background.
The two cities have similar interests in expanding their international maritime trade and other issues
Council President Vincent Lo Re said Bayonne already has a sister city relationship with the City of Bayonne in France - which apparently dates back to the 1930s - in response to American soldiers from Bayonne, N.J. who had helped fight in World War I near Bayonne, France. In 1990, then Mayor Richard A. Rutkowski renewed relations with that region of France.
In the public comment portion, Leonard Kantor, who has already said he intends to become candidate for mayor in the 2006 municipal election, grilled the council on details of the upcoming budget and property tax assessments. He questioned why the city has not presented the new budget by the required July 1 year beginning, citing that budged for the previous fiscal year was 10 months late getting passed. He also pressed the council for answers as to why newly constructed home are being assessed at a lower rate than they are being sold for.
Lo Re said he would schedule a meeting with the appropriate officials to give Kantor the information he requested, but would not answer questions at the meeting.
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