The area for redevelopment is northeast of Hudson County Park at Laurel Hill and is bordered by the Hackensack River, New County Road, the New Jersey Turnpike, the Jersey City Water Supply line and Meadowland Parkway. It is based on the Allied Junction Transfer Station and is under the zoning authority of the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission (NJMC).
A transit village is a community based around a train station in order to reduce the need for cars on the road. The proposed plan is a partnership between the New Jersey Department of Transportation (DOT) and NJ Transit.
According to the DOT website, studies have shown that an increase in residential housing within walking distance of a transit facility helps to increase transit usage. The Secaucus Transit Village plans for 1,850 housing units.
At Wednesday's meeting, residents, elected officials and other concerned parties spoke up, offering both support for and opposition to the development. Many expressed concerns about the scope of the development.
"It was a pretty educated crowd," said NJMC spokesperson Chris Gale.
The NJMC first considered the area for redevelopment in 1996, and in 1997 they began to prepare what was then called the Laurel Hill Redevelopment Plan, which was adopted in 1999. The plan, which recommended a convention center, mixed use developments and a communications production center, was reconsidered after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Interest in the area was renewed after the NJMC passed their master plan on Jan. 8. The master plan identified the Secaucus Transfer Center as a potential transit village hub, consistent with its "smart growth" philosophy of mixed use, transit-oriented development.
"It's something I had asked for," said Mayor Dennis Elwell. "When you see the maps and things that are happening in Secaucus, it became apparent there was a real need for some sort of a plan for what goes there. All the different property owners have different ideas about what they want to do, so we felt the need for a plan.
In developing the plan, the NJMC considered remarks from a Sept. 17, 2003 public information session. People attending that meeting had requested that the NJMC wait six months to evaluate the impact of newly opened Allied Junction, concerned that it might generate extra traffic on its own. They also requested that open space intents be honored, and were concerned about traffic caused by the proposed number of new homes.
"If you build housing knowing the New Jersey homeowner and driver, you're creating 3,700 cars," said NJMC Executive Director Bob Ceberio, basing this figure on 1,850 units with two drivers apiece. "This plan calls for 25 to 30 percent of units to only allow one parking space. We're forcing the issue by dropping down the number of spaces per unit."
Residents were not assured by the reduction of parking spaces, which equals an average of 1.6 spots per unit. Carol Ellison, a Harmon Cove resident said, "There are many more cars than parking spaces in Harmon Cove. I'm concerned that with 1,850 units, we're going to end up with a residential parking situation like we have in Hoboken or Union City."
Ellison said that in Harmon Cove, cars are often parked on corners, blocking sidewalks or in emergency vehicle areas.
Ceberio pointed to Hoboken as an example of an area where many residents use public transportation instead of cars.
"Hoboken is very successful as a transit village," said Ceberio. "As government entities, we have to push out rails and bus systems to get people out of cars."
Building in phases
The redevelopment plan dictates that the housing will be built in four phases of 400 to 425 units. This circuit breaker-like approach allows the NJMC to evaluate the impact of housing incrementally. Before a certificate of occupancy is issued to builders, they must submit a Project Impact Analysis (PIA) showing how the housing will impact the town in terms of the need for municipal services, the potential for new school children, the environment and traffic. The PIA goes directly to the municipality, which will have the authority to instruct the developer to address the impact.
"Whoever develops here must mitigate these impacts," said Ceberio. "The mayor and council will have full say in terms of how to mitigate these impacts."
The builder may be required to provide money for new emergency vehicles or install stoplights, for example.
Guarded support and wariness.
Bill Sheehan of Hackensack Riverkeeper, who runs programs out of Laurel Hill Park, said the area is in need of some kind of improvement.
"I get 5,000 people a season to that part of town, 3,500 from out of the area," he said. "Every one of them said 'What was that I just drove through?' They would never guess that such a nice park sits at the end of County Road."
Resident Frank MacCormack said he opposes housing units in the area. At the hearing, he said he was wary of hearing people refer to the 'downtown.' part of Secaucus. He also felt that the average resident of Secaucus might be unaware of the changes going on in spite of the hearings.
"They're breaking up the town," he said "I think people should be made aware. We assume too much."
Elwell said that the transit village offers the potential for benefits to the community, and used Harmon Cove as an example.
"After Harmon Cove we got a hospital, a high school, Panasonic and Harmon Meadow," said Elwell. "We're moving around this community and buying up warehouses and waterfront property. We're creating open space. You have to look to the past and learn to from the past."
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