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The Many Roads to Redevelopment
The Local Redevelopment and Housing Law offers flexibility with respect to the definition and designation of redevelopment areas. The statute enables municipalities to approach redevelopment sites with as broad or as narrow a focus as necessary in order to address site conditions. Montclair Township illustrates this flexibility with its various approaches toward .
The Hahnes Department Store: Addressing a Long-term Problem
Due to changes in the regional economy, including the shift to regional retail malls, the Hahnes department store in downtown Montclair Township has remained vacant for more than a decade. After several private sector initiatives failed to develop the site, the township determined that it was necessary to use its redevelopment powers.
Montclair also recognized that a comprehensive redevelopment strategy would be essential to any project's success. Such a strategy needed to include adequate parking for all new uses, as well as for existing businesses located within the township's central business district, as was identified in the township's master plan. To that end, the Township Council decided to include a municipally owned parking lot, commonly known as "The Crescent Lot," in the redevelopment study area. The Council then directed the planning board to undertake a redevelopment study and prepare a redevelopment plan for the area.
The proposed redevelopment area included portions of three tax blocks, including the Hahnes property, a lot on Church Street across from Hahnes that had previously been used as parking for the department store, and The Crescent municipal parking lot. Ultimately, the three properties were designated in need of redevelopment and a redevelopment plan was adopted. The Hahnes Redevelopment Area plan calls for mixed-use redevelopment of the department store site, including residential and retail uses, as well as the construction of a new multi-story parking deck on the municipal lot.
Orange Road: A Public-Private Partnership
Unlike the Hahnes redevelopment area, the private sector initiated the redevelopment process for Montclair's Orange Road Municipal Parking lot, located at the western edge of the township's central business district. The Montclair Auto Group, a local automobile dealership that owns several properties adjacent to the Orange Road municipal parking lot, approached the township in 2001 with a proposal to crate more parking for its businesses via a multi-story parking deck on the Orange Road lot.
The proposal also included additional parking for the township, as well as parking for the Board of Education's administrative offices and a preschool facility located on an adjacent parcel. The township was interested in the idea and determined that the best way to proceed was to use the redevelopment process to convey the property to the developer. Consequently, the township governing body requested that the planning board investigate whether or not the Orange Road lot met the standards for an area in need of redevelopment.
The preliminary investigation of the site was novel in that it involved a single, municipally owned parcel. While the lot was publicly owned, the township's planning consultant determined that the site did not meet the 'c' criteria because other factors required by the statute, such as soil conditions or lack of access to developed portions of the community, were not present. The preliminary investigation report suggested, however, that the site did meet the 'd' criteria because of its "obsolete design and layout" and also the 'e' criteria due to its underutilization.
Some planning board members questioned whether or not the site could be designated in need of redevelopment because some of the conditions that formed the basis of the designation, including poor onsite circulation, lack of buffering and screening, and other site layout issues could potentially be corrected by the township. Other planning board members felt that the site should be designated in need of redevelopment, but only as part of a comprehensive strategy for the redevelopment of Montclair's central business district. They argued that the redevelopment of the site could provide additional parking in the downtown and support existing businesses - both recognized as important goals in the township's master plan. Ultimately, the planning board determined that the site met the statutory criteria for redevelopment and recommended that the governing body designated the site in need of redevelopment.
The redevelopment plan adopted for the site proposes its development as a multi-story parking lot with an area on the ground floor for municipal parking. The plan requires that the structure resemble a building rather than a parking deck and must incorporate design features that emulate the architectural details of surrounding buildings. The redeveloper also is required to improve vehicular and pedestrian circulation on the adjacent school board property and include a public art component that provides space to display art created by local students.
Bloomfield Avenue Corridor: Targeted Areas
Montclair has designated four separate areas within its central business district along Bloomfield Avenue as areas in need of redevelopment. The size of each area varies - from a few to several dozen parcels. Redevelopment plans have not yet been adopted for these targeted areas, but their future redevelopment will be undertaken as part of a comprehensive plan to revitalize the township's central business district. Potential redevelopment objectives include the provision of additional parking in the downtown, the construction of new public facilities, the redevelopment of underutilized commercial properties, improving local circulation, cleaning up brownfields and contaminated properties, providing additional opportunities for public art, encouraging and promoting affordable housing, and creating pedestrian linkages between parking areas and retail commercial uses.
Scattered-site Redevelopment
A redevelopment area does not have to be one large contiguous area comprised of many parcels. Under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, individual properties, sometimes dispersed throughout a municipality, may be designated in need of redevelopment. Montclair has designated a number of residential properties in need of redevelopment as part of its Deteriorated Housing Redevelopment Area "scattered site" program.
In 1998, the Township identified seventeen residential properties that either were abandoned or deteriorated. Many of these were located in otherwise sound residential neighborhoods. After a preliminary investigation conducted by the planning board, the township designated each of these parcels in need of redevelopment.
Montclair's primary strategy for its scattered-site program is to use the threat of condemnation as a "stick" to firmly encourage previously unresponsive property owners to redevelop or rehabilitate their properties. This strategy is proving successful, with eight properties renovated to date. The Deteriorated Housing Redevelopment Area program has grown to include twenty-seven homes. The cities of Asbury Park and Jersey City also are using "scattered-site" redevelopment programs to upgrade abandoned and deteriorated properties within their communities.
Montclair Township's redevelopment efforts illustrate the many different ways that the redevelopment process can be initiated and tailored to address a community's specific needs and issues. Montclair's experience also shows that a number of different approaches may be used within a single municipality. However, it is important to remember that, whether the redevelopment process is initiated by the municipality or by a private developer, whether the redevelopment area consists of one large contiguous area or many individual sites scattered throughout a town, the study area must meet the statutory criteria in order to be designated in need of redevelopment.
Rehabilitation Areas
In addition to designating redevelopment areas, Montclair Township has used the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law's provisions for designating an Area in Need of Rehabilitation as a means of community revitalization.
The Montclair Connection, which opened in September 2002, brought Midtown Direct train service to Manhattan from Montclair's Bay Street Station. The improved connectivity to New York City has enhanced Montclair's desirability to commuters and as such has increased property values and rents throughout the community, particularly in the adjacent Pine Street neighborhood.
The Township, concerned about the potential displacement of existing residents and loss of affordable housing in the area due to gentrification, passed a resolution to designate the neighborhood as an Area in Need of Rehabilitation in March 2002. The designation empowers the Township to establish an incentive-based package for property owners to maintain or create affordable housing within the rehabilitation area. Potential incentives include tax exemptions and access to municipal Regional Contribution Agreement (RCA) money for eligible residents and property owners.
The designation process was relatively simple as the Township had already studied the area as part of the Lackawanna Neighborhood Strategic Development Plan (1997) as well as completed a thorough physical inventory of the the neighbohood as part of the Pine Street Historic District nomination. The distinction as a rehabilitation area is another component of the revitalization plan for the Pine Street neighborhood.
Contact: Montclair Township, Karen Kadus, 973/509-4900