Agenda - Planning Commission - 01/09/2014

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a quarter square miles. Numerous smallervillag- es along the New Jersey Shore, including most of those on the barrier islands, have little or no land outside the coastal floodplain. There is not much room to move, so it becomes important to use the available land wisely. The volume of damage from Sandy in many of these communi- ties suggests that has not always happened. Hoboken, however, is anxious to fix those problems. With 521 acres, or nearly 64 percent, of its upland space in the A zone, and 6o.5 acres in the V zone, Hoboken faces serious constraints in trying to develop on high ground. The V zone is the area not only affected by coastal wave action in addition to still -water flooding. Another 62.5 acres lie in the X zone, defined as the area between the loo-year and Soo -year floodplain boundaries. In September, the city council undertook consideration of proposed amendments to the city's flood damage protection ordinance. A cover letter from community development director Brandy Forbes, AICP, indicated the city is pursuing qualifications in the NFIP's Commu- nity Rating System, which allows communities to accumulate points for activities beyond ba- sic NFIP requirements as a means of lowering flood insurance premiums. Each of nine steps Q FEMA's preliminary floodmap for Hoboken, issued in June 2013, shows V zones in the dark shaded areas and A zones in the light shaded area, along with the locations of critical community facilities. in the program can lower rates by five percent. The new ordinance included adoption of the most recent FIRMS for Hoboken, replacing ear- lier maps from 2006, themselves much more recent than those in New York. According to Stephen Marks, AICP, the city's assistant busi- ness administrator, the city's goal was to act on the ordinance before the first anniversary of Hurricane Sandy, October 29. rCi/o jersey The new changes included a reduction in - required lot size for variances from a half -acre to io,000 square feet, better reflecting typical infill lot sizes in the city's dense environment. The ordinance also empowers the newly designated floodplain administrator (formerly "construction official") to "review all development permits in the coastal high hazard area of the area of spe- cial flood hazard to determine if the proposed development alters the natural coastline so as to increase potential flood damage," as well as to review plans for walls enclosing space below the base flood level. Another new sec- tion details freeboard requirements in special flood hazard areas, ranging from one foot for residential structures (except those in V zones, requiring two feet), up to three feet in V zones for buildings handling, storing, using, or dispos- ing of hazardous materials. The ordinance also requires "attendant utilities and sanitary facili- ties" in new residential construction to be locat- ed above the BFE plus the required freeboard. Looking forward, however, the city has additional issues to consider. The urban design retrofit considerations that have consumed a good deal of planning attention in New York are likely to get serious consideration over the coming year, according to Marks. The city's De- partment of Administration, using a $200,000 grant from the New Jersey Department of Com- ONHSA Se PSEG O PSEG Substation' O Fire Sta#jo bmbulagc: City of Hoboken O Hospit ®Eire HQ O Community. O Center ' ,DPW NJTranSft Yard & L n4Slip Ga�ia • ZONINGPRACTICE u.i3 AMERICAN PLANNING ASSOCIATION Ipage 6