Amended State Bill Protecting Hoboken's Piers From Development Passes Both Houses

Hoboken's waterfront escaped the threat of unchecked future development Thursday — pending Gov. Chris Christie's approval — when the New Jersey Senate followed the Assembly's lead and passed an amended version of a pier development bill that lets municipalities determine whether they will permit residential and business development on piers in high-risk flood zones.

In its original form, the bill would have allowed developers to build on piers in coastal high-hazard areas like Hoboken as long as they complied with applicable ordinances and regulations — something that previously had been legal only in Atlantic City.

The amended bill, proposed last week by one of the bill's primary sponsors,  Assemblyman Vincent Prieto (D-Secaucus), requires that municipalities must first pass an ordinance permitting development on piers in coastal high hazard areas before it can occur. As a result, Hoboken can choose not to opt in to the bill's proposed changes.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who wrote multiple members of the state legislature asking them to amend the bill so as to exclude Hoboken, thanked Prieto and Sen. Nicholas Sacco (D-North Bergen) for listening to her concerns and working with her to craft an amendment that protected Hoboken's waterfront.

She said her administration is already working on municipal legislation that would ban future development on Hoboken's piers.

"This legislation is currently being drafted as a result of the passage of the State legislation, and it will be designed to help ensure the long-term protection of our City’s treasured waterfront and public safety for our community," Zimmer said in a statement.

The mayor said the courts would ultimately decide how the passage of this new state legislation impacts the future of the Monarch project.

"I certainly hope that those making the decision will give full consideration to the public safety concerns and impact of Hurricane Sandy as they review the Monarch case," she said.