Title
Dept/ Agency: Economic and Housing Development
Action: ( ) Ratifying (X) Authorizing ( ) Amending
Type of Service: Referral of a proposed Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan to the Central Planning Board.
Purpose: Directing Newark Central Planning to prepare a Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan
Name of the Plan: Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan
Additional Information:
Ordinance 6S&FF, adopted on October 6, 2004.
Ordinance 6S&FG, adopted on September 7, 2005.
Ordinance 6PSF-h, adopted on May 5, 2010.
Ordinance 6PSF-a(S), adopted on February 24, 2015.
Ordinance 6PSF-b, adopted on September 2, 2015.
Ordinance 6PSF-a(S), adopted on June 7, 2017.
Ordinance 6PSF-b, adopted on August 7, 2024.
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WHEREAS, on July 14, 2004, the City of Newark (“City”) utilized the powers of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq., to designate over 39 acres of land within the Downtown Newark area as an “area in need of redevelopment,” commonly known as the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Area (“Redevelopment Area”); and
WHEREAS, on October 6, 2004, the Newark Municipal Council (“Municipal Council”) adopted Ordinance 6S&Ff adopting and approving the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan (the “Original Redevelopment Plan”), which controlled the zoning for the Redevelopment Area; and
WHEREAS, the Original Redevelopment Plan has been amended six (6) times, since its initial passage by the Municipal Council including the First Amendment by Ordinance 6S&FG adopted on September 7, 2005, the Second Amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-h adopted on May 5, 2010, the Third Amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-a(S) adopted on February 24, 2015, the Fourth Amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-b adopted on September 2, 2015, the Fifth Amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-a(S) adopted on June 7, 2017, and the Sixth Amendment by Ordinance 6PSF-b adopted on August 7, 2024, (the Original Redevelopment Plan and amendments one (1) through six (6) shall collectively be referred to as the “Amended Redevelopment Plan”); and
WHEREAS, on September 26, 2022, the Newark Central Planning Board (“Central Planning Board”) adopted a new City of Newark Master Plan (the “Master Plan”) that made certain recommendations related to the Amended Redevelopment Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Department of Economic and Housing, with the help of consultants and property owners in the Redevelopment Plan, put together a Master Plan for the Mulberry Commons Area (the “Mulberry Commons Master Plan”) within the Redevelopment Plan Area; and
WHEREAS, specifically the Master Plan and the Mulberry Commons Master Plan recognized that while the Amended Redevelopment Plan encouraged high-density, mixed-use development in the Redevelopment Area, it set forth development regulations predominantly based on specific redevelopment concepts for block-scale parcels, and recommended that the Amended Redevelopment Plan be amended to provide more general, and less restrictive regulatory programs that promote mixed-use and pedestrian connections for a vibrant downtown; and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council has determined that it would be beneficial to eliminate the block-scale development standards identified in the Amended Redevelopment Plan and to provide more general, less restrictive development standards for the Redevelopment Area in accordance with the recommendations of the Master Plan and the Mulberry Commons Master Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council wishes to amend the Amended Redevelopment Plan to address the recommendations of the Master Plan and the Mulberry Commons Master Plan as specifically set forth in the attached Exhibit A (Vision and Master Plan for Mulberry Commons); and
WHEREAS, the Municipal Council wishes to have the Central Planning Board consider a Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan, to determine if such an amendment is consistent with the City’s Master Plan and for recommendations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-7(e).
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE MUNICIPAL COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF NEWARK, NEW JERSEY, THAT:
1. The Municipal Council of the City of Newark authorizes the Central Planning Board to prepare a Seventh Amendment to the Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan, as set forth in Exhibit A attached hereto and made a part of this Resolution, and to determine if such an amendment is consistent with the City’s Master Plan and for recommendations pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-7(e).
2. A copy of this Resolution requesting a Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan shall be filed with the Office of the City Clerk by the director of the Department of Economic and Housing Development.
3. The City Clerk shall forward a true copy of this Resolution for Proposed Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan to the Central Planning Board.
STATEMENT
This Resolution authorizes the preparation of the Seventh Amendment to the Newark Downtown Core District Redevelopment Plan and Amendment to the Newark Plaza Urban Renewal Plan” by the Central Planning Board in accordance with N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-7f.