1 1 2 3 4 5 6 TOWNSHIP OF BLOOMFIELD SPECIAL COUNCIL MEETING 7 REDEVELOPMENT PUBLIC FORUM November 8, 2007 8 7 PM - 9:30 PM BLOOMFIELD PUBLIC LIBRARY - 90 BROAD STREET 9 10 11 Transcribed By: Carol Ann Shepard, CCR 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 * * * MONIQUE VOUTHOURIS 23 Certified Court Reporter 50 Copeland Road 24 Denville, New Jersey 07834 973-361-9134 * 973-361-2042 25 mvouthouris@optonline.net. 2 1 (Salute to the flag.) 2 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Call the roll, 3 please. 4 (Roll call taken.) 5 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Thank you, everyone, 6 for being here tonight. 7 Just so you know, Councilwoman Spychala 8 is not here, her mother is not doing well, so if you 9 have a couple extra prayers out there we would 10 appreciate them. 11 Councilman Tamborini is away on 12 business, and Councilman Hamilton (inaudible) in the 13 federal reserve, so he's stuck out there. 14 I want to welcome everyone here 15 tonight. 16 It is with great anticipation that we 17 continue what we started on the 24th. 18 We have had great response to what was, 19 in my mind, and in the council's mind, one of the 20 greatest exhibitions of public input, and public 21 trust, and public participation that we have seen in 22 a long, long time. 23 So I thank the people of Bloomfield. I 24 thank the shop owners of Bloomfield. I thank the 25 property owners of Bloomfield. 3 1 Tonight's agenda is going to be a very 2 simple one. It is going to be one of information, 3 it is going to be a lot of participation. And, once 4 again, Michael Saltzman is going to make it a lot of 5 fun for us. 6 As you can see, we are separated into 7 two rooms. The second room will be part of the 8 workshop. 9 Tonight's agenda is going to be what we 10 will do, because we were handed so much information, 11 so much input, we are going to do this tonight to 12 give you back all of the information that we got in 13 at the last meeting. 14 The other thing that we are going to do 15 is we are going to provide you with another workshop 16 because we have a couple of things that we want to 17 do before we move onto the next step. 18 So we ask again for your indulgence, we 19 ask again for your participation. 20 Those who have a joke, you can tell it, 21 I don't care. 22 Most of all, we really thank you for 23 being here. 24 What I would like to do is, just so you 25 know who will be here tonight. You heard the 4 1 council people, and also with us tonight will be Art 2 Linfante of Value Research, Michael Saltzman of 3 Newwork, and Joe Maraziti from Maraziti, Falcon & 4 Healey. 5 I also realize that it is very 6 important that Gian Hasija be recognized for this 7 library. 8 This library is truly one of the 9 beautiful jewels of Bloomfield. He (inaudible) 10 helped make this a special (inaudible.) 11 (Applause.) 12 MAYOR MC CARTHY: And apropos for this 13 meeting he has placed us in front of the 14 non-fiction. 15 I would just like to give it up to 16 Councilwoman Patricia Ritchings. 17 COUNCILWOMAN RITCHINGS: Thank you, 18 Mayor. 19 I don't have all that much to add. 20 I do want to say when we originally 21 planned the meeting on the 24th, and this meeting on 22 the 8th, we didn't anticipate the level of 23 participation and input and all the good ideas that 24 we got on the 24th. 25 So for this meeting we had advertised 5 1 it as kind of moving quickly to some concepts and 2 ideas, and property owners concepts and ideas that 3 are out there, and we will do a little bit of that 4 tonight. 5 But we really didn't want to miss an 6 opportunity to get some more specific input on 7 design, and streetscape, and some other things. 8 And have the public and the property 9 owners who are here, and the business owners, really 10 help us shape the downtown, in a more specific way 11 than we did on the meeting of the 24th. 12 So I do see a lot of property owners 13 and business owners here, and there will be a public 14 comment period, you can share your ideas, hopes, 15 dreams for your properties and businesses, either 16 during the workshop or during the public comment 17 period. But it is really going to be the next 18 meeting that is going to be a longer, kind of 19 (inaudible) type meeting where we are really going 20 to get into the nitty-gritty of where the specific 21 plans that are out there for the downtown, and get 22 public input, and some other professionals involved. 23 So I just wanted to give everybody a 24 sense of the overview for tonight. 25 Oh, yes. There is a sign-in sheet at 6 1 the end of every row. 2 MAYOR MC CARTHY: At the end of every 3 row there is a sign-in sheet. 4 It's got your name and address and 5 E-mail. 6 Please, we ask everybody to sign it. 7 As Joe Joffe said, he won't let anybody out if they 8 don't have their named signed there. 9 Right, Joe? Thank you. 10 MR. VOICE: When is the next meeting 11 scheduled? 12 MAYOR MC CARTHY: We are not sure what 13 the date is. We will let everybody know, though. 14 MR. LINFANTE: Can everybody hear me 15 okay? 16 I'm Art Linfante. I'm with Value 17 Research Group. Some of you may remember me from 18 the October meeting. 19 Tonight's meeting really is shaping 20 downtown, and what we plan on doing here tonight is 21 kind of introducing you to our vision of what we 22 think the downtown should be, and that really is 23 going to be (inaudible) the Town of Bloomfield, that 24 is going to be sort of a two-part process. 25 First we are going to show you some 7 1 ideas that we have, a vision for the downtown, and 2 we want your feedback, as well. So, when the final 3 plan that is put together is out there, it will have 4 your input, as well as some of our own from our 5 experiences. 6 A lot of what you will see tonight is a 7 result of the feedback that we got from our last 8 meeting, and what we have set up in the other room 9 here are basically four stations that deal with 10 building form, street signage, streetscapes, store 11 signage, and green building ideas. 12 And what we are going to do is work 13 with you in kind of a workshop session. It will be 14 very interactive, like last time, pretty interesting 15 interactive ideas and plans for you tonight, and I 16 think it is really going to help us get us where we 17 want to go. 18 The workshop is going to introduce you 19 to some of these elements, what they are, what they 20 may look like. 21 There will be questionnaires handed out 22 to everybody at all of these stations. You will be 23 asked to work on those questionnaires, fill it out, 24 what you like, what you don't like, what may work, 25 what you think may not work. And, again, those 8 1 ideas will go into the elements of our final plan. 2 If you have some ideas about your own 3 properties, whether you want to make them public or 4 not make them public, ask questions about how some 5 of these elements we are going to be discussing with 6 you play into what your ideas may be, and that may 7 help us create a downtown between what your hopes, 8 dreams, and desires are, what you want to see for 9 the downtown. That's the whole idea of this 10 process. 11 Every station, if you don't know what 12 the element is, there are going to be (inaudible) so 13 you understand what it is, and how it is going to 14 work, and why we are asking these questions. 15 And I think, when we get done with 16 that, we are going to open it up to public comment. 17 And we will talk about some of your ideas for your 18 property, or ideas for plans in general, that will 19 be part of the public process. 20 (Inaudible) as well. 21 And then we can again take this 22 information, I think, when we are done, a lot of 23 this information will also be put up on the website. 24 I think you will see the boards that we had from the 25 last meeting, all the green dots and red dots are on 9 1 the website, and that was pretty interesting, some 2 very good information we got from that. 3 And that's where we are going to go 4 tonight, a brief overview. 5 I am going to hand it over to Michael 6 now, and he is going to give you a little bit more 7 detail of what we are going to be doing, and then we 8 are going to lead you to the other room in the 9 workshop and see where we go with that. 10 So thank you very much. 11 (Applause.) 12 MR. SALTZMAN: Unfortunately, we can't 13 turn the lights down, so do your best to see what's 14 up here. 15 What I want to explain to you in this 16 presentation, I will try to go relatively quickly 17 through this, is basically an explanation of what 18 you are going to see on the boards in the other 19 room, which when you are handed the survey that we 20 are asking you to fill out, and also do a couple 21 other things, there will be sort of (inaudible) to 22 guide you on how to answer those questions for 23 things that you might not understand. 24 We will also be at those stations to 25 answer more questions. So, if you can't see it 10 1 here, I will move this relatively quickly, and, you 2 know, we will be able to answer your questions as we 3 go to the stations. 4 So what we are going to do, you've 5 heard, just again, the theme of tonight is shaping 6 the downtown. 7 So we are not going as far as designing 8 buildings tonight, or showing you actual designs of 9 building or plans in the area, but what we are doing 10 is talking about specific issues about development 11 and redevelopment in this area that are geared 12 towards Bloomfield, Bloomfield downtown. 13 Some of these are kind of the more 14 standard things that we've talked about. Some of 15 these are things, as you heard here, we actually 16 learned from you. 17 One thing that came up a lot was 18 (inaudible.) We got a lot of comments about that. 19 We were happy to hear that because that is key to 20 sort of a long-term, sustainable plan. 21 And so we actually added that as a 22 component to the presentation and workshop today. 23 After I kind of present this, we will 24 go into the workshop, and I will explain that to 25 you. 11 1 The previous meeting, just to give you 2 a recap, I will explain to you or show you what the 3 results were of the previous meeting. Some of you 4 were there, I am sure a lot of you were there, and 5 we greatly appreciate that. We had a good time, and 6 it was also a very positive thing for us. 7 We don't always get a chance to 8 actually get so much, I think, positive response, 9 not that we are always looking for positive, we are 10 looking for all sides of it, but we thought it also 11 shows that there is an incredible interest here in 12 actually making something happen. 13 And I think that is very, very 14 important. 15 A lot of towns that we work in everyone 16 is kind of saying we don't want to see anything 17 change. 18 You actually do want to see your 19 downtown change, on the level that you may have 20 remembered it from the past, or on a level you have 21 seen other towns, or on par with a residential 22 neighborhood that you live in, you want to have a 23 downtown that is up to that same level. 24 And we very much appreciate that. It 25 makes our job a lot easier. 12 1 Move on. 2 Okay. So what I am actually going to 3 show you here are the results of what we -- of all 4 the boards that were around the room the last time. 5 For those of you that weren't here, I 6 think it will be pretty explanatory as to what we 7 did. 8 First, the very broad statement was 9 what is the vision -- what is your vision for 10 Bloomfield Center? 11 And there were five or six components, 12 a comprehensive plan, walkable streets, amply 13 distributed public parking, an accessible train 14 station, a downtown loop, and a shopable downtown. 15 The results of that were that a 16 shopable downtown was sort of the top, I guess, 17 green-dot-getter here. 18 Although that is actually, I think, a 19 less -- I think a much broader statement than some 20 of the other specific recommendations, but you can 21 see that many of them have a lot of green dots, and 22 I think that they all have meaning to them. 23 I think, first and foremost, we are all 24 looking for a shopable downtown. 25 I think what is really important about 13 1 that statement is that a shopable downtown, really 2 the way that that is going to come back, I think the 3 way we all want to see it, is that all these other 4 things will have to come together to make it a great 5 shopable downtown. 6 So, in a way, what you all sort of 7 voted for is sort of everything else to happen in 8 order for us to get that shopable downtown. 9 Moving on to number 2, which parts of 10 downtown are the most important to you? 11 And we have -- we just listed them off. 12 Again, Bloomfield College, the post office and town 13 hall, Watsessing Park, six points, the center of 14 town, Bloomfield Station, (inaudible) Park, and the 15 green. 16 And the results were, I think, very 17 interesting to us. The three that kind of, again, 18 sort of rated the highest was actually Watsessing 19 Park, six points, and the green. 20 And I think what is very interesting 21 about this is, one, that the green and Watsessing 22 Park are probably the most disconnected components 23 of downtown. And that's what we also heard, and you 24 will see that. 25 So we are very happy and excited to see 14 1 that people really do see this as very important and 2 the value of these assets for downtown. 3 If we can reconnect those into the 4 downtown and make them vital parts of this 5 community, it will really have a significant impact 6 towards that kind of comprehensive downtown that we 7 want to see. 8 And, of course, six points, the idea of 9 having a center, a center that is identifiable from 10 the region, a center that really is a heart and soul 11 of kind of a retail downtown is key. 12 So it is those three. And, of course, 13 they are equally distributed around downtown. 14 So, again, those results are very 15 interesting, and I think very telling for us moving 16 forward. 17 The next point was where is the most 18 convenient parking. 19 Obviously, I will also say that we did 20 get a fair amount of comments that said, well, this 21 is a little bit confusing, you know, should we say 22 red, should we say green. So there was some 23 confusion. It is not true for all of these. But, 24 again, I think that what came out of this is you see 25 that the parking lots that are kind of the most 15 1 highlighted are the ones that are near the train 2 station. 3 And I think that it is fairly obvious 4 that that would happen. 5 At the same time, I think that it is a 6 very important statement to us, not just about the 7 access to the train station, but also I think about 8 the access of those parking lots to the retail of 9 downtown, and that it's not just (inaudible) 10 adjacent to the station, it is actually starting to 11 be the lots, especially this one here, that is 12 really a key lot for the link between retail and the 13 train station. 14 The parking lots on the other side of 15 Bloomfield Avenue didn't get as many dots. 16 The one that we thought most 17 significant is the parking lot next to the post 18 office. I imagine part of that is because everyone 19 goes to the post office, everyone kind of has to go 20 to the post office, but what that means to us and 21 what it is telling us is, what is important to us, 22 when we start to look at a retail downtown, a 23 shopable downtown, is that the post office, the town 24 hall, these activity centers downtown, and this is 25 very important to retailers, and it is important to 16 1 us having the potential to have the most viable 2 opportunity here, is that, when we link these 3 activity centers with retail so that people go to 4 the post office, they park their car, they walk down 5 to some of the shops, you start to see the synergy 6 that is created between different uses. And these 7 don't have to be just synergy between retail, but 8 between the other uses in downtown. 9 So, again, it is that all aspects of 10 living and participating in downtown are 11 interrelated and are building upon one another. 12 The next question was, where are the 13 most important pedestrian crossings? And you can 14 kind of see where the different ones are around 15 downtown. 16 I don't have to spell those out. 17 The results actually were -- matched up 18 with what were the most important assets to you in 19 the downtown, and which I think is interesting 20 because, basically, those assets in the downtown are 21 probably the most least accessible by pedestrians. 22 Right now, you have the access to 23 Watsessing Park. I think if you have driven on that 24 sort of network of streets that are adjacent to 25 Watsessing Park, which are really designed for cars, 17 1 there really wasn't a lot of thought put in there as 2 to how you are going to get across, and how you are 3 going to move around these sort of roadways here. 4 Those improvements that were done sort 5 of loop you, left-hand turns, all kind of tricky, I 6 guess, aspects and how to lay out a traffic plan 7 there, which we, obviously, disagree with, because 8 they don't balance traffic, they don't balance cars 9 and pedestrians, and have created a environment 10 there that just makes it a horrible place to cross 11 the street. 12 The other one is the green. 13 Here you have a kind of key thing in 14 the town. You have a sculpture there that sort of 15 enters you into downtown. You have this incredible 16 asset, the green, that towns would kill to have this 17 kind of asset. It ties your history here to 18 downtown. 19 We are sitting here in the library that 20 is on the green. (Inaudible.) Again, you have this 21 linkage of activity centers, and the library is part 22 of that. 23 And you can see that intersection was 24 the most highlighted, one of the most highlighted, 25 and, again, points to a great understanding by you 18 1 all that these are all key assets that have to be 2 linked into on downtown center. 3 Of course, six points, and that one is 4 fairly obvious. 5 Then we have more detail -- sorry you 6 can't see the pictures, but hopefully you can 7 remember, which program and street elements are the 8 most important to you. And I actually can't even 9 read these here, but I will read the ones -- the 10 tree-lined streets, the various common elements, the 11 event street and outdoor cafe. 12 And, you know, again, (inaudible) bike 13 paths, and I think most people, or a lot of people 14 didn't think that bike paths were a very good thing 15 to have. I think that is probably as a result of 16 understanding what the issues of the traffic 17 patterns are down here, that it wouldn't be very 18 safe for bikes. I think if we would have had a 19 safer environment, maybe people would be more 20 inclined to have bike paths to get down here. 21 But, nevertheless, going back to the 22 pieces, the ones that really did get highlighted 23 here, I mean I think tree-lined streets is fairly 24 obvious. Obviously, that creates that kind of 25 atmosphere that has multiple benefits from a green 19 1 design standpoint, creating a healthy environment. 2 The various traffic elements, things 3 like bump-outs where you actually shorten the 4 distance of crossing the street by having bump-outs 5 at the curbs, so that pedestrians could get across 6 that. 7 It could be raised crosswalks, a little 8 bit raised, so that when cars go by it signifies 9 this is a place where pedestrians cross, you should 10 slow down a little bit. 11 These are things that I think -- still 12 on the other side the (inaudible) elements I think 13 it is very exciting. What people want to see is 14 outdoor cafes, and they want to see an event street. 15 Some people had talked about maybe 16 Washington Street between six points and the train 17 station back there, that has a great character to 18 it, that that street really maybe on certain event 19 nights might be closed off, and have events on 20 weekends or certain things happening. 21 That is really an exciting thing for a 22 downtown. 23 And outdoor cafes create (inaudible.) 24 I think we definitely got comments last 25 time that people don't want to see all restaurants 20 1 for sure down here, kind of like in Montclair. They 2 want to see more shops that they can shop in and 3 serve their daily needs. 4 But I think we also recognize and heard 5 that people want to be able to come to downtown 6 Bloomfield. They don't want to go to Montclair to 7 have a nice meal and sit outside in nice weather. 8 So it is great to see that these are 9 elements that you have all highlighted. 10 And then others, again a little bit 11 more detail, which sidewalk and building elements 12 are most important. 13 Let's just go to the highlights. 14 The highlights that came out of that 15 were the storefronts, of course, which I think we 16 are going to talk about in great detail today, about 17 what storefronts are, what they represent, and how 18 you make them great. 19 It seems fairly obvious, but it is 20 obviously not obvious. 21 And what is the other one? The 22 lighting, of course. 23 We did hear a lot about lighting -- I'm 24 not sure if she is here. We had a lighting expert 25 here last time. She lives in town. 21 1 Lighting is key. 2 Lighting is not as simple as turning a 3 light on. 4 Lighting is understanding the light 5 levels, the color of the light, appreciate the 6 relationship of lighting to safety, understanding 7 the relationship of lighting to the retail 8 environment. 9 This has become a fairly sophisticated 10 kind of analysis that has to go into having the 11 proper type of lighting. 12 And, of course, the light poles. 13 (Inaudible.) Some of them are actually here in town 14 already, the historic light poles, that gives a 15 great character to the street, makes it feel nice. 16 So there are actually elements that contribute to 17 the street lights, as well. 18 Okay. So those are the results of last 19 time. 20 Those are posted on the web. And those 21 are (inaudible) that we will continue to go back to, 22 and look to those, and keep those as input into the 23 process. 24 MS. VOICE: What's the website 25 address? 22 1 MR. SALTZMAN: What's that address? 2 It is the Town's website address. 3 MR. VOICE: Bloomfieldtwpnj.com 4 MR. SALTZMAN: So, as I said, what we 5 did is we actually took some of the input from last 6 time and created some more subjects, or more 7 detailed aspects of the subjects, based on your 8 input. 9 Some of these are also standard things 10 that you really have to look at and think about when 11 you are starting to redevelop the downtown. 12 What we will get into with each of 13 these, and, as I said, building form, which has 14 multiple aspects to it, we will talk about 15 storefront design, and streetscape design, and green 16 buildings. 17 We will also show you some diagrams 18 that show how these things work. 19 We are going to show you -- in fact, 20 give you some choices to think about, and how you 21 might think about how you want buildings to form in 22 the downtown, whether you want them like they are 23 today, or you want something different. 24 Some of them will also sort of get into 25 this is what it could look like. 23 1 Here's pictures of nearby towns or 2 other towns around the country that have gone 3 through redevelopment. So you actually start to see 4 pictures of buildings, renderings, photographs of 5 buildings that you could actually envision in your 6 downtown, and then elements of it. 7 So what we are trying to do is to sort 8 of show you, sort of take you to the next step here. 9 We don't want this whole process to 10 take forever. 11 I think we are all very anxious to see 12 progress happen here in the downtown. 13 At the same time, we want to be 14 respectful of getting this input, and that is what 15 we were very overwhelmed with last time, in a very 16 positive way, that there was all your input, a 17 desire for a lot of input from the community, and we 18 want to embrace that and allow that to happen. 19 So, after this meeting, which you will 20 fill out surveys, you can give us written comments, 21 as well, you get to put some other elements here, 22 which I will explain to you. 23 The next meeting we will actually get 24 into development plans. 25 At the next meeting, some of you may 24 1 have participated, there was a design (inaudible) 2 some time ago here in Bloomfield, but I think what 3 we are talking about is actually where we have a 4 series of tables set up, we have at each table not 5 just one architect but multiple architects and 6 planners, some of you who are architects, who 7 actually (inaudible) participate and help us in this 8 process. 9 And what happened is we grouped 10 architects and planners along with other experts, 11 might be an economist, or (inaudible) others that 12 can really start to give you the type of input that 13 makes things real. 14 And what we will do is we will actually 15 sit at those tables and actually come up with plans 16 and designs for specific sites in areas of towns. 17 So you will actually have a direct 18 impact and direct input into what these buildings 19 will shape up to be. 20 We also welcome, obviously, developers 21 and property owners that are in town to come to us 22 with their ideas. The developers, at this stage, 23 probably don't want to put all their ideas out there 24 until they sort of figure it out, but at least they 25 can be there and start to give you all some input 25 1 and say, well, these are the type of issues that I 2 might deal with, that you might want to think about 3 before you make your decision about what everything 4 should look like. 5 So that would be the next step. 6 Today is kind of an interim step where 7 we will get some real feedback from you, and 8 hopefully, as the Mayor said, have a little fun with 9 it, as well. 10 So let me explain this. 11 Again, I am sorry it is not more 12 visible. 13 Just first an observation of your 14 downtown, the buildings in the downtown. 15 What you do have is an incredible 16 eclectic mix of styles, form, and heights of 17 buildings. 18 The buildings (inaudible) explain it 19 here, starting with actually building heights. 20 You have everything ranging from the 21 large eight-story building at the corner of six 22 points. We have two-story commercial, we have 23 one-story retail, we have three-story retail office, 24 four-story retail with residential above. 25 So you have kind an existing stock here 26 1 that has some very attractive buildings, that show a 2 range of styles, that actually creates a type of 3 interest that makes a great downtown. 4 So these are things that we would 5 recommend to build upon. 6 Some of you may be thinking 7 differently. We are giving you an opportunity to 8 let us know. 9 Just talking a little bit -- just a 10 little diagram here to talk about mixed-used 11 buildings. 12 Again, what you have here in downtown, 13 what is in traditional downtown are mixed-used 14 buildings. 15 Where we all went in development up 16 until recently, the last 30 years or so, is not to 17 have mixed-used buildings. Most of suburban 18 development is separating uses of buildings. 19 You have a place for the office, you 20 have a place for the retail, and you have a place 21 for residential. 22 What is happening now is that we are 23 coming back to traditional town planning, and we are 24 all saying, wow, these towns are pretty good, these 25 are good places to be, (inaudible), and so we are 27 1 getting back to a traditional town planning. 2 What that gets to is back to this 3 mixed-use buildings. 4 So what this shows is retail on the 5 ground floor, a parking structure that is hidden 6 behind the retail, residential in the back, office 7 or (inaudible) on the second floor, residential 8 flats and possibly residential duplexes above that. 9 Now, again (inaudible) this was the 10 standard; however, now to develop buildings like 11 this is not easy. It is very, very difficult 12 actually. There are all types of rules and 13 regulations that go into this, there are 14 constructability issues. It is very complicated to 15 get buildings like this built. 16 But this is what we all want to see. 17 So I want (inaudible) and say, we are 18 going to encourage mixed uses. It doesn't have to 19 be. It could be a retail-only building, it could be 20 a residential-only building, but mixed-use buildings 21 are really what (inaudible) downtown. 22 So we will talk to you a little bit 23 more about what goes into building these types of 24 buildings, and what types of decisions have to be 25 made and influence these types of building. 28 1 Just addressing a very important 2 consideration is the -- what we are saying here is a 3 street wall. 4 And the street wall is, obviously, a 5 wall of the building that from the property line up. 6 And actually what you have here in Bloomfield, for 7 the most part, are buildings that are at zero 8 property line, zero setbacks, in the downtown that 9 is, and they go straight up. 10 They don't step back, they don't 11 setback. 12 A setback would be if this building was 13 set back from the street, and there might be a 14 garden in front, or a door in front, or some other 15 thing, but it is actually right at the street wall. 16 A step back, which I will explain to 17 you, that is where the building sets back above the 18 first level. 19 You really don't have a lot of that in 20 town. 21 You actually have a pretty strong 22 street wall for downtown. 23 And, as I said earlier, it is a range 24 of sizes, but many traditional towns have that, but 25 what we are seeing now is that many towns 29 1 considering now, because the buildings might be a 2 little bigger than what they have now, where they 3 might actually go to requiring a step-back 4 provision. 5 Go to the next slide. 6 This actually demonstrates what I said 7 earlier, a step back. 8 So here the building is still at a zero 9 property line, which is what you really want for a 10 retail environment, so in this case it goes up to 11 two levels, and then the building steps back, and 12 then it goes up a little further, and it steps back, 13 and goes up a little further, and steps back again. 14 The reason that a lot of towns are 15 considering this type of design, and we are by no 16 means saying one or the other makes sense here, 17 although, I would argue that if there is a tradition 18 of a street-wall tradition, that is something we 19 should take very seriously, but the reason, again, 20 why they are doing this type of scenario is that -- 21 a couple reasons. One is that it mitigates impact 22 of maybe the height of larger buildings that are 23 there today, because when you are on the sidewalk, 24 and that's what this person here represents, this 25 person looking up, is that when you are on the 30 1 sidewalk your perception of how tall that building 2 is is actually it is still, you know, that two or 3 three-story height that you would have, even if the 4 building was going straight up. 5 So the impact of that being a larger 6 building really doesn't have as much effect. 7 What it also does is allow a lot more 8 light and air into the street, and that's a good 9 thing. 10 It also creates a scenario where the 11 uses that are above, and especially the residential 12 use can actually have balconies, (inaudible) very 13 attractive, and certainly creates a kind of 14 indoor/outdoor environment for a very healthy 15 living. 16 So this is something that we will get 17 into a little bit more. You will get a chance to 18 tell us which way you like it, or if you want to 19 think about something else. 20 Okay. Another aspect of building form 21 is something called building breaks. 22 And building breaks are where there 23 might be one larger building, and, again, I will 24 sort of allude to this a couple of times, is that 25 what you are going to see here in Bloomfield, and 31 1 what is very typical of these all these downtown 2 (inaudible) is that the buildings that are already 3 developed are usually an assemblage of properties. 4 Yes, there is going to be small individual ones, and 5 we are going to talk to you about relocation 6 guidelines (inaudible) the existing ones, but the 7 new buildings, most likely a lot of them will be 8 multiple properties that are bigger in footprints 9 than the existing buildings. 10 And so what you get is a condition that 11 might be different than what has been here, which is 12 one kind of big (inaudible) facade. 13 What we are suggesting is a way to, 14 again, sort of mitigate that and to relate it more 15 back to the history would be something called 16 building breaks. 17 And what building breaks are is where 18 there will be one building, and there might be three 19 different ways, in this case we are showing three 20 different examples of how a building break might 21 work, or two different ways. A courtyard, or a 22 design change, essentially. 23 And a courtyard, it doesn't have to be 24 a courtyard, it could just be the (inaudible) a 25 break and kind of a step back, like I described 32 1 before, where there is actually a break in the 2 (inaudible.) And whereas the developer (inaudible) 3 well, you know (inaudible) building. This is 4 something that actually creates more interest to 5 that facade. It is something that we think we will 6 make that building more marketable, and definitely 7 will make that building more a part of what the 8 downtown exists today, and so we can match with the 9 existing downtown. 10 And so -- this one you can't see it 11 very well, but it is actually one building with kind 12 of two different designs, and that is the design 13 changes. 14 It might be one building, but actually 15 has two different designs set up with a break in 16 between. 17 So we talked about building form. 18 Now, I want to hone in a little bit on 19 storefronts and signage. 20 First, just kind of the building facade 21 and the elements of the facade. 22 I think one of the biggest things that 23 all of us talk about when it comes to sort of 24 building design guidelines is attention to all of 25 the elements of the building. 33 1 And I think that is very important 2 because I am not saying that we have to recreate 3 kind of historic looking facades that sort of 4 recognize, you know, (inaudible) and, you know, the 5 storefront (inaudible) and headers, and sills, and 6 windows. 7 I am not saying that you have to make 8 it look like that. 9 I would encourage a mix of styles. 10 But whatever the elements that go into 11 a storefront, we should be encouraging the 12 architects and the developers and the designers to 13 actually be thinking about creating high-quality 14 designs for all of the elements of a facade. 15 So that is what this sort of setup is, 16 what are the elements of a facade. 17 It seems fairly obvious, but this kind 18 of starts to give you a framework to think about, 19 okay, that facade looks good. Why does it look 20 good? It is because there was an attention to 21 detail. It is because there is a mix of different 22 elements. It is because that the elements relate to 23 one another. 24 So these are some of things that we've 25 talked about. 34 1 So this picture really just spells all 2 that out for you and shows you kind of two different 3 contrasting styles next to one another. 4 These are pictures of your downtown 5 showing different type storefronts. I won't linger 6 on this because it is hard to see. 7 But the general point is there is an 8 incredible mix of types of storefronts in this 9 downtown. 10 There are some nice historical 11 examples. 12 The nice thing about historical 13 storefronts is they actually start to create a 14 rhythm of street, because the structure of the 15 building usually establishes how wide the 16 (inaudible.) Nowadays you can span much farther and 17 sort (inaudible) isn't required, so you don't get 18 quite (inaudible) but we would encourage everyone to 19 think how you create rhythm of the street, how you 20 create a hierarchy between open glass and hard 21 columns along the street. And that's what historic 22 facade (inaudible) does. 23 This actually gets us into the 24 storefront itself. 25 So we went from facade, and now we are 35 1 down to storefront. 2 And I would make the same point. 3 What makes a great storefront is 4 attention to all the details of the storefront. 5 It seems simple. (Inaudible) it seems 6 like a very simple thing to do. 7 However, what we will tell you is that 8 there is an incredible amount of design decisions 9 that go into this, and the design decisions when 10 they start to relate the a larger building, really 11 start to have a (inaudible.) And all of your 12 experience (inaudible.) But I think, you know, what 13 is interesting about, you know, a lot of what we 14 talking about building form, most of our experience 15 -- I don't know about you all, but most of us -- I'm 16 an architect, so I am always looking up at 17 buildings, but most of the people that aren't 18 architects, you are not really looking up, checking 19 out a building. What you really see the most of are 20 the storefronts. You are seeing the ground floor of 21 a building. And so we would encourage to pay a much 22 higher level of attention to this, because this is 23 what you (inaudible) interact on a day-to-day basis, 24 you touch, you see close up. And, again, what we 25 would like to see is high quality here, and 36 1 attention and thought to detail. 2 And it doesn't have to be expensive. 3 It could be done in the same budget that is done 4 when it is designed not very well. 5 But what we are saying is attention to 6 detail and variety. 7 So, as you see here, you can take the 8 exact same storefront and create a great variety on 9 the street. And that's what makes an interesting 10 downtown. 11 Maybe that variety (inaudible.) You 12 see here how the individual bay and storefront 13 relates to a sort of larger building and meets up. 14 Here is what I was explaining before 15 about how you can establish a kind of a rhythm of a 16 street, a (inaudible) to column. This storefront 17 here is a more of a continuous storefront that is 18 done in a little bit more of a modern style, still 19 can be done very well, but just would go back to the 20 same point, that real attention to detail. 21 Signage, obviously, is something that 22 is a key aspect of the storefront and a key aspect 23 of the street. 24 It is something that the retailers, on 25 certain types of roads, want very good signs. They 37 1 want cars to be able to see it, they want the sign 2 as big a possible. 3 Other people who don't like the big 4 signs say no big signs. 5 What we would say is appropriate signs 6 for the type of street. 7 Appropriate signs for the type of use. 8 And the size certainly matters; but, 9 again, it is attention to the signs, and attention 10 to the quality of the signs, and it relates to a lot 11 of different elements. 12 This actually calls out the different 13 signage types. Again, spelling them out, a 14 projecting sign, which is a very nice thing for 15 pedestrians as they walking down the street to have 16 projecting signs, because you can't actually see the 17 other signs, that is something that is very 18 attractive and also helps the retailers. 19 The building-mounted sign, above an 20 awning sign, a sign on the store there, a sign also 21 on the board below the storefront, as well. 22 Okay. Moving into streetscape and 23 urban design, we talked about a lot of streetscape 24 elements the last time, and we will get back to that 25 a little bit more. 38 1 The existing streetscape, again, the 2 point is that there is a wide range of streetscape 3 conditions in the downtown. Most of them are not 4 great for pedestrians right now. I mean, you can't 5 see this, but you probably can see that they are not 6 looking that great from a streetscape environment, 7 and the streetscape is the linkage amongst the 8 developments, and really what makes a great downtown 9 again. So, obviously, we are going to talk you a 10 lot about how to think about the streetscape. 11 Again, a little bit of education about 12 what the components are of a streetscape, how the 13 sidewalk kind of breaks down, and what components go 14 into that. 15 So you understand the full zone of from 16 where the parking links are to, here's the street, 17 their may be a bike lane, although, again, maybe not 18 in the downtown right now. 19 The parking zone is actually the same 20 zone that (inaudible) outs or bumps-outs at the 21 intersections that I talked about before, as you see 22 behind here. You can actually bump out into that 23 space to create (inaudible.) 24 A tree pit or amenity zone where you 25 can have trees, and benches, and lighting, and bike 39 1 racks. 2 And then, of course, the key pedestrian 3 zone. 4 What you need to think about here, too, 5 it is very important to allow for a space for 6 pedestrians to flow through. 7 So you need to think about all these 8 elements as we think about the streetscape. 9 Finally, green building. 10 I think we all hear about green 11 building, or we (inaudible) in the news these days. 12 It relates to much larger issues that, 13 you know, all of us are kind of part of or get 14 affected by. 15 Whether you believe it or not, there is 16 certainly a momentum now about green building 17 (inaudible) design. 18 It is just about being more thoughtful 19 about how to design to minimize an impact on the 20 environment. 21 Also, I think, most important that we 22 try to think about is how does it affect people's 23 quality of life. 24 And that's what we really try to focus 25 on when it comes to green building, is that what you 40 1 hear about these days is that because of the 2 chemicals that are in carpets and other glues and 3 materials, that kids have asthma, and I am not sure 4 how much of that is proven, but what we really 5 should be thinking about is how do these things 6 affect people's quality of life. How can we improve 7 people's quality of life in better design. 8 This is a diagram that just calls out 9 different types of green building elements that you 10 actually think about here. 11 So there is a wide range of things that 12 go into green building. 13 One of the things that I may have 14 mentioned last time is that -- is that a big part of 15 green building is actually just developing in the 16 right place. 17 And so developing in the right place is 18 places that have, again, a minimal impact on the 19 environment. 20 Here you have an existing downtown 21 that's already previously developed. So right off 22 the bat we are doing a good thing by developing 23 here. Developing here, that is walking distance to 24 the train station, that's minimizing the use of 25 cars, creating a pedestrian environment to allow 41 1 people to get out of their cars and do multiple 2 things, and get back in their car to do other 3 things, not using unnecessary gas. 4 These are things that we get without 5 even starting with the buildings. 6 So now we move to the building, and 7 things can range from use of recycled materials, to 8 use of materials that are produced near by to the 9 development, so it minimizes the rate of bringing 10 those materials to it. 11 It could be actually more innovative 12 things, like utilizing things like solar panels, 13 (inaudible), and other types of energy components 14 that can be brought in, to all the energy star 15 appliances. You can go much farther with green 16 water systems that collect all the water off the 17 roof and reuse that water for non-drinking purposes. 18 So there are many things that go into 19 green buildings. 20 The boards, and we have one set in the 21 other room, will be able to talk to you in a little 22 more detail about that. 23 Okay. This is the final slide, and we 24 just kind of put (inaudible) up here. Again, they 25 are a little difficult to see. But you could 42 1 probably see it a little better than the others. 2 And what we are really making the point here is that 3 all the different elements that I described to you 4 today, and really more, go into kind of shaping the 5 whole downtown. So we need to pay attention to all 6 those. And it is the combination of great 7 buildings, with great streetscapes, and with 8 thoughtful green design principles, good programming 9 and management of the environment after it is built, 10 these are all aspects that make a great downtown. 11 And so what these pictures start to depict are maybe 12 the types of environments that we can start to see 13 in downtown Bloomfield as we go forward here. 14 Okay. I am going to explain the 15 workshop to you a little bit, and we are going to 16 break in a few minutes. 17 Go to next slide. 18 Okay. We are going to hand out to you 19 a five-page survey, questionnaire, five pages and 20 includes a cover. 21 When you see the (inaudible) survey, 22 don't get scared. It's a kind of multiple-choice 23 scenario. I don't think you will find the questions 24 that difficult. 25 We would ask you to try to go through 43 1 and mark those. 2 There is one for each of the subject 3 areas that I have discussed. So, basically, what 4 the idea is, you take your survey and you go to the 5 table that is represented by that particular subject 6 area, and we will have one of us at the table to 7 explain in more detail. If you have questions, you 8 can come look at these pictures that you couldn't 9 see up here closer, and you kind of start to make 10 some of your ideas forward -- put forward here in 11 the multiple-choice component. 12 Then we actually have a place for 13 comments. We did get a lot of people wanting to 14 give us comments beyond put the red dot and green 15 dot on things, and we really appreciate that. It is 16 very helpful to us. 17 So you can write whatever you want in 18 those comments, and it will focus us into that 19 subject area. 20 But feel free to do that. 21 And then the fun part actually is, and 22 hopefully will be the most interesting, (inaudible) 23 will have fun with this, too, but is the cover 24 itself. 25 On the cover what we have done is we 44 1 have actually created four squares, one of the 2 squares representing each of the areas. 3 When you go to your table, there will 4 be a stack of pictures. We have about 10 pictures 5 for each of these particular areas, roughly 10. And 6 what we are asking you to do is chose one picture 7 from each subject area that is the one that you like 8 the best, or you think is the most interesting, you 9 think it is the most appropriate, and I want you to 10 just stick those on there. We have some glue sticks 11 on there, and you stick those on. 12 So you are going to have four pictures 13 that represent hopefully your interest and ideas 14 about this development. 15 Or, if you don't find a picture you 16 like, put a note in there saying what you would like 17 to see. 18 So, at the end, hopefully, it looks 19 like there's quite a few of us here, we will take 20 the survey results, and we will actually collate 21 those like we did last time, and show you the 22 results of those, and those will be very helpful for 23 us as we move into the next stage of this, as well. 24 Okay. So this is the last slide. So 25 if everyone would get a survey, we will be passing 45 1 those out. 2 There are four of us here that kind of 3 are handling this on my team. David Lustberg and 4 James -- where's James? He's right over here. They 5 were both here last time. And Travis is here, he is 6 new to us tonight, and hopefully some of the other 7 folks will be able to help out, as well. 8 How much time were you planning for 9 this? Okay. 10 We will let you know when we will bring 11 you back in, and then you will have a chance for 12 further comments. 13 The boards are all in that room, so 14 (inaudible) but they're there. 15 MR. VOICE: Don't forget to fill out 16 the sign-in sheet when you get a chance. 17 (Break in Proceedings.) 18 MAYOR MC CARTHY: This portion is for 19 public comments and questions. 20 You have a microphone right here. Step 21 up to that microphone. Give us your name and 22 address. 23 MR. HAAS: Good evening, everyone. 24 Bill Haas, 48 (inaudible) -- 25 MR. VOICE: I don't think it's on yet. 46 1 Peter, is it on? 2 MR. HAAS: Bill Haas, 48 (inaudible) 3 Street, Bloomfield. New Jersey (inaudible.) 4 Good evening, everyone. 5 Congratulations to our newly elected (inaudible.) 6 A couple of comments. We are very, 7 very interested in (inaudible), and also we see an 8 opportunity for investment, not only in our 9 downtown, but for our community, our residents, as 10 well. So far the process has been very positive. 11 I would like (inaudible) a couple 12 comments and questions. 13 Let's start with the question first. 14 When dealing with county roads during 15 the redevelopment, maybe you can talk about the 16 process of how you can incorporate work plans and 17 how the county (inaudible.) 18 MR. VOICE: Like anything else in town, 19 when we deal with the county roads, we do sit with 20 them, we sit with the engineers, our architects sit 21 with the engineers, we sit with those people that 22 need to be talked to, and what we have done so far 23 is we have had this great cooperative agreement 24 between the county and the township so that we have 25 been able to get a lot of things accomplished. 47 1 And just in terms of traffic signals 2 (inaudible) on Belleville Avenue. So we have been 3 able to get a lot of things accomplished that we may 4 not have been able to do before. 5 So we have a good working relationship 6 with them. 7 MR. HAAS: My next comment is about 8 (inaudible), and I notice we have a lot of different 9 areas of (inaudible.) 10 But I find that we have inspiration 11 right here. (Inaudible) church on Watchung Avenue. 12 And I can look on a winter night, and I 13 can look at that street, and I can see this 14 beautiful white church (inaudible) this is our 15 inspiration. 16 We have many, many, sources of 17 inspiration, and what we have to do is look at our 18 neighborhoods, and we can find the inspiration that 19 is going to set our town apart. 20 (Applause.) 21 MAYOR MC CARTHY: And it is because of 22 people like you that have such faith and ideas for 23 Bloomfield that Bloomfield is going to continue to 24 grow. Thanks. 25 Next. 48 1 MS. VOICE: Hi. I'm (inaudible) -- 2 MAYOR MC CARTHY: You're going to have 3 turn that one up. 4 MS. VOICE: My name is (inaudible.) I 5 live at 108 Cleveland Terrace. 6 (Inaudible.) 7 I would like to know what is the status 8 of the (inaudible.) 9 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible.) 10 Right now it is a business that is 11 privately owned. It is in the downtown, and we 12 would hope that the whole downtown grows. 13 Not much I can say about it 14 specifically. 15 Thank you. (Inaudible.) 16 Next. 17 MS. VOICE: Good evening. What an 18 excellent job (inaudible.) I can really see so much 19 work, time and effort (inaudible) the presentation 20 is wonderful. 21 The other wonderful thing is that you 22 are focusing on efficiencies, (inaudible) and the 23 (inaudible.) 24 I just want to share with you briefly 25 (inaudible.) 49 1 In terms of the inspiration of the 2 building on the corner of Bloomfield Avenue and 3 Broad Street, that I have seen for many, many years, 4 with the clock, has a wonderful rooftop architecture 5 on that, and to really allow that to be enhanced 6 (inaudible) to people who, you know, come into the 7 town. 8 (Inaudible.) 9 One of the things that was mentioned 10 was the visibility of the (inaudible) and not too 11 many people look up, and I don't know that that's 12 true. 13 You know, when I worked on the 14 (inaudible) in downtown Newark, one of the big 15 focuses was to have those buildings visual from 16 Route 280, the Turnpike, 1 and 9, whatever. And I 17 think that there is some visibility that you could 18 capture from the Parkway along the tops, the 19 rooftops. 20 So I just wanted to share that. 21 And, also, I have some information, and 22 you did mention buying locally. 23 There are many excellent manufacturers 24 here in the State of New Jersey (inaudible) 25 Fairfield, and they would very much be willing to 50 1 work with you. I spoke with some of them, which 2 means factory direct discounts. 3 All other manufacturers (inaudible) and 4 they have the most fabulous illuminated street 5 signs, and LED (inaudible) street signs that's lit 6 up from inside, 100,000 hours of lighting. You 7 don't have to worry about maintenance. We are 8 talking about 2 watts, low energy, and all just 9 wonderfully high efficient. 10 The lighting that you guys do will 11 really, really make the project exquisite. 12 (Inaudible.) 13 So, again, I would offer my services. 14 And this time I brought some paperwork. Good for 15 you, good for you all, it's great. 16 (Applause.) 17 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Do you want to give 18 your name and address for the record? 19 MS. NOLE: Meredith Nole, 56 walnut 20 Street (inaudible.) 21 But I think I used to live around the 22 corner from (inaudible.) 23 MAYOR MC CARTHY: I just want you to 24 know, now that I have your card and your e-mail 25 address, you'll be involved in this whether you want 51 1 to or not. 2 MS. NOLE: (Inaudible.) 3 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Thank you. 4 Next. Name and address. 5 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible.) 6 MAYOR MC CARTHY: (Inaudible) PBA. 7 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible) on the corner of 8 Berkeley and Franklin, and currently in the process 9 of opening a restaurant on Bloomfield Avenue. I am 10 a chef, and I am liking this redevelopment, and it 11 is really looking great for a start. 12 I just wanted to point out one 13 negative. 14 The young lady that I was talking about 15 with that go-go bar issue, and (inaudible) but I do 16 believe there is someone applying for a go-go bar on 17 Bloomfield Avenue in Bloomfield, and what can we do 18 to discourage that? I don't think that is the route 19 we need to go. 20 MAYOR MC CARTHY: That is going to go 21 before our building department right now, and 22 (inaudible) disallowing it (inaudible.) 23 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible) just keep your 24 eyes and ears open to that. Thank you. 25 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Thank you, Michael. 52 1 He played for me when I was a manager 2 of Little League 25 years ago. 3 Yes. 4 MS. VOICE: My name is Lee (inaudible) 5 Spruce Street. 6 I have enjoyed these meetings. I was 7 at the last one, but I guess my question is, what 8 exactly is the timeline? Will we see something 9 change in six months, a year, three years? Can you 10 give us some idea as to when all of this -- 11 MAYOR MC CARTHY: I am going to turn 12 back to the two experts on this. 13 You know, we are looking for tomorrow. 14 We tried six years, five and a half years, at a 15 virtual standstill, so now we would like to move 16 things very quickly. 17 I am going to ask Joe Maraziti to 18 answer. 19 MR. MARAZITI: The issue of timing, 20 (inaudible) what the process is required in the 21 legal sense of the word. And what we are working on 22 at this point is leading up to the preparation of a 23 new redevelopment plan. There is a redevelopment 24 plan for a proposed project that isn't going to 25 happen. 53 1 So in order to proceed with the 2 redevelopment process, it is necessary to have a new 3 plan. And that's the document that under the law is 4 required to be reviewed by the Planning Board, 5 comments go from the Planning Board, through the 6 governing body. The governing body, before it can 7 adopt a redevelopment plan, it must go through a 8 process of adopting the ordinance and having public 9 hearings on a specific plan. 10 So what will all come out of this 11 process and how long it will take, I will leave that 12 question for others to answer how long this process 13 will take, but there will be a document that will be 14 a redevelopment plan that will be presented in the 15 first instance to the Planning Board, (inaudible) a 16 45-day opportunity to review it and comment on that, 17 and refer their comments to the governing body, 18 which will take those comments and proceed through 19 the adoption of an ordinance to adopt a plan. 20 The question would be, and then what 21 happens? 22 Once that redevelopment plan is 23 (inaudible) then the legal process that is available 24 to maximize the opportunities for redevelopment is 25 available. 54 1 All the legal powers will then be 2 vested in the Township Council to proceed to invite 3 specific development proposals, from property owners 4 or others, and enter into redevelopment (inaudible) 5 which I alluded to at the last meeting, that will 6 lay out, you know, the specifics of what is actually 7 going to be built on a specific site, and when it is 8 going to be built. 9 So the process will take some time, but 10 this is a very important step in getting to that 11 community-endorsed redevelopment plan, which is 12 necessary in order to make these projects, which do 13 take time, as I indicated at the last meeting, take 14 time to bring to a real-life on the ground. 15 But it is moving very rapidly, from my 16 observations, since I have been working here at 17 Bloomfield only a few short months, we have really 18 covered a lot of ground in a very short period of 19 time. 20 And I know there is a lot to fill in 21 with the details of how long, but that should give 22 you some framework. 23 MAYOR MC CARTHY: (Inaudible) in this 24 process? 25 MR. VOICE: Well, I think this process, 55 1 actually, this is an official part of (inaudible) it 2 is critical that community outreach happens. 3 (Inaudible.) So this is the critical part, the 4 official part of the process, we are not just doing 5 this for fun, (inaudible.) So this is actually 6 going to lead to redevelopment. 7 (Inaudible) a lot of the hard work has 8 been done. We can actually complete the 9 redevelopment plan relatively quickly. 10 And there are (inaudible) go linear 11 here. 12 So if we get through this, we have our 13 next meeting hopefully in early December, we are 14 trying to find a window of opportunity, between 15 Thanksgiving and Christmas, the holidays, and have 16 that meeting, (inaudible) start our redevelopment 17 plan. 18 I think it is about a three-month 19 process for us to actually write it and get it done. 20 There is going to be a lot of back and forth still 21 with some of you all and some of the property owners 22 to get all of this done. 23 Then it goes through the process that 24 Joe mentioned about getting through the town. 25 I don't think it is going to be an 56 1 arduous process with the approvals here in town 2 because there has been such a knowledge gained by 3 the Planning Board and Council here. 4 So I think that can be fast tracked 5 here. 6 But just so you understand, I mean, 7 simultaneously what we are doing, our charge is to 8 get things moving here. 9 So, simultaneously, we are not waiting 10 for that all to be done to start figuring out what 11 we are going to do with the developers and the 12 property owners that want to actually do things. 13 We are actually having those 14 conversations now, so that by the time that the 15 redevelopment plan is in place, we are going to 16 already know what is going to be happening, at least 17 the first phase of what is going to be happening, 18 and we will be working with however many it is, 19 maybe one or two or three property owners/developers 20 to implement the first phase of this plan. 21 So our charge is to push this thing 22 forward. 23 We have every intention of doing that. 24 At the that, as Joe will point out, there is a legal 25 process here; and, also, in light of what is going 57 1 on with the redevelopment plan as I stated at the 2 last meeting, I explained to you the difference, the 3 redevelopment plan is not just about taking 4 property, it is about actually empowering you all 5 with the proper (inaudible) to do something great 6 here. 7 You have to go through those steps, and 8 you have to do it right, otherwise, if there is a 9 legal challenge to that in the future, it will get 10 shot down, and we will be starting over again. 11 So we've got a kind of do this thing 12 right, even though we are trying to move as fast as 13 possible. 14 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible.) That's just 15 the way the market is right now. 16 So we are kind of hoping the way this 17 process is going we are in a unique position to be 18 in time for the market where it is great 19 (inaudible), because once we get the plan up and 20 running with some of the loose timeframes we gave 21 you, and then we get some interested developers, and 22 the initial plans take place, we are hoping that we 23 should fall into (inaudible.) 24 (Multiple voices engaged in 25 conversation.) 58 1 MR. VOICE: (Inaudible) So we think we 2 are in a pretty good position to meet the market 3 when the market turns. That is something we don't 4 have any control over. We think at this point we 5 are (inaudible.) 6 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Mary, it looks like 7 you are next. 8 MS. SHAUNACEY: Mary Shaunacey, 41 9 Lowell Terrace. 10 Friends and I were in Savannah, Georgia 11 a few years ago and took a tour of the city. And 12 the bus driver was so very proud of the their new 13 public parking garage, he called it the Taj Mahal. 14 He actually made a stop on the tour of the city that 15 he was proud to show us. 16 And since parking has been such a very 17 important part of the redevelopment here, I just 18 wanted to call your attention, the planner's 19 attention to the two garages that pop out in my mind 20 as good examples. Garages don't have to be ugly, 21 they can be beautiful. 22 There is one garage right near us at 23 Montclair State. It is wonderful. They built a 24 theater, and the garage is built onto the theater, 25 and you can't tell where the theater starts and 59 1 where the garage begins. It is really pretty. 2 So if we are going to have decks, we 3 need multiple decks, if we make those decks kind of 4 look like buildings, they don't look like decks. 5 And the other example I wanted to point 6 out is the Manhattan Plaza on 43rd, 44th Street, 7 between 10th and 11th in Manhattan. 8 I always do cheap parking in Manhattan, 9 so I always walk by that building, and I am always 10 so thrilled to see that it is a densely-packed 11 space. 12 What they have done is they have a 13 garage that is at least five stories, but the garage 14 is set back about 15 feet, you have the sidewalk, 15 and then you have this little plaza at the base of 16 the garage, and the plaza has the thinnest strip of 17 green, and it also has trees, and it's got benches 18 in between the trees. So what you have is the green 19 of the trees obscures, you know, the (inaudible) 20 garage, but you are getting a parking deck and a 21 park. It is like a double plus. You get two for 22 one there. 23 And it is a -- it has been around for a 24 long time, so it's not a new concept. 25 But year after year I walk by there and 60 1 I just think, boy, somebody was really smart because 2 you have a five-story parking deck and a park rolled 3 into one, and most (inaudible) and this is a garage 4 Mahal. 5 I hope that we try to work really hard 6 to make our decks pretty, and I think it is possible 7 because I've seen it. 8 Montclair State, take a ride up there 9 and look at that. 10 Thank you. 11 (Applause.) 12 MR. VOICE: I think one of the things 13 that we are so hopeful about at this time is the 14 fact that everybody is involved at the same time. 15 We do have (inaudible) so their expert is here, 16 Karen Hoffman is here. I mean, we are all working 17 together so the product that we get is what 18 everybody wants, as opposed to (inaudible.) 19 MR. LEWIS: Victor Lewis, Starlight 20 Tuxedos, 606 Bloomfield Avenue. 21 Two main concerns I have. One, that 22 this process takes such a long time, the properties 23 that are being purchased up in town as of now are 24 sitting. We don't need to wait for a development 25 plan (inaudible) to get them to fix their buildings 61 1 up (inaudible.) 2 My next question is, what is your stand 3 or plans with eminent domain? Will it be used or 4 not used in this development project? 5 MR. VOICE: To answer the first 6 question, some of those buildings are coming down 7 already. We had a little conversation before, and 8 some of those that have been summonsed to take care 9 of them themselves. 10 Joe and I have talked about the 11 question about eminent domain, being that he is the 12 expert on eminent domain. 13 Our position (inaudible), Joe? 14 MR. MARAZITI: The concept is to 15 combine the already designated redevelopment areas 16 with rehabilitation areas which will surround those. 17 The redevelopment areas are areas that 18 have been declared in need of redevelopment, but 19 there is a Court settlement, a lawsuit, which I 20 believe, sir, you were involved in, that for all 21 practical purposes eliminates the possibility of 22 using eminent domain in those areas. 23 And with respect to the rehabilitation 24 theory that I have indicated (inaudible) under the 25 rehabilitation designation, eminent domain is not 62 1 available legally as part of the redevelopment 2 process. 3 So no use of eminent domain in the 4 redevelopment context can be carried out in those 5 areas. 6 The Court settlement that we referred 7 to, which you were a part of, specifically however 8 does understand that there are other types of 9 eminent domain that may be needed for some other of 10 the features that may be required in order to go 11 forward with the project. 12 So I want to be candid about that and 13 say what I am talking about is the eminent domain 14 under the redevelopment law is not a feature that we 15 will have the availability of using. 16 But under the Court order, that Court 17 order says other types of redevelopment, in the 18 traditional sense, for public purposes is still 19 available. 20 MR. LEWIS: Thank you very much. I 21 would just like to tell you that without the use of 22 eminent domain we will (inaudible.) 23 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Next? 24 Any one else? 25 I guess it's time to wrap it up. 63 1 But let me first thank everyone for 2 coming. 3 It is great to see so many people 4 involved with so many things, and the fact that you 5 are here because you have such great concern for 6 Bloomfield and the downtown, I really do appreciate 7 that. 8 I want to say this, and I want to be 9 candid. 10 I am going to make a public apology to 11 a lot of the people that are here tonight, and I see 12 some of the property owners here. 13 As you know, we just went through a 14 campaign, and it was a campaign which bothered me 15 greatly because of the fact that a lot of the 16 property owners in the newspapers had disparaging 17 remarks about their buildings. 18 And when they look at the (inaudible) 19 and a lot of the other people who put a lot of time, 20 effort, money and love into their buildings, I 21 apologize. (Inaudible) and I as the Mayor never did 22 that myself. So I apologize to you. 23 Other than that, we will let you know 24 when the next meeting is going to be. 25 Please be aware of TV 35, the website, 64 1 the local newspapers, and (inaudible) are here, we 2 are going to try to get it to you as soon as we can. 3 Again, thank you very much for coming. 4 We appreciate everything you did. 5 If I can get a motion to adjourn. 6 Oh, yes, the sign-in sheet. Joe Joffe 7 left, so you may not get a broken finger if you 8 don't sign it, but please. 9 Again, thank you very much. 10 If I can get a motion to adjourn? 11 MS. VOICE: Motion. 12 MS. VOICE: Second. 13 MAYOR MC CARTHY: All in favor? 14 (Unanimous approval.) 15 MAYOR MC CARTHY: Thank you. 16 (Proceedings concluded.) 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 65 1 CERTIFICATE 2 3 I, CAROL ANN SHEPARD, a Certified Court 4 Reporter of the State of New Jersey, License No. 5 30X100101900, do hereby certify that the foregoing 6 is a transcript of the taped proceedings, as 7 transcribe by me, held at the time, place and on the 8 date hereinbefore set forth. 9 I DO FURTHER CERTIFY that I am neither a 10 relative nor employee nor attorney nor counsel of 11 any of the parties to this action, and that I am 12 neither a relative nor employee of such attorney or 13 counsel, and that I am not financially interested in 14 the action. 15 16 17 ______________________________________ 18 Certified Court Reporter of the State of New Jersey 19 20 Dated: November 16, 2007 21 22 23 24 25