SENATE, No. 3274

STATE OF NEW JERSEY

219th LEGISLATURE

 

INTRODUCED DECEMBER 10, 2020

 


 

Sponsored by:

Senator  BRIAN P. STACK

District 33 (Hudson)

Senator  NICHOLAS J. SACCO

District 32 (Bergen and Hudson)

 

 

 

 

SYNOPSIS

     “Palisades Cliffs Protection Act”; limits height of new construction in area below cliffs east of Palisades.

 

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

     As introduced.

  


An Act limiting the height of new construction in certain areas and supplementing P.L.1975, c.291.

 

     Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

 

     1.    P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be known and cited as the “Palisades Cliffs Protection Act.”

 

     2.    As used in P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill):

     “Cliff wall” means that portion of the Palisades immediately west of a proposed building or structure where there is a precipitous decrease in elevation of the Palisades from west to east.

     “Government approval” means any ordinance, permit, resolution, lease, easement, license, approval, or grant of any kind issued by any government entity or agency having jurisdiction over any proposed building or structure.

     “Palisade Avenue” means the road named Palisade Avenue that extends from Jersey City in Hudson County in the south to Fort Lee in Bergen County in the north.

 

     3.    Notwithstanding the provisions of any other law to the contrary, a building or structure shall not be constructed or granted a government approval if the building or structure is proposed for development in the area between the cliffs east of the New Jersey Palisades in Hudson or Bergen County and the Hudson River unless the maximum height of the proposed building or structure, including any mechanical structures to be constructed atop the building or structure, is at least 10 feet below the lower of the following:

     a.     the highest elevation of the cliff wall immediately to the west of the proposed building or structure; or

     b.    where there is no discernable cliff wall immediately to the west of the proposed building or structure, the elevation of the surface of the portion of Palisade Avenue immediately west of the proposed building or structure.

    

     4.    If any section, subsection, clause, or provision of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be adjudged unconstitutional or to be ineffective in whole or in part, to the extent that it is not adjudged unconstitutional or is not ineffective, it shall be valid and effective and no other section, subsection, clause, or provision of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall on account thereof be deemed invalid or ineffective, and the inapplicability or invalidity of any section, subsection, clause, or provision of P.L.    , c.    (C.        ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) in any one or more instances or under any one or more circumstances shall not be taken to affect or prejudice in any way its applicability or validity in any other instance or under any other circumstance.

 

     5.  This act shall take effect immediately and apply to proposed buildings and structures in the applicable area, except for those that have received all required government approvals as of the effective date.

 

 

STATEMENT

 

     This bill would limit the height of any development below the cliffs east of Palisade Avenue in Hudson and Bergen counties.  Under the bill, no development, inclusive of any mechanical structures on top, in that area could exceed 10 feet below the surface of that road or the Palisades cliff height, whichever is lower.  This bill would protect the unique views enjoyed by residents who live in the historic neighborhoods above those cliffs, and preserve the views and topography features of the Palisades.

     The bill would apply to all proposed buildings and structures in the applicable area, except for those that have received all required government approvals as of the effective date.