The Commissioner — Fall 2008

Commission Profile

Hudson County, New Jersey

"The way we're set up in New Jersey, mostly things that affect county rights-of-way and roads come before us," says Jude Fitzgibbons, chair of the Hudson County Planning Board. On the face of it such narrow parameters may sound limiting, but the reality is that planning board members in this county, just across the Hudson River from New York City, routinely have a full agenda.

"New Jersey is a home rule state," says Stephen D. Marks, AICP, the county's planning director. "Each of the 565 municipalities has zoning and land-use authority, so we don't delve into that. But if, for example, there's a development that will make traffic conditions worse, it will come to us. The board doesn't have the authority to say, 'Change the zoning,' but it could choose not to approve something that would drive levels from C to F or B to D."

There are no unincorporated areas in New Jersey. "The county is an overlay providing regional services in areas such as the judiciary, corrections, welfare, and public health," Marks says.

Hudson County's planning board consists of nine commissioners, six of whom are private citizens. Two of the county's nine freeholders have seats on the planning board, as does the county engineer. An alternate commissioner attends meetings and may vote when one of the private-citizen board members is absent.

Members of the planning board serve staggered three-year terms with no limit on reappointment. While there are few qualifications or stipulations for service other than residency and age, the board is diverse, "culturally, in terms of backgrounds, and geographically," says Marks. "We're a small, urbanized county. You could make the argument that we are 100 percent urban. So we don't have a problem with rural versus suburban and urban ... each part of the county has its own concerns."

The six private-citizen members are appointed by the county executive and confirmed by the Board of Chosen Freeholders. Several have served more than a decade while others have joined the planning board within the past year or two. The panel includes a municipal housing inspector, a former Jersey City council member, an interior designer, a computer engineer, a real estate broker, and a solid waste professional.

Representing some 650,000 people in 12 municipalities, the planning board generally meets once a month on a Wednesday. In preparation for the meetings, board members review a packet of materials which, according to Mary E. Avagliano, "takes an hour or two to read through and another hour or two to digest. I will often do a site visit, especially if the project is nearby. You can pick up on a lot of things that way."

Avagliano, the board's vice chair, appreciates her fellow board members' dedication. "We don't get paid for this. It's all voluntary," she says. "We all help one another and will ask questions of each other. Even when we disagree, we all know we're in this to help the community."

The Hudson County Planning Division receives kudos from Avagliano for encouraging board members to stay abreast of planning trends. She's an avid reader of Planning magazine —"It's a good read and should not be discarded," she says — and regularly refers to reference books the county has provided. She attends planning seminars and is awaiting the return of architect Glenn Keyes, whose workshops she describes as "phenomenal."

The most successful planning board members, says Fitzgibbons, are "independent thinkers." But, he adds, "It often helps to put on your neighbors' shoes and really understand their perspective. That's how I go about it."

From County to Global

"It's amazing how, since 2002, so many things have changed in Hudson County," says planning director Stephen D. Marks, AICP. Having recently accepted the Planning Division's Master Plan Re-Examination Report, the county's planning board reaffirmed its commitment to smart growth, sustainable development, and a reduced carbon footprint.

"Our report looks at issues from a global, national, and local perspective," Marks says. "We're an urban county in a suburban state, like Staten Island or Brooklyn. We have a lot of dense development patterns but need to incorporate smart growth into our review processes. We have a lot of mass transit, but we want more. We need more sidewalks. After all, people who use bus, rail, or ferry have to walk there."

Planning board chair Jude Fitzgibbons guarantees a green agenda. "Every project in the pipeline has to provide open space, trees, sidewalks, and bike racks," he says. "As the waterfront is redeveloped, we're trying to create a walkway along the river extending from the tip of Hudson County all the way to Bergen County. There will be a bike path, too."

The county lost 50 percent of its wetlands from 1986 to 2002 and more than 40 percent of its land is within the 100-year floodplain, so there is a sense of urgency to respond to the challenges of global warming, notes Fitzgibbons.

Transit-oriented development is another focus in the county which is home to the Hudson Bergen Light Rail Transit system and Port Authority Trans-Hudson (PATH) commuter rail. "New Jersey's Urban Transit Tax Credit program provides huge subsidies to developments within half a mile of a commuter rail station," Marks says. "Both Jersey City and Hoboken are eligible for the program."

Soon the county will get a contract to help it create a new comprehensive economic development strategy. "This will be a plan for sustainable development," says Marks. "We'll focus on energy conservation and fostering green-collar jobs. We'll also look at ways to ... harness geothermal, solar, and wind power."

Leading by example, Hudson County recently consolidated agencies in a building that formerly housed a pharmaceutical company and is rehabbing a 1940s warehouse. "We'll be going LEED," says Marks, "putting in solar panels on the roof and recycling stormwater. We'll bring the floor up to one foot above floodplain levels using recycled building and demolition materials on-site."