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THE HOBOKEN MASTER PLAN
MasterPLAN:
Redevelopment Items:
Adopted by the Hoboken City Council. April 19, 2006
Click below for
The REVISED PLAN
RFP's (Municipal Garage) (PDF)
 
MasterPlan Download :

Select from the following:

Individual Sections:
       Cover
       Executive Summary
I.     Introduction
II.    Land Use Part I
III.   Open Space, Recreation,and        Conservation
IV.   Community Facilities
V.    Circulation and Parking
VI.   Economic Development
VII.  Housing
VIII. Historic Preservation
IX.   Relationship to other plans
X.    Land Use Part II

    ENTIRE DOCUMENT (3.7mb)

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MASTER PLAN OPEN SPACE UPDATE

For the first time in nearly two decades, Hoboken has adopted a new Master Plan and people are talking.

In response to public interest on the implementation of the Hoboken Master Plan, this report, available below explains how the existing, planned and possibleadditional open space figures in the Hoboken Master Plan were calculated. It also provides some clarifications regarding the plan's open space recommendations and concept map.

The Executive Summary of the Master Plan states:

"Ten years ago, Hoboken had less than 20 acres of parks. Ten years from now, Hoboken will triple that amount. And its parks will showcase the best that landscape architecture and park programming can offer."
This statement is based upon the following assumptions. In 1993, there were 19.1 acres of parks and open space in Hoboken. By 2003, when the draft Master Plan was prepared, 10.9 acres were added to this figure for a total of 30.0 acres of existing parks and open space (consistent with Table III-1 in the plan).

The Master Plan projects 10.2 acres of planned parks and open space as listed in Table III-2. Therefore, the amount of existing and currently planned parks and open spaces in the City totals 40.2 acres. It is important to note that a number of these open space areas have been or soon will be created at no cost to the City of Hoboken by leveraging non-municipal funding sources. For example, redevelopment plans and other private development have resulted in public parks including Shipyard Park and piers, Maxwell House Park, Monroe Center's plaza, Pier A, Pier C and portions of the Hudson River Waterfront Walkway. In addition, the State and Hudson County are funding additional parks, such as at Hoboken Cove.

In terms of future parks, the Master Plan's Open Space Concept Map shows approximately 20 acres of additional land that could possibly be converted to parks and open space. These include the Cognis school site, 800 Jackson, 900 Monroe, 1600 Park, a sizable Fourth Ward park along Paterson Avenue and various other smaller sites. When added together, a total of approximately 60 acres of parks and open space are contemplated in Hoboken, assuming that an area equal to all of the sites shown on the Open Space Concept Map becomes parks and open space. Therefore, the tripling of open space cited in the Executive Summary is compared to what existed 10 years ago. The goal of approximately 60 acres of open space represents a doubling of what exists today.
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It should be pointed out that while the properties identified on the concept map were for the most part vacant or underutilized at the time that the plan was prepared, the status of some of these properties has changed. What has not changed is the one of the Master Plan's overall goals of providing additional open space, particularly recreation facilities and programmed park areas. In some instances, it may be preferable to create new parks in locations not designated on the concept map-as long as the net increase in open space is the same (i.e., 20 acres over what exists and is currently planned).

For example, a large park with ballfields is often preferable to a number of smaller plazas. If shifting development onto a "designated" park site results in the creation of a larger, more usable park elsewhere, the intent of the Master Plan would still be met. Likewise, the intention of the "green circuit" on the west side of the City is to provide a recreational amenity that also happens to connect open spaces. The exact location and size of these open spaces on the circuit is not as important as ensuring that: 1) the same acreage of parkland is created and 2) the circuit periodically widens into usable park areas.

Lastly, it must be emphasized that the Master Plan does not set forth a detailed program to acquire these properties. Instead, it envisions the use of a combination of techniques to create the amount of new open space set forth in the plan. These include the following: bonding or obtaining grants from outside sources to pay for new parks; modifying zoning regulations to require the set-a-side of open space or recreation facilities on development sites; creating redevelopment areas that would require the provision of open space as part of a unified plan for an area of the City; and preserving properties by transferring their development rights to other areas of the City where development may be more appropriate.

While it is unclear exactly what combination of techniques will work best for Hoboken, the common theme of these strategies is cooperation between city government and the private sector. As you are aware, Hoboken is subject to continuing development pressures. The City should continue to take advantage of Hoboken's desirability by leveraging significant public benefits from new construction and redevelopment.
(Update by Paul Grygiel and John Shapiro of Phillips, Preiss Shapiro Associates. The firm prepared the city’s Master Plan.)
All Content © 2007 City of Hoboken 94 Washington St. Hoboken, New Jersey 07030 --- (201) 420-2000