The Hoboken Business Alliance began community meetings to support local businesses, with a session held Tuesday at St. Matthew Trinity Lutheran Church.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“Hoboken has always been a city where small businesses and entrepreneurs can take root and succeed, and we are committed to continually improving how we support them,” Mayor Emily Jabbour said in a statement.
“ … This effort is about ensuring our policies evolve alongside our community, making it easier for businesses to open, grow, and contribute to vibrant commercial corridors across our city without negatively impacting its character or resident’s quality of life.”
Over the next few months, the HBA will collect feedback from Hoboken residents and business owners to identify ways to update Hoboken’s permitting processes, expand commercial uses, and make it easier for businesses to open.
This initial meeting provided an opportunity for the community to share feedback to inform future zoning reforms the City’s Commercial Zones aimed at reducing barriers that make it difficult to open or expand a business.
These areas include commercial buildings around the Hoboken Terminal District, the Central Business District (Washington Street from Newark Street to Seventh Street), and Neighborhood Business District (the west side of Washington Street from Seventh Street to 14th Street; First Street from Harrison Street to Bloomfield Street; Jackson Street from Madison Street to Sixth Street).
For more information about Hoboken’s current zoning guide, see here.
The community input from this kickoff meeting will help shape the HBA’s recommendations to the Hoboken City Council on how to update the City’s current zoning code, making it faster to open businesses and decrease vacancies.
The HBA will work with the Hoboken Zoning Office to identify ways to expedite the zoning process to speed up the timeline for business openings and drafting preliminary zoning code amendments based on community feedback.
These recommendations will undergo public and private stakeholder review, before being presented to the City Council for adoption. Future public engagement opportunities will be announced at a later date.
Further, the HBA is funding this initiative and engaging with local planning firm Phillips Preiss to provide coordination and technical support throughout this process, examining how existing zoning rules affect businesses.
This effort reflects a shared commitment from the HBA and the City of Hoboken to strengthen Hoboken’s commercial corridors and ensure local businesses can succeed.
“Hoboken is known for its tight-knit business community, and this collaboration with the City of Hoboken is an important step in ensuring that businesses of all sizes can continue to thrive,” added Hoboken Business Alliance Board of Trustees President James Runkle.
“The current zoning framework includes detailed categories and requirements that can present challenges for some businesses looking to open or expand. Zoning plays a critical role in shaping our commercial corridors, and hearing directly from business owners will help us uphold Hoboken’s legacy as a place people want to do business while strengthening our local economy.”
