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S392
SENATE, No. 392
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
222nd LEGISLATURE
�
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2026 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator BRIAN P. STACK
District 33 (Hudson)
SYNOPSIS
���� "Palisades Cliffs Protection Act"; limits
height of new construction in area below cliffs east of Palisades.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.
��
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.