"Palisades Cliffs Protection and Planning Act"; concerns preservation of Palisades Cliffs and creates Palisades Cliffs Preservation Council.

S396

SENATE, No. 396

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 and Planning
Act"; concerns preservation of Palisades Cliffs and creates Palisades
Cliffs Preservation Council.

CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT

���� Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative
Counsel.

��

An Act
concerning the preservation of the Palisades cliffs,
creating the Palisades Cliffs Preservation Council, and supplementing P.L.1975,
c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.).

����
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
may be cited as the �Palisades Cliffs Protection and Planning Act.�

���� 2.��� The Legislature finds
and declares:

���� a.��� The Palisades Cliffs are
a geological feature along the Hudson River that extends from New York State
south into Bergen and Hudson Counties in New Jersey, and terminating in Jersey
City New Jersey;

���� b.��� The Palisades Cliffs
exist in several municipalities and two counties in New Jersey and dramatically
define the scenic view of New Jersey north of Jersey City from the Hudson River
and New York City and southern New York State;

���� c.��� The Palisades Cliffs are
a recognized natural treasure that has been intentionally preserved for
decades;

���� d.��� While significant
portions of the Palisades Cliffs are protected based on their inclusion within
parklands under the jurisdiction of the Palisades Park Commission, other
portions of the Palisades Cliffs are threatened due to varied zoning ordinances
and varied planning rules in municipalities through which the Palisades Cliffs
run;

���� e.��� As a result of the
natural beauty of the Palisades Cliffs and the views of the Hudson River and
New York City, there is extensive pressure on municipalities to allow
overdevelopment immediately east of the Palisades Cliffs;

���� f.���� While some
municipalities have encouraged development with reasonable restrictions east of
the Palisades Cliffs, other municipalities have adopted ordinances and approved
development that fails to preserve the Palisades Cliffs;�

���� g.��� As a result of the
development pressure along the Palisades Cliffs, municipalities have failed to
consider the impact of overdevelopment on surrounding municipalities;

���� h.��� The overdevelopment of
the Palisades Cliffs also increases traffic congestion along the Palisades
Cliffs, and this is particularly problematic in the areas where there is a
narrow land mass east of the Palisades Cliffs, which does not allow for
multiple roads or access points to those roads;

���� i.���� Development along the
Palisades Cliffs does not just impact a single municipality, but also has a
dramatic impact on both the Palisades Cliffs and the residents of surrounding
municipalities;

���� j.���� Significant components
of the natural beauty of the Palisades Cliffs already have been lost to
development, and the pace of development in the region has and will continue to
dramatically increase, further impairing this natural treasure;

���� k.��� The existing system of
fragmented controls on development along the Palisades Cliffs is failing to
protect the Palisades Cliffs;

���� l.���� Protection of the
Palisades Cliffs is an issue of Statewide concern and importance that cannot be
left to the uncoordinated land use decisions of the municipalities, counties,
and myriad private landowners in the area of the Palisades Cliffs; and

���� m.�� It is in the public
interest of all the citizens of the State that New Jersey enact legislation
setting forth a comprehensive development plan in the area of the Palisades
Cliffs, so that reasonable development is encouraged, but overdevelopment is
prevented.

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

����
�Cliff face� means that
portion of the Palisades cliffs consisting of sheer, nearly vertical expanse of
exposed rock.

���� �Council� means the Palisades Protection and
Planning Council established by section 4 of
P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� )

(pending before the Legislature as this bill)
.

���� �Crest� means the highest part of the Palisades
cliffs in any location where the cliff face or side slope rapidly plateaus.

���� �Department� means the Department of
Environmental Protection.

���� �Development� shall have the same meaning as
provided in section 3.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-4).

���� �Development regulation� shall have the same
meaning as provided in section 3.1 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-4).

���� �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
development.

���� �Local government unit� means a municipality,
county, or other political subdivision of the State, or any agency, board,
commission, utilities authority or other authority, or other entity thereof.

���� �Municipalities� means the municipalities
included in subsection a. of section 5 of
P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� )

(pending before the Legislature as this bill).

���� �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.

���� �Palisades cliffs� means the cliff face or the
side slope on the eastern side of the Palisades mountain range beginning in
Fort Lee and running south into Jersey City.

���� �Palisades Planning Region� or �region� means
that region so designated by section 7 of

P.L.��� , c.���
(C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill).

����
�Side slope� means that
portion of the Palisades cliffs where the steep Palisades cliff face is absent
but where the elevation rapidly declines.

����
4.��� a.
�
There
is hereby established a public body corporate and politic, with corporate
succession, to be known as the �Palisades Protection and Planning Council.� �

���� b.��� The council shall
constitute a political subdivision of the State established as an
instrumentality exercising public and essential governmental functions, and the
exercise by the council of the powers and duties conferred pursuant to P.L.���
, c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill) shall be
deemed and held to be an essential governmental function of the State.

���� 5.��� The council shall
consist of 10 voting members to be appointed and qualified as follows:

���� a.��� One individual from each
of the following municipalities: Jersey City, Hoboken, Union City, North
Bergen, Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg, Cliffside Park, Edgewater, and
Fort Lee.� The members of the council shall be appointed by the respective
governing body of each such municipality.� The members shall be residents of
the appointing municipality, except that a member who is the chief financial
officer, business administrator, municipal administrator, or municipal manager
of the municipality making the appointment need not be a resident of the
appointing municipality.� The appointees may or may not be members of the
appointing governing body.

���� b.��� Council members shall
serve for terms of four years, and until the member�s successor has been
appointed and qualified.� Any vacancy shall be filled in the same manner as the
original appointment.� Members may be reappointed.

���� c.��� Each member of the
council, before entering upon the member's duties, shall take and subscribe an
oath to perform the duties of the office faithfully, impartially, and justly to
the best of the member's ability, in addition to any oath that may be required
by R.S.41:1-1 et seq.� A record of the oath shall be filed with the Secretary
of State.

���� d.��� The council shall
organize as soon as practicable following the appointment of its initial
members and shall elect annually from among its members a chair to preside over
its meetings, as well as a secretary who need not be a member of the council.� The
council may meet and hold hearings at the place or places it designates.�

���� e.��� The powers of the
council shall be vested in the members thereof in office.� A majority of the
total authorized membership of the council shall constitute a quorum and no
action may be taken by the council except upon the affirmative vote of a
majority of the total authorized membership of the council.� No alternate or
designee of any council member shall exercise any power to vote on any matter
pending before the council.

���� f.���� The members of the
council shall serve without compensation, but the council may, within the
limits of funds appropriated or otherwise made available for such purposes,
reimburse its members for necessary expenses incurred in the discharge of their
official duties.

���� g.��� The members and staff of
the council shall be subject to the �Local Government Ethics Law,� P.L.1991, c.29
(C.40A:9-22.1 et seq.).

���� h.��� The council shall be
subject to the provisions of the �Senator Byron M. Baer Open Public Meetings
Act,� P.L.1975, c.231 (C.10:4-6 et seq.).

���� i.���� A true copy of the
minutes of every meeting of the council shall be prepared by the council
secretary and forthwith delivered to the department.

���� 6.��� The council shall have
the following powers, duties, and responsibilities to, in addition to those
prescribed elsewhere in P.L. , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill):

���� a.��� Adopt and from time to
time amend and repeal suitable bylaws for the management of its affairs;

���� b.� Adopt and use an official
seal and alter it at the council's pleasure;

���� c.��� Maintain an office at
such place or places in Hudson or Bergen County as the council may designate;

���� d.��� Sue and be sued in its
own name;

���� e.��� Appoint, retain, and
employ, without regard to the provisions of Title 11A, Civil Service, of the
New Jersey Statutes but within the limits of funds appropriated, received from
application review fees and charges pursuant to subsection o. of this section,
or otherwise made available for those purposes, such officers, employees,
attorneys, agents, and experts as it may require, and to determine the
qualifications, terms of office, duties, services, and compensation therefor;

���� f.���� Apply for, receive, and
accept, from any federal, State, or other public or private source, grants for,
or in aid of, the council's authorized purposes or in the carrying out of the
council's powers, duties, and responsibilities;

���� g.��� Enter into any and all
agreements or contracts, execute any and all instruments, and do and perform
any and all acts or things necessary, convenient, or desirable for the purposes
of the council or to carry out any power, duty, or responsibility expressly
given in P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this
bill);

���� h���� Call to its assistance
and avail itself of the services of such employees of any State entity or local
government unit as may be required and made available for such purposes;

���� i.���� Solicit and consider
public input and comment on the council's activities, and other issues and
matters of importance in the Palisades Planning Region by periodically holding
public hearings or conferences and providing other opportunities for such input
and comment by interested parties;

���� j.���� Conduct examinations
and investigations, to hear testimony, taken under oath at public hearings, on
any material matter, and to require attendance of witnesses and the production
of books and papers;

���� k.��� Prepare and transmit to
the Commissioner of Environmental Protection such recommendations for
environmental protection standards pertaining to the lands of the Palisades
Planning Region, as the council deems appropriate;

���� l.���� Develop model land use
ordinances and other development regulations, for consideration and possible
adoption by municipalities in the region, that would help protect the
environment, including, but not limited to, ordinances and other development
regulations pertaining to the Palisades Planning Region; and to provide
guidance and technical assistance in connection therewith to those
municipalities;

���� m��� Comment upon any
application for development before a local government unit, on the adoption of
any master plan, development regulation, or other regulation by a local
government unit, or on the enforcement by a local government unit of any
development regulation or other regulation, which power shall be in addition to
any other review, oversight, or intervention powers of the council prescribed
by P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill);

���� n.��� Promote brownfield
remediation and redevelopment in the Palisades Planning Region; and

���� o.��� Establish and when
appropriate to review and to revise, a schedule of application review fees and
charges, which shall be established that the revenues from the fees and charges
shall at all times be adequate to pay for all the expenses of the operations of
the council, including a reasonable reserve for the use in potential
litigation, to conduct studies, or other costs or expenses directly related to
the council�s powers, duties, and responsibilities set forth in this section,
as may be deemed necessary or desirable by the council. �

���� 7.��� The Palisades Planning
Region shall consist of that land within the municipalities which extends up to
2000 feet east of the Palisades cliff crest at each location along the
Palisades cliffs.

���� 8.��� a.� Unless approved by the council, no development may be
constructed in the Palisades Planning Region unless the maximum height of the
proposed development, including any mechanical structures to be constructed
atop the building or structure, is at or below the height whereby the sightline
looking east from the crest directly to the west of the proposed development
would include at least the eastern half of the Hudson River above the highest
point of the proposed building or structure.

���� b.��� Where there is no
discernable crest immediately to the west of the proposed development, unless
otherwise specified in paragraphs (1) and (2) of this subsection, the height of
the beginning of the sightline looking east for purposes of subsection a. of this
section shall be the elevation of the surface of the portion of Palisades
Avenue directly west of the proposed building or structure.

���� (1)� In the following municipalities,
where a street listed under this paragraph is to the west of the proposed
development, the elevation of the surface of the portion of that street shall
control for purposes of this subsection b. of this section instead of Palisades
Avenue:

���� (a)�� Kennedy Boulevard East
in North Bergen;

���� (b)� Kennedy Boulevard East in
Guttenberg;

���� (c)�� Kennedy Boulevard East
in West New York;

���� (d)� Kennedy Boulevard East,
Hamilton Avenue, King Avenue, and Kingswood Road in Weehawken.; and

���� (e)�� Mountain Road and
Manhattan Avenue in Union City.

���� (2)� In the municipality of
Cliffside Park, an elevation of 170 feet above sea level shall control for
purposes of subsection b. of this section instead of Palisades Avenue.

���� 9.��� a.� The council shall,
within 18 months after the effective date of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� )
(pending before the Legislature as this bill), prepare criteria to be
considered in allowing development in excess of the height limits set forth in
section 8 of P.L.��� , c.���
(C. ) (pending before the
Legislature as this bill).

���� b.��� This criteria shall
include the:

���� (1)� development�s distance
from the Palisades side slope or cliff face;

���� (2)� development�s impact on
traffic in the area;

���� (3)� development�s impact on
citizens in neighboring municipalities;

���� (4)� development�s impact and
obstruction of the Palisades side slopes and cliff face;

���� (5)� width of the proposed development
that includes any building or structure;

���� (6)� municipality�s affordable
housing requirements and the

number of affordable housing units in the proposed development; and

���� (7)� number of governmental
approvals the developer has received as of the effective date of P.L.��� ,
c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), and the
investment in the approvals.

���� 10.� The council may institute
an action or proceeding in Superior Court for injunctive relief for any
violation of P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending before the Legislature as
this bill), ), or restriction imposed pursuant thereto.� In any action or
proceeding brought pursuant to this section, the court may proceed in a summary
manner and may also grant temporary or interlocutory relief.

���� 11.� Any decision rendered or
action taken by the council pursuant to P.L.��� , c.��� (C.������� ) (pending
before the Legislature as this bill) may be appealed to the Superior Court of
New Jersey, Law Division, in accordance with the New Jersey Rules of Court.

���� 12.� On or before March 31 in
each year the council shall make an annual report of its activities for the
preceding calendar year to the governing body and the chief executive officer
of the municipalities and Bergen and Hudson counties.� Each such report shall
set forth a complete operating and financial statement covering its operations
during the preceding year.

���� 13.� 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.

���� 14.� This act shall take
effect immediately and apply to any proposed development in the Palisades
Planning Region, except for those that have received all required government
approvals as of the effective date.

STATEMENT

���� This bill, �Palisades Cliffs
Protection and Planning Act,� would provide for the preservation of the
Palisades cliffs and create the Palisades Cliffs Preservation Council.

���� The council created by the
bill would constitute a political subdivision of the State exercising public
and essential governmental functions, would have 10 voting members appointed by
the governing bodies of the municipalities within the Palisades cliffs area,
and would be conferred with powers, duties, and responsibilities associated
with preserving and protecting the Palisades cliffs.� Additionally, the bill
creates the Palisades Planning Region that would consist of that land within the
municipalities which extends up to 2000 feet east of the Palisades cliff crest
at each location along the Palisades cliffs.

���� The bill provides that unless
approved by the council, no development may be constructed in the Palisades
Planning Region unless the maximum height of the proposed development,
including any mechanical structures to be constructed atop the building or structure,
is at or below the height whereby the sightline looking east from the crest
directly to the west of the proposed development would include at least the
eastern half of the Hudson River above the proposed building or structure.�
Where there is no discernable crest immediately to the west of the proposed
development, except as otherwise specified in this bill, the height of the
beginning of the sightline looking east would be the elevation of the surface
of the portion of Palisades Avenue directly west of the proposed building or
structure.

���� Under the bill, on or before
March 31 in each year, the council is required to make an annual report of its
activities for the preceding calendar year to the governing body and the chief
executive officer of the municipalities and Bergen and Hudson counties.� Each
such report shall set forth a complete operating and financial statement
covering its operations during the preceding year.