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Last February, the City Council tabled the Journal Square Redevelopment Plan, a long-term visioning project covering a roughly 244-acre swath of land in and around Journal Square.

Now a slimmed-down proposal is back in the legislative pipeline, with the Planning Board set to review the Journal Square Core Redevelopment Plan this Tuesday evening.

The plan essentially calls for high-density, transit-oriented development in the immediate Journal Square area, and prohibits surburban-style features like surface parking, drive-through facilities and “gas stations, service stations, auto repair, auto body shops, and other automobile related uses.” As the name implies, the Core Redevelopment Plan covers only the core of the Journal Square area — the one block bounded by Summit Avenue, Sip Avenue, Kennedy Boulevard and Pavonia Avenue. (It does note that “this plan will be incorporated into a future Greater Journal Square Plan covering a broader area approximating the walking distance to the station.”)

“It would now appear to be appropriate for the city to take a more proactive approach to redevelopment in this area, so as to bring the area into greater compliance with the recommendations of the [city's] master plan,” the draft proposal, dated Feb. 3, reads. “The Master Plan calls for ‘station areas’ around Jersey City’s mass transit facilities to be up-zoned to include higher density residential, neighborhood retail, restaurants and other uses compatible with a mixed use transit oriented station area. In addition, parking requirements are to be reduced ‘to capitalize on the availability of high quality mass transit’ and to increase building coverage, floor-area-ratios, and a residential density, which can be supported near transit facilities.”

It calls for redevelopment via four means: The “retention and rehabilitation of sound compatible structures,” encouraging private developers to “assemble into redevelopment parcels the vacant and
underutilized land now in scattered and varied ownership,” constructing new structures and providing public infrastructure to support and service the new development.

In what is perhaps a nod to the eminent domain fears that drove much opposition to the larger plan last year, the new draft plan explicitly states that the redevelopment “shall be achieved without the means of condemnation.”

Our favorite part of the plan?

“For all structures, bike parking is required. A bike storage room, located in a convenient and accessible location to the front entry of the building with room for 1 bike space per bedroom is required.”

Read the proposed plan for yourself here; you can check out the larger tabled plan here.

The Planning Board meets Tuesday, Feb. 9, at 5:30 pm in the City Council Chambers at City Hall (280 Grove St.).