[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the City of Hoboken 6-1-2022 by Ord. No. B-464. Amendments noted where
applicable.]
A.
The United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
launched the Rebuild by Design (RBD) competition in the summer of
2013 to develop ideas to improve physical, ecological, economic, and
social resilience in regions affected by Superstorm Sandy. The City
of Hoboken's proposed project was one of the competition's
six winning concepts, developed with the goal of reducing frequent
flooding due to storm surge, high tide, and heavy rainfall. HUD awarded
$230,000,000 to the State of New Jersey for the project in the municipalities
of Hoboken, Weehawken, and Jersey City.
The project takes a multifaceted approach intended to address
flooding from both major storm surges and high tides as well as from
heavy rainfall events. The project's comprehensive approach to
resilience consists of four integrated components:
(1)
Resist: a combination of hard infrastructure (such as bulkheads,
floodwalls and seawalls) and soft landscaping features (such as berms
and/or levees which could be used as parks) that act as barriers along
the coast during exceptionally high tide and/or storm surge events;
(2)
Delay: policy recommendations, guidelines and urban green infrastructure
to slow stormwater runoff;
(3)
Store: green and grey infrastructure improvements, such as bioretention
basins, swales, and green roofs, that slow down and capture stormwater,
and which will complement the efforts of the City of Hoboken's
existing Green Infrastructure Strategic Plan; and
(4)
Discharge: enhancements to Hoboken's existing stormwater management
system, including the identification and upgrading of existing stormwater/sewer
lines, outfalls and pumping stations.
B.
Trees and other woody vegetation, such as shrubs and vines, can create
both structural and seepage instabilities, prevent adequate inspection,
and create obstacles to maintenance and flood-fighting/flood-control
activities. Therefore, vegetation surrounding the "resist" structure
must be regulated. Vegetation must be regulated for the following
reasons:
(1)
To allow proper inspection, surveillance, and monitoring of all structures
and adjacent areas for seepage, cracking, sinkholes, settlement, displacement,
and other signs of distress.
(2)
To allow access for normal and emergency operation and maintenance
activities.
(3)
To prevent root-related damage to structures, such as shortened seepage
paths through embankments and/or foundations; voids in embankments
and/or foundations due to decayed roots or fallen trees; clogged seepage
collector systems; and expansion of cracks or joints in concrete walls,
spillway floors, and canal linings.
(4)
To limit those habitat characteristics that encourage the creation
of animal burrows.
(5)
To allow full design-discharge capability of waterways, spillway
inlet and outlet channels, outlet-works discharge channels, and other
open conveyance channels.
(6)
To avoid any incidental growth and subsequent presence of endangered
species that might prohibit activities necessary for O&M or access.
A.
No trees, shrubs or vines are permitted within 15 feet of the "resist"
structure foundation to form a subsurface stabilization zone. Tree
and shrub trunks are measured to their center line, so 1/2 of the
tree trunk may be within the vegetation-free zone.
B.
The subsurface stabilization zone is a three-dimensional corridor
surrounding all levees, floodwalls, embankment dams, and critical
appurtenant structures in all flood damage reduction systems. The
subsurface stabilization zone applies to all vegetation except grass.
C.
The minimum width of the subsurface stabilization zone must be the
width of the floodwall and foundation, including all critical appurtenant
structures, plus 15 feet on each side, measured from the outer edge
of the outermost critical structure.
D.
Trees or shrubs may be planted in planters that have no subsurface
roots.
E.
Grass species are permitted.
F.
In the subsurface stabilization zone, permanent plant containers,
such as concrete planters, may be considered. Planters must not impact
the designed dam or levee section, or appurtenant structures such
as berms, drains and ditches. Planter design and layout must allow
for adequate access up and down the embankment as required for inspection
and flood-fighting activities and must be approved by the NJDEP.
G.
Plants selected for use in planters should have mature heights of
not more than approximately 20 feet.
