Bayonne council approves lead-service-line bond, housing and traffic ordinances; postpones peninsula SID

The Bayonne Municipal Council on May 13 recorded final passage on several ordinances and resolutions, including a $25 million bond ordinance to fund phase two of the city’s lead service line replacement project, and actions on housing and traffic-related ordinances.

Lead-service-line bond: A bond ordinance for phase 2 of the city’s lead service line replacement project appropriating $25,000,000 and authorizing the issuance of up to $25,000,000 in bonds or notes was on second reading and recorded for final passage. The council’s roll call on the final passage recorded unanimous "Aye" votes by the members present. The ordinance authorizes borrowing to finance replacement work; the transcript records final passage but does not include a detailed project timeline in the public hearing comments.

Housing and traffic ordinances: The council also gave final passage to an ordinance addressing the requirements of the Fair Housing Act and the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (O2), and adopted traffic- and parking-related ordinances (O5 and O6) that the administration said would clarify loading zones and restricted parking zones at specific locations; each ordinance went through the required public hearing and recorded voice votes in favor.

Special Improvement District (peninsula at Bayonne Harbor): The council held a public hearing on O4, the ordinance creating a Special Improvement District (SID) for the Peninsula at Bayonne Harbor. Representatives for CenterPoint Properties objected to inclusion of a CenterPoint parcel and said they had received notice only shortly before the hearing. Staff described the notice and an appeal process that allows property owners to seek exclusion through the tax assessor; after discussion the council voted to postpone final action on the SID to the June meeting to allow further review and to resolve procedural questions about notification and appeals.

Other actions: The council introduced several ordinances for June public hearings (including redevelopment-plan approvals and financial agreements) and approved a set of routine resolutions and contracts, such as a contract for commingled recycling collection and a grant application to the Hudson County Open Space Trust Fund.

Votes at a glance (selected items recorded in the meeting):
- O1: Postponed to June (resolution adopted to postpone).
- O2: Final passage — Fair Housing / Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (voice/roll call recorded as Aye).
- O3: Final passage — Bond ordinance for lead service line replacement, $25,000,000 (roll call recorded as Aye).
- O4: Second-reading public hearing held; after comments the council voted to postpone final action to June 17 (resolution adopted).
- O5, O6: Traffic- and parking-related ordinances — final passage recorded.

What the record shows: The transcript records roll-call and voice votes with aye responses for the items shown; where property owners or representatives raised procedural or notice concerns (notably on O4), the council postponed final action to allow further review. The meeting did not include a final vote on any ordinance that would directly change permitted uses for data centers; those land-use questions remain subject to redevelopment-plan amendments and planning-board review where required.