On January 6, 2000, NJDEP's Office of Dispute Resolution, the State Attorney General, the American Littoral Society, Hartz Mountain Industries, and others agreed to a settlement on two ten-story office buildings proposed by Hartz Mountain on the Hudson River waterfront near the Lincoln Tunnel. The Office of Administrative Law initially had upheld NJDEP's denial of a waterfront development permit for the two buildings (See Riker Danzig Environmental Update, August 1999, at page 12). One of the foremost considerations in the permitting process was protection of the existing view of the Manhattan skyline from the entry ramp to the Lincoln Tunnel.
Under the settlement, Hartz Mountain will reshape the buildings somewhat and move them inland over 100 feet in order to comply with regulatory mandates to protect scenic views to the maximum extent practicable.
