The planning board denied a developer’s request to subdivide two lots into three to then build a two-family residence on each one.

Local developer Jacob Ben-Moshe owns the lots at 662 Undercliff Ave. and 670 Undercliff Ave. His attorney Nicholas Sekas said he already has approval to build an approximately 9,400 square foot duplex with two four-car garages on one of the lots.

"That would have a greater impact on the neighborhood (than three smaller duplexes)," Sekas said at the Aug. 25 planning board meeting. "We don’t want to build that but we could if the application is denied."

The proposed three lots would have each been approximately 5,000 square feet, which conforms with the borough’s requirements for a two-family home. Each residence would have a single lane two-car garage and a driveway that fits a third vehicle.

The applicant’s engineer, Mark Martins, said the homes were designed to avoid parking on the streets. But planning board members said that stretch of Undercliff Avenue near North Street is already very congested.

"There is not enough parking as it is," board member Linda Farrell said.

Martins said the approval for the larger duplex didn’t have any street parking but the new application includes space for one or two cars between the driveways.

Board member Iris Borman said two-family homes are "popping up" in the borough.

"We see homeowners park in the street and leave their driveways empty," Borman said. "Even with the best intentions (by developers), that’s what happens."

Board member Howard Levine said that his children live in a congested Hoboken neighborhood. When he visits, they save him a spot by parking in the street so that he takes their reserved spot.

"That’s what people do," Levine said.

A dozen residents who live in that neighborhood were at the meeting.

An Undercliff Avenue resident said it was "delusional" to think the new homeowners would use a single lane garage and not park on the street.

Another Undercliff Avenue resident said he’s sure the new families would be happy but the residents who already live there would suffer more than they already do when trying to find parking.

"I would appreciate it if the planning board started caring about us," he said.

The application also requested to build six-foot retaining walls against the cliffs in the rear of the property. The borough’s zoning ordinance limits retaining walls to three feet.

The applicant’s planner, Michael Kauker, said the six-foot walls wouldn’t stand out aesthetically. Martins said that if the project had three-foot walls it would need more than one, creating more disturbances in the cliffs.

Borough Planner Kathryn Gregory said she was concerned with six-foot high retaining walls because if kids play on them a six-foot fall is worse than three feet.

"The ordinance intent is not to have massive faces along the cliffs," Gregory said.

She said the zoning ordinances are set to create safe conditions, so either the board will allow the six-foot wall or the applicant has to make a smaller building.

Another issue discussed was whether the development would have efficient drainage.

The application failed four votes to three.