Hoboken, N.J. council puts off short-term rental rules and $997K garage contract until Nov. 4

HOBOKEN, N.J. — The Hoboken City Council on Wednesday night, Oct. 21, held off on two of the biggest items on its agenda: the short-term rental ordinance that had been added as an urgent item, and a two-year contract worth up to $997,728 a year to run four city parking garages. Both are now expected back at the council’s Nov. 4 meeting.

Short-term rental ordinance pulled for public feedback

At the start of the meeting, the council’s presiding officer told the audience the short-term rental item “has also been carried. So, if you’re here thinking that the council is going to be voting on that this evening, we are not going to be voting on that this evening.”

“We got a lot of feedback from a lot of people,” the presiding officer said. People “thought that it made sense not to hear it on an emergency basis but rather to get feedback from the community. So it should be heard at our November 4th meeting as well on first reading at that time.” Near the end of the meeting, the presiding officer repeated that the council anticipates taking it up on Nov. 4 in regular order.

As Hudson TV reported Wednesday morning, the ordinance in the agenda packet would cap any short-term rental at 60 nights a year, allow one permit per owner, bar tenants from renting their apartments short-term, keep rentals out of rent-controlled buildings and apply the city’s 3% hotel and motel occupancy tax. The agenda listed Councilman Joe Quintero as sponsor. The proposal followed the Oct. 18 police response at a short-term rental on the 500 block of Garden Street.

Residents still spoke about short-term rentals during the public portion. One speaker, who said they own a short-term rental out of state, cited figures he attributed to the data firm AirDNA, “approximately 522 active short-term rentals in this town,” and urged a registration system. Another speaker said the city should plan for more hotels, saying the W is “the only formal hotel” in Hoboken now.

Garage contract carried after notice problem

Resolution T1 would hire LAZ Parking New York/New Jersey, LLC to manage Garages B, D, G and Midtown for up to $997,728 a year over two years, with two one-year renewal options. Three bids came in Sept. 24, according to the resolution: Metropolis/SP Plus LLC at $956,672, LAZ at $997,728 and Propark America at $1,309,313.34. The resolution called the low bid “non-responsive.”

During the public portion, a representative of Metropolis SP Plus told the council the company was the low bidder and “there has not been any communication since the opening bid,” and that it learned only that day of the vote “to award the contract to the higher operator.” The representative said the company’s estimate of the extra cost to Hoboken over the next five years was more than $1 million, and asked the council to postpone the vote.

A council member responded that the Metropolis proposal “included multiple exceptions to the original bid requirements,” which “would have significantly changed the original terms of the bid,” so it was deemed nonresponsive after review by the city’s corporation counsel. The council member said no bidder had protested the selection.

When the council reached T1 later in the meeting, the city’s corporation counsel told the council, “We have been able to determine that the notification for the bid disqualification was not sent.” Counsel recommended carrying the resolution to the next meeting “so that the notification can be sent and the disqualified bidder can assert their rights.” The council voted by voice to carry T1 to Nov. 4.

A separate resolution on the agenda, T3, would extend LAZ’s current garage contract for up to 90 days, for no more than $260,000.

Also carried to Nov. 4, according to the presiding officer’s announcement: an ordinance amending the city’s heating-of-buildings chapter, an ordinance creating a new “Willow Terrace” zoning district, and resolutions on the 2025 audit and its corrective action plan.

Hudson TV asks: Should Hoboken cap short-term rentals at 60 nights a year, as proposed? Reply A: Yes, cap them. Reply B: No, the limit is too strict.
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