Tall Building Ban for Palisades Advances

TRENTON, NJ—A bill that would have a direct impact on the controversial LG Electronics headquarters project in Englewood Cliffs passed the Senate Environment and Energy Committee late last week by a 3-2 margin.

The bill, which now goes to the full state Senate for consideration, would ban any development over 35 feet and within 2,000 feet of the Palisades cliffs, according to the Star-Ledger.

The bill calls for the creation of a "preservation zone" from the northern border of Fort Lee to the New York State border. It is also retroactive to any development that did not have a completed foundation as of May 1, which would therefore impact the 143-foot office building LG Electronics is now constructing in Englewood Cliffs.

Michele S. Byers, executive director of the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, praised the committee for advancing the bill. "The LG office tower is a symptom of a greater problem, in that current local zoning does not provide adequate protection for this national monument and state treasure—a pride of New Jersey," she says. "Protecting the Palisades in perpetuity through state legislation will guarantee this legacy for future generations."

John Taylor, a spokesman for LG, said in testimony before the committee, "The reality is that, along the trails on the New Jersey side of the river, you won't even see it. Nor will you be able to see it from a boat on the river or at the shoreline on the New York side of the Hudson. Viewed from the Cloisters, LG's headquarters will barely peek above the tree line." See story in the Star-Ledger.