January 25, 2011
Christie wants changes in housing bill
The Associated Press
Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed an overhaul of the state's affordable-housing law Monday, sending back to the Legislature one of its most persistently vexing issues.
Christie, a Republican, likes the objective of the bill he vetoed: to eliminate the often-maligned state Council on Affordable Housing. The agency is in charge of enforcing affordable-housing policy, drafted in response to a series of court rulings over the last 35 years that found that towns in the high-cost state have to make sure there's room for homes for lower-income people. The concept and the way it's carried out are subject to almost constant litigation.
Earlier this month, lawmakers passed a bill to get rid of COAH and eliminate a 2.5 percent fee on commercial development.
The bill also called for each town to have 10 percent of its housing be affordable to low-‚and moderate-income people.
Christie objected, saying he would allow the bill to become law if the requirement was for 10 percent of new homes, not all homes, to be designated as affordable. He said that towns where no development occurs should not be subject to the regulations.
He also objects to a provision that would require 25 percent of affordable housing to be mixed into inclusionary developments. He says it would increase sprawl too much to require market-rate housing be put up to go along with the lower-cost homes.
Christie also objected to a provision that would require towns to hire one planning firm to create their affordable-housing plans and another to certify that they meet legal requirements.
He said he would accept the bill as the state Senate initially passed it last June. Since then, it was amended to add provisions he says he cannot accept.
Saturday, February 12, 2011
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Legislators approve bill to abolish COAH
From the Courier Post
January 11, 2011
Legislators approve bill to abolish COAH
Associated Press
Lawmakers on Monday passed a measure to overhaul the state's much-maligned affordable-housing laws that have been at the center of a court battle since 1975.
The new measures would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing, eliminate a 2.5 percent fee on commercial development and reduce some municipalities' obligations to provide housing for low- and moderate-income families.
New Jersey has struggled with how to provide low- and moderate-income housing since the 1975 court case known as the Mount Laurel decision successfully challenged exclusionary zoning in the Garden State.
In a series of decisions in the 1970s and '80s, New Jersey's Supreme Court outlawed zoning aimed at keeping out poor people and required communities to have plans that include space for low-income residents. The state formed the Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, to oversee that requirement and decide how many affordable homes each town must provide.
But the political and bureaucratic implementation of the court's wishes has been anything but clear-cut.
The rulings set up a system where towns could file affordable housing plans with the state; those that didn't were subject to potential lawsuits from developers and others.
Officials in some communities blame those lawsuits for encouraging suburban sprawl. Meanwhile, mayors in many towns say COAH's oversight of their plans has slowed and in some cases prevented them from building affordable housing.
In May, the council proposed eliminating affordable housing quotas but an appeals court panel ruled in October that the state must return to its practice of providing each municipality with a specific number of required affordable housing units.
The appellate court gave the state five months to develop its new rules on how affordable housing obligations must be allocated.
The measure passed Monday keeps quotas in place but lowers the number required to 50,000 statewide from 116,000 over the next decade.
Most factions thought the bill, while imperfect, was an improvement over the existing law.
Kevin Walsh of the Fair Share Housing Center, which represents the interests of low-income residents, said the bill lets towns shirk their previous affordable housing obligation but was better than previous versions.
"The bill lets many wealthier suburban towns off the hook because it reduces their obligation so much that many will have already met it," Walsh said.
January 11, 2011
Legislators approve bill to abolish COAH
Associated Press
Lawmakers on Monday passed a measure to overhaul the state's much-maligned affordable-housing laws that have been at the center of a court battle since 1975.
The new measures would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing, eliminate a 2.5 percent fee on commercial development and reduce some municipalities' obligations to provide housing for low- and moderate-income families.
New Jersey has struggled with how to provide low- and moderate-income housing since the 1975 court case known as the Mount Laurel decision successfully challenged exclusionary zoning in the Garden State.
In a series of decisions in the 1970s and '80s, New Jersey's Supreme Court outlawed zoning aimed at keeping out poor people and required communities to have plans that include space for low-income residents. The state formed the Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, to oversee that requirement and decide how many affordable homes each town must provide.
But the political and bureaucratic implementation of the court's wishes has been anything but clear-cut.
The rulings set up a system where towns could file affordable housing plans with the state; those that didn't were subject to potential lawsuits from developers and others.
Officials in some communities blame those lawsuits for encouraging suburban sprawl. Meanwhile, mayors in many towns say COAH's oversight of their plans has slowed and in some cases prevented them from building affordable housing.
In May, the council proposed eliminating affordable housing quotas but an appeals court panel ruled in October that the state must return to its practice of providing each municipality with a specific number of required affordable housing units.
The appellate court gave the state five months to develop its new rules on how affordable housing obligations must be allocated.
The measure passed Monday keeps quotas in place but lowers the number required to 50,000 statewide from 116,000 over the next decade.
Most factions thought the bill, while imperfect, was an improvement over the existing law.
Kevin Walsh of the Fair Share Housing Center, which represents the interests of low-income residents, said the bill lets towns shirk their previous affordable housing obligation but was better than previous versions.
"The bill lets many wealthier suburban towns off the hook because it reduces their obligation so much that many will have already met it," Walsh said.
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
December Council Meeting
Another quiet meeting.
This month marked Ben Angeli's last meeting. Coincidentally, Ben's departure from council is what effectively allowed me to be elected.
We're at the end of the calendar year, and for the borough, it's the end of the fiscal year as well. So far I've seen the budget and have started making my notes and coming up with my questions. We're about $300,000 short right now. So effective government will be about how to save money without cutting services, staff, street lights...
The borough pays for all of the fire hydrants in town. The water company bills the town for over $50,000 per year for the hydrants. OK, so can we take away the hydrants to save money? Great question, but what's the downside - homeowners get their insurance rates based on the distance to the hydrant. Take away the hydrant? Pay more insurance.
This is the last post as council-elect. Next month will be councilman for real.
This month marked Ben Angeli's last meeting. Coincidentally, Ben's departure from council is what effectively allowed me to be elected.
We're at the end of the calendar year, and for the borough, it's the end of the fiscal year as well. So far I've seen the budget and have started making my notes and coming up with my questions. We're about $300,000 short right now. So effective government will be about how to save money without cutting services, staff, street lights...
The borough pays for all of the fire hydrants in town. The water company bills the town for over $50,000 per year for the hydrants. OK, so can we take away the hydrants to save money? Great question, but what's the downside - homeowners get their insurance rates based on the distance to the hydrant. Take away the hydrant? Pay more insurance.
This is the last post as council-elect. Next month will be councilman for real.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
November, 2010 Council Meeting
Tonight's meeting didn't produce much in way of action by the Council. The most important things we saw tonight was the Mayor's reading of the proclamation that acknowledges Veteran's Day. So was it necessary to go through the formalities of proclaiming Stratford in Observance of Labor Day? My answer is yes, of course. Even better was that the veteran's in attendance who stood proudly in front of the town as the mayor read the proclamation. As I grow up and grow older I continue to find humility when I am among my friends, relatives and neighbors that have served our country.
The business section of the meeting was fairly short, we paid our bills and made put a used police cruiser up for sale. The public portion generated as much content as the agenda: A resident wants us to look forward to a new world order, another wants us to remember that we're obligated to do something about redevelopment.
That's a great point, and a big reason why I wanted to become a councilman. I am convinced that our town's potential remains untouched, and we will be able to turn a corner. I hope it's sooner than later, but it will take hard work, commitment, trust and a generous dose of good luck. I hope it wasn't luck that got me elected, but I'll take whatever I can to keep Stratford moving forward.
The business section of the meeting was fairly short, we paid our bills and made put a used police cruiser up for sale. The public portion generated as much content as the agenda: A resident wants us to look forward to a new world order, another wants us to remember that we're obligated to do something about redevelopment.
That's a great point, and a big reason why I wanted to become a councilman. I am convinced that our town's potential remains untouched, and we will be able to turn a corner. I hope it's sooner than later, but it will take hard work, commitment, trust and a generous dose of good luck. I hope it wasn't luck that got me elected, but I'll take whatever I can to keep Stratford moving forward.
Monday, November 8, 2010
Gloucester Twp. among towns plotting redevelopment for when the market rebounds
By James Osborne
Inquirer Staff Writer
The days of developers jumping over one another to turn a farm into a shopping center are long gone.
But Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer remains optimistic that if he makes the right moves now, the town will see a return to better times.
Mayer, a former assemblyman who works as a lobbyist for Comcast, is doing what many municipal leaders are doing amid this historically dismal real estate market: setting up redevelopment projects for condominiums and golf courses and hoping the market turns around.
"We need to be prepared if and when someone comes in with a plan," he said. "I can't control the market; that's beyond us. But we do have to make our investments as valuable as possible."
A concept that swept U.S. cities in the decades following World War II, redevelopment saw a regional surge again in early 2000s as the government and developers joined forces to build "mixed-use" communities, where young professionals and empty nesters could live, play, and shop.
Fueling the redevelopment wave were many of the same factors driving the larger real estate bubble, said James Hughes, dean of Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick.
"It may well have been an anomaly," he said. "Many projects that may not have been approved in the 1990s were able to proceed in the 2000-to-2007 period because of rich, seemingly risk-free capital."
A redevelopment cottage industry arose in South Jersey, as consultants and lawyers lined up to advise and shepherd the process through everything from affordable-housing regulations to environmental cleanups of old industrial sites.
Now those who racked up billable hours in the boom are looking for other work.
Ballard Spahr, the prominent Philadelphia law firm, has drastically scaled down its redevelopment practice in New Jersey since eight of its lawyers left to form their own firm in Marlton.
Just a few years ago, Lou Bezich's real estate consulting business, Public Solutions, of Haddonfield, was humming with almost $300,000 in government contracts involving projects such as the White Horse Pike redevelopment and a transit village in Collingswood.
Now the firm is down to a single client, said Bezich, an administrator with Camden County College.
"Nothing will go back to the way it was, in my opinion," he said. "For a while there, the sentiment was if we built it, we'll fill it up."
Even with the downturn in the market, some redevelopment projects continue.
Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley, a lawyer with a prominent redevelopment practice, said he recently signed a deal with Sun Bank to refinance Collingswood's downtown condominium project, which has been scaled back but is set to finish construction after a long delay.
"From my work, I got to tell you, the only projects that are going ahead are redevelopment projects," Maley said.
The latest concept circulating among South Jersey planners is the development of educational and medical facilities, with Camden and Cooper University Hospital being used as a prototype.
The project Mayer is championing in Gloucester Township, in which Camden County College and Cooper are partners, would develop more than 100 acres around a new interchange on the Atlantic City Expressway. It would center on a medical complex to be built by Cooper and border the college, which is in the process of an $83 million campus rehabilitation.
But the loosely defined project, which could include condos and a golf course, has no timeline and is unlikely to start construction anytime soon.
And an antidevelopment sentiment has begun, with former Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton leading a charge against the town's decision to move away from a town-center concept, which incorporated space for business but also included public space.
Mayer conceded that the scope of the project had changed, but he thought it a necessary concession.
"It is more expansive, but we have to be more expansive in these economic times," he said. "Now we can have a developer come in and tell us what they want to put there."
Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.
Inquirer Staff Writer
The days of developers jumping over one another to turn a farm into a shopping center are long gone.
But Gloucester Township Mayor David Mayer remains optimistic that if he makes the right moves now, the town will see a return to better times.
Mayer, a former assemblyman who works as a lobbyist for Comcast, is doing what many municipal leaders are doing amid this historically dismal real estate market: setting up redevelopment projects for condominiums and golf courses and hoping the market turns around.
"We need to be prepared if and when someone comes in with a plan," he said. "I can't control the market; that's beyond us. But we do have to make our investments as valuable as possible."
A concept that swept U.S. cities in the decades following World War II, redevelopment saw a regional surge again in early 2000s as the government and developers joined forces to build "mixed-use" communities, where young professionals and empty nesters could live, play, and shop.
Fueling the redevelopment wave were many of the same factors driving the larger real estate bubble, said James Hughes, dean of Rutgers' Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy in New Brunswick.
"It may well have been an anomaly," he said. "Many projects that may not have been approved in the 1990s were able to proceed in the 2000-to-2007 period because of rich, seemingly risk-free capital."
A redevelopment cottage industry arose in South Jersey, as consultants and lawyers lined up to advise and shepherd the process through everything from affordable-housing regulations to environmental cleanups of old industrial sites.
Now those who racked up billable hours in the boom are looking for other work.
Ballard Spahr, the prominent Philadelphia law firm, has drastically scaled down its redevelopment practice in New Jersey since eight of its lawyers left to form their own firm in Marlton.
Just a few years ago, Lou Bezich's real estate consulting business, Public Solutions, of Haddonfield, was humming with almost $300,000 in government contracts involving projects such as the White Horse Pike redevelopment and a transit village in Collingswood.
Now the firm is down to a single client, said Bezich, an administrator with Camden County College.
"Nothing will go back to the way it was, in my opinion," he said. "For a while there, the sentiment was if we built it, we'll fill it up."
Even with the downturn in the market, some redevelopment projects continue.
Collingswood Mayor Jim Maley, a lawyer with a prominent redevelopment practice, said he recently signed a deal with Sun Bank to refinance Collingswood's downtown condominium project, which has been scaled back but is set to finish construction after a long delay.
"From my work, I got to tell you, the only projects that are going ahead are redevelopment projects," Maley said.
The latest concept circulating among South Jersey planners is the development of educational and medical facilities, with Camden and Cooper University Hospital being used as a prototype.
The project Mayer is championing in Gloucester Township, in which Camden County College and Cooper are partners, would develop more than 100 acres around a new interchange on the Atlantic City Expressway. It would center on a medical complex to be built by Cooper and border the college, which is in the process of an $83 million campus rehabilitation.
But the loosely defined project, which could include condos and a golf course, has no timeline and is unlikely to start construction anytime soon.
And an antidevelopment sentiment has begun, with former Mayor Cindy Rau-Hatton leading a charge against the town's decision to move away from a town-center concept, which incorporated space for business but also included public space.
Mayer conceded that the scope of the project had changed, but he thought it a necessary concession.
"It is more expansive, but we have to be more expansive in these economic times," he said. "Now we can have a developer come in and tell us what they want to put there."
Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
South Jersey town seeks hotel developer
By JOEL LANDAU • GANNETT NJ• October 19, 2010
MILLVILLE — The city is taking tighter control of the
next step in its downtown development efforts.
Millville officials hope to find a developer for a
private-public partnership to build a downtown
hotel on city-owned land near the Maurice River.
Officials have tried to advance the project for a few
years, but now they're taking a more aggressive
approach.
"We've decided not to just sit on our hands," Mayor
Tim Shannon said. "We're still moving forward."
The city is working with the National Development
Council -- a national, nonprofit agency that
provides loans for economic development projects
-- to build a hotel with more than 100 rooms and a
restaurant, plus a 200-space parking garage and a
new 15,000-square-foot library.
The NDC would issue bonds and contract with a
private developer to build the project and operate
the hotel. Once construction is complete and the
bonds are paid off, the city would own the parking
garage and library.
City officials estimate the project would cost 10
percent to 30 percent less through this approach
because they could secure financing at a lower rate
than a private developer would obtain.
The city has several financing options, including:
-Through the NDC, it could offer a developer loans
and federal tax credits to help finance the project.
-The city has money in its Urban Enterprise Zone
accounts, but Shannon said using those funds is
less likely due to an ongoing state review of the UEZ
program that might result in that money being
unavailable.
-The city could use funds from its Revenue
Allocation District to offer loans to a developer. The
hotel, in turn, would generate more revenue for the
district, which allocates half the tax on new
development and uses it for restoring properties in
Center City and the 3rd Ward or other projects.
City officials note the project is still in its planning
stages.
"We're working on a number of concepts," Vice
Mayor Joe Derella said. "We're not there yet."
The hotel is the centerpiece of Millville's efforts to
revitalize the area around the Maurice River. The city
currently is extending its boardwalk, and in 2008, it
used public grants to install a pedestrian bridge
allowing people to walk to Waltman Park.
Through Revenue Allocation District money, the city
this year also purchased and demolished a building
on the 200 block of Buck Street to provide better
waterfront access.
Officials hope a hotel would serve people visiting
New Jersey Motorsports Park and the Levoy Theatre,
which is set to reopen next year, and encourage
them to spend more time patronizing downtown
shops and restaurants.
"It's more than just a hotel," Shannon said. "We're
looking long-term for the city."
Last year, the city put out a request for proposals
for a new hotel, but received only one application.
The city then decided to actively seek a developer
instead of rebidding the project.
Other hotel plans also are in the works in Millville.
In July, construction started on a Fairfield Inn &
Suites by Marriot on Bluebird Lane behind the Union
Lake Crossing shopping center. There also are
plans to build a Marriot TownPlace Suites at that site,
and a Home2 Suites by Hilton behind Wawa on
North 2nd Street.
MILLVILLE — The city is taking tighter control of the
next step in its downtown development efforts.
Millville officials hope to find a developer for a
private-public partnership to build a downtown
hotel on city-owned land near the Maurice River.
Officials have tried to advance the project for a few
years, but now they're taking a more aggressive
approach.
"We've decided not to just sit on our hands," Mayor
Tim Shannon said. "We're still moving forward."
The city is working with the National Development
Council -- a national, nonprofit agency that
provides loans for economic development projects
-- to build a hotel with more than 100 rooms and a
restaurant, plus a 200-space parking garage and a
new 15,000-square-foot library.
The NDC would issue bonds and contract with a
private developer to build the project and operate
the hotel. Once construction is complete and the
bonds are paid off, the city would own the parking
garage and library.
City officials estimate the project would cost 10
percent to 30 percent less through this approach
because they could secure financing at a lower rate
than a private developer would obtain.
The city has several financing options, including:
-Through the NDC, it could offer a developer loans
and federal tax credits to help finance the project.
-The city has money in its Urban Enterprise Zone
accounts, but Shannon said using those funds is
less likely due to an ongoing state review of the UEZ
program that might result in that money being
unavailable.
-The city could use funds from its Revenue
Allocation District to offer loans to a developer. The
hotel, in turn, would generate more revenue for the
district, which allocates half the tax on new
development and uses it for restoring properties in
Center City and the 3rd Ward or other projects.
City officials note the project is still in its planning
stages.
"We're working on a number of concepts," Vice
Mayor Joe Derella said. "We're not there yet."
The hotel is the centerpiece of Millville's efforts to
revitalize the area around the Maurice River. The city
currently is extending its boardwalk, and in 2008, it
used public grants to install a pedestrian bridge
allowing people to walk to Waltman Park.
Through Revenue Allocation District money, the city
this year also purchased and demolished a building
on the 200 block of Buck Street to provide better
waterfront access.
Officials hope a hotel would serve people visiting
New Jersey Motorsports Park and the Levoy Theatre,
which is set to reopen next year, and encourage
them to spend more time patronizing downtown
shops and restaurants.
"It's more than just a hotel," Shannon said. "We're
looking long-term for the city."
Last year, the city put out a request for proposals
for a new hotel, but received only one application.
The city then decided to actively seek a developer
instead of rebidding the project.
Other hotel plans also are in the works in Millville.
In July, construction started on a Fairfield Inn &
Suites by Marriot on Bluebird Lane behind the Union
Lake Crossing shopping center. There also are
plans to build a Marriot TownPlace Suites at that site,
and a Home2 Suites by Hilton behind Wawa on
North 2nd Street.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Eminent domain reforms sputter
By BOB JORDAN • Gannett State Bureau• October
11, 2010
TRENTON — New Jersey continues to lag in
modernizing its eminent domain laws, with dozens
of other states having changed their rules in the five y
ears since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
government's right to take land for private
redevelopment.
Changes proposed here would preserve the taking
of land for the redevelopment of blighted areas. But
eminent domain's legion of critics insist there must
be clear protections against the procedure being
too broadly authorized.
"If you own property, and paid good money for it,
and it's yours, nobody should be able to take it,"
said Claire Anzalone, whose family was involved in
a successful fight to save a Long Branch beachfront
home from redevelopment.
Eminent domain is the compulsory sale of property
without the owner's consent. Last week, a proposal
that would revise eminent domain's use in the state
was approved by the Senate Community and Urban
Affairs Committee but still requires at least four
additional approvals before it could get to Gov. Chri-
s Christie's desk.
One of its features is enhanced notification and
hearing requirements for property owners, which
Long Branch resident Lori Ann Vendetti says is "not
what anti-eminent domain activists want."
"So what? They give you more notification? They
give you more time before they kick you out of your
house," said Vendetti, who was among the leaders of
a group of residents who gained court rulings that
made the city and developers back down from a
large-scale project.
The new bill is touted by its sponsor, Sen. Ronald
Rice, D-Essex, as a balance between the rights of
residents and allowing for makeovers of blighted
areas "when necessary."
The bill's text also promises "just compensation and
appropriate relocation benefits for property owners
and tenants impacted by eminent domain and
redevelopment projects."
Rice said he's not surprised that not everyone is
happy with the proposal. Sen. Christopher Connors,
R-Ocean, opposed the bill in the committee, which
advanced the plan to the budget committee in a 3-1
vote.
"There have been many compromises. There's no
such thing as perfect legislation, especially a bill of
this magnitude," Rice said.
An attorney who specializes in property
condemnation cases said he expects the bill to
wither -- as it has in past sessions.
"It's just window-dressing. It's for the legislators to
say they're doing something but not really having
the will to do it," said William J. Ward.
The attorney said 43 states have altered their
eminent domain laws since the 2005 Supreme Court
ruling.
"Two of the states to not make changes are New Jers-
ey and New York, where there are high levels of
redevelopment," Ward said.
"There have been a lot of complaints that New Jersey
has abuse of eminent domain. I testified three times
before an Assembly committee about new
legislation. They drafted bills before but never took
action. They lacked political will," Ward said. "The
whole process is political because the
municipalities are in favor of using it to develop
portions of their towns, and there's pay-to-play
factors involving engineers, consultants, developers
and others. No one has got a handle on it. If there's
reform, it has to come from the top."
At last week's committee hearing, a Jersey City
resident said Rice's bill doesn't protect property
owners who are capable of redeveloping their own
land.
"For one property that we've owned for generations
and want to redevelop, our vision for the future of
this property may not become a reality under this
bill," Harwood said after the hearing.
Reach Bob Jordan at (609) 984-4343
bjordan@nj-pressmedia.com
11, 2010
TRENTON — New Jersey continues to lag in
modernizing its eminent domain laws, with dozens
of other states having changed their rules in the five y
ears since the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the
government's right to take land for private
redevelopment.
Changes proposed here would preserve the taking
of land for the redevelopment of blighted areas. But
eminent domain's legion of critics insist there must
be clear protections against the procedure being
too broadly authorized.
"If you own property, and paid good money for it,
and it's yours, nobody should be able to take it,"
said Claire Anzalone, whose family was involved in
a successful fight to save a Long Branch beachfront
home from redevelopment.
Eminent domain is the compulsory sale of property
without the owner's consent. Last week, a proposal
that would revise eminent domain's use in the state
was approved by the Senate Community and Urban
Affairs Committee but still requires at least four
additional approvals before it could get to Gov. Chri-
s Christie's desk.
One of its features is enhanced notification and
hearing requirements for property owners, which
Long Branch resident Lori Ann Vendetti says is "not
what anti-eminent domain activists want."
"So what? They give you more notification? They
give you more time before they kick you out of your
house," said Vendetti, who was among the leaders of
a group of residents who gained court rulings that
made the city and developers back down from a
large-scale project.
The new bill is touted by its sponsor, Sen. Ronald
Rice, D-Essex, as a balance between the rights of
residents and allowing for makeovers of blighted
areas "when necessary."
The bill's text also promises "just compensation and
appropriate relocation benefits for property owners
and tenants impacted by eminent domain and
redevelopment projects."
Rice said he's not surprised that not everyone is
happy with the proposal. Sen. Christopher Connors,
R-Ocean, opposed the bill in the committee, which
advanced the plan to the budget committee in a 3-1
vote.
"There have been many compromises. There's no
such thing as perfect legislation, especially a bill of
this magnitude," Rice said.
An attorney who specializes in property
condemnation cases said he expects the bill to
wither -- as it has in past sessions.
"It's just window-dressing. It's for the legislators to
say they're doing something but not really having
the will to do it," said William J. Ward.
The attorney said 43 states have altered their
eminent domain laws since the 2005 Supreme Court
ruling.
"Two of the states to not make changes are New Jers-
ey and New York, where there are high levels of
redevelopment," Ward said.
"There have been a lot of complaints that New Jersey
has abuse of eminent domain. I testified three times
before an Assembly committee about new
legislation. They drafted bills before but never took
action. They lacked political will," Ward said. "The
whole process is political because the
municipalities are in favor of using it to develop
portions of their towns, and there's pay-to-play
factors involving engineers, consultants, developers
and others. No one has got a handle on it. If there's
reform, it has to come from the top."
At last week's committee hearing, a Jersey City
resident said Rice's bill doesn't protect property
owners who are capable of redeveloping their own
land.
"For one property that we've owned for generations
and want to redevelop, our vision for the future of
this property may not become a reality under this
bill," Harwood said after the hearing.
Reach Bob Jordan at (609) 984-4343
bjordan@nj-pressmedia.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
