NJBIA is amplifying its support for Gov. Phil Murphy’s push for the reform of zoning and permitting rules to fulfill the mission of a broad affordable housing law he signed last year.
Murphy, as part of his final State of the State address, has asked the Legislature to advance several bills to reduce pre-construction red tape.
“While we understand concerns from municipalities about how they will best achieve their affordable housing targets, at the end of the day, New Jersey needs more affordable housing so we can keep residents here to live, work and play,” said NJBIA President and CEO Michele Siekerka.
“The fact is, New Jersey has established many bureaucratic rules that have impeded construction and, ultimately, home ownership. Any elimination of needless bureaucracy to improve our economy and quality of life for our residents, as the governor has proposed, should be supported.”
The governor said he was working with Sen. Troy Singleton (D-7) and Asw. Yvonne Lopez (D-19) on several bills to reduce zoning and permitting restrictions:
- S-1408: Allows more mixed-use development on vacant or distressed land, or certain office parks.
- S-2974: Requires fewer parking spaces for housing near mass transit.
- S-2347: Allows for more options for accessory dwellings, or in-law suites, on lots that already have homes.
The first two bills have advanced in the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. The third has passed the full Senate.
Murphy’s proposals also follow an NJBIA-supported bill he signed into law last summer that expedited construction permits by allowing architects and engineers to self-certify that applications and plans comply with the state’s Uniform Construction Code.
“This was also a very positive law in that it saves time for the business community and money for taxpayers without compromising health or safety,” Siekerka said.
Siekerka, however, did caution that positives from proposed reforms of zoning and permitting rules to help boost affordable housing would be negated in many areas if Land Use rules offered by the state Department of Environmental Protection are finalized as proposed.
Among the many conditions in the 1,057-page rule are the establishment of “inundation risk zones” and “climate adjusted flood elevation” areas for any new, expanded, redeveloped or substantially improved development.
Any such home or subject building in these IRZs or CAFEs will be required to be built 5 feet higher than existing flood standards. This proposal is based on an outdated, 2019 study that forecasts sea level rise much greater than international climate science consensus over the next 75 years.
“There is a reason these rules have been vehemently opposed by NJBIA, developers, residents and many municipal and county officials and state lawmakers since being introduced,” Siekerka said. “They are extreme. They will have an irrefutable negative impact on lower-income families in urban areas near tidal waters. And they will effectively create no-build zones.
“We would very respectfully, but strongly, ask Governor Murphy and his administration to reconsider these Land Use rules as they will not only stand directly in the way of the state’s affordable housing goals, but also make New Jersey less affordable overall.”
