NJBA is Moving on June 29th

The NJBA is moving to a new "home" on Monday, June 29th. Please be advised that we will have no phone or fax and limited internet and e-mail service from end of day June 26th through July 6th. Our new address will be: 200 American Metro Boulevard, Suite 123 Hamilton, NJ 08619 Our phone and fax numbers will stay the same.

Click here [http://tinyurl.com/kkhuh2] to find our new location on Google Maps.

Please note: Our phone/fax system will go off-line at the end of the day Friday, June 26th and will not be back on-line until Monday, July 6th. We will have limited e-mail and internet service during this period.

Monday, July 27th at Forsgate Country Club

CLICK HERE TO FIND OUT MORE

On June 25th, the Assembly gave final approval (by a vote of 46-28-4) to S2577 (Sarlo/Vitale/Greenwald/Malone/Cruz-Perez) which authorizes the conversion of certain age-restricted projects. With the Assembly's approval, the bill will be resubmitted to the Governor for his signature at which time he must either sign or veto the bill within 10 days. As passed by both houses, the bill includes the Governor's Conditional Veto (CV) language which provides for: a flat 20% affordable housing set-aside, allows municipalities to consider whether a conversion would be detrimental to the public good, and directs the courts to consider the reasonableness of the decision of the approving board when deciding an appeal. The New Jersey Builders Association strongly supports this legislation.

Click here to see the bill as approved by the Legislature. 

The Senate Legislative Oversight Committee met on June 4 to consider the implementation of NJDEP’s Water Quality Management Planning Rules (WQMP).  The rules were adopted on May 21, 2008.  NJBA was invited to testify on the impact of the rules on the development community.  NJBA advocated for a two-year extension for submission of Wastewater Management Plans (WMP); the creation of a broad-based oversight board; an appeal process to resolve disputes and correct errors before a WMP is adopted by NJDEP; and public notice to property owners whose property is proposed for removal from sewer service areas. (Read full testimony here)

Link to the recording of the proceeding is available at: http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/media/archive_audio2.asp?KEY=SLO&SESSION=2008

On May 7th, Governor Corzine signed the long-awaited LSRP bill, which is the culmination of more than two years of discussions between the NJDEP, State Legislature and various stakeholders. An Executive Order was also issued in conjunction with the enactment. The bill was passed in late February with overwhelming support of both legislative houses. NJBA’s Environmental Counsel, Andy Robins (Giordano, Halleran & Ciesla, P.C.), has been instrumental in representing the interests of the Association in this process.

To review the bill as signed by the Governor go to:
www.njleg.state.nj.us/2008/Bills/A3000/2962_U1.PDF.

To review the Executive Order, go to: http://tinyurl.com/r2a93d.

For a link to the DEP’s Implementation Schedule, visit: http://tinyurl.com/qrwl8e.

As part of the sewer planning process, NJDEP has given all Counties draft mapping of where DEP thinks sewer service area (SSA) boundaries should be, regardless of the County's acceptance of wastewater management planning responsibility.  NJBA has learned that DEP has “clipped” (or taken out) properties from proposed SSAs in the maps provided to the Counties.  We also have received conflicting information as to whether properties with valid sewer extension permits are also being clipped from the SSAs.

NJBA is compiling a list of developers who are interested in the opportunity to build affordable housing for municipalities and non-profits in order to fulfill municipal affordable housing obligations.  Over $238 million in unspent development fees is currently sitting in municipal housing trust fund accounts.  In P.L. 2008, c.46, municipalities are required to spend their remaining share of trust fund money within four years, or the money reverts to the state.  The development community could help spend this money and provide much needed affordable homes to families.

The list of NJBA members interested in the opportunity to build affordable housing for municipalities and non-profits is now available for download here. Updated: 4/9/09