Plan for COAH Reform

[Cranbury Conservative]

BATEMAN BILL TO EXTEND COAH DEADLINE BY

SIX MONTHS INTRODUCED INTO SENATE

Extension Supported by Republican Leader Tom Kean



Senator Christopher “Kip” Bateman (R-Somerset, Morris) introduced legislation that would expand the timeline for municipalities to file affordable housing plans with the Council On Affordable Housing (COAH). By allowing the filing extension, the bill S-2448, will provide the Legislature with time to fix the substantive errors in the COAH regulations and laws.



“It is clear that most of the 566 municipalities in New Jersey need more time to comply with the new and very complex directives from the COAH,” Bateman stated. “The Legislature also needs more time to better balance residential and commercial development with serious environmental challenges and the need for affordable housing in the state.”



The legislation would extend the deadline for municipalities filing a fair share housing plan from December 31, 2008, to June 30, 2009, at noon.



“Extending the filing deadline is a bicameral, bipartisan effort,” Bateman continued. “I am working closely with Senator Ray Lesniak to extend the deadline in the Senate. In the General Assembly Speaker Roberts and Chairman Green are also calling for an extension of the filing deadline.”



Senate Republican Leader Tom Kean noted that lengthening the filing deadline will allow the necessary time to draft remedial amendments to the COAH law and regulations.



“The Legislature did not have adequate time to analyze and deliberate on the COAH laws and regulations this summer,” Kean concluded. “The Senate and the General Assembly must not make the same mistake again -- we must implement common sense solutions while being accountable to housing, job growth and environmental concerns.”

[Guest]

Funny how Roberts makes an unpopular bill. Gets all the cronies in line to get it passed. Then when he asks for a favor is told no.

I wonder how honest Roberts was about changing things. Given his adamant support, this could be a case of him saying one thing in the paper for votes and another behind closed doors. "let me give my bluster, but you keep hard and fast to deadlines and numbers. That way I can look good and you can keep everything."

[Star Ledger]

A wonderful opportunity to transform COAH
Posted by Paul Mulshine/ The Star-Ledger December 11, 2008

Speaking to a conference on the housing crisis in Washington Monday, Gov. Jon Corzine invoked the classic Christmas movie "It's a Wonderful Life."

"We can all recall that famous scene where George Bailey leaps over the counter at his building-and-loan to assure his neighbors that 'This thing isn't as black as it appears,'" the governor said.


Corzine went on to propose a three- to six-month moratorium on home foreclosures. In the interim, he proposed, the feds could put up money so mortgages could be restructured to avoid foreclosures.

But why wait for the feds to act? New Jersey has plenty of money set aside for the purpose of providing affordable housing. Municipalities around the states have stockpiled more than $203 million for housing under the direction of the state Council on Affordable Housing. If Corzine and the legislators were in the mood to play Santa with that money, they could amend the law that set up COAH in time for Christmas.

As it stands, that money is supposed to be spent building houses that would not be constructed for years, if at all. The COAH approach is based on the idea that low-cost housing will be built as a percentage of the market-rate housing that is built in a town. There are two problems with this. One is that in boom times it's a formula for endless suburban sprawl. The other problem is that in bust times nobody builds any housing. And we're in a bust.

Several months ago, I got a good suggestion from attorney John Russo of Toms River on how the state should deal with the crisis. Toms River is a perennial target of COAH even though it has lots of affordable housing. Russo, the son of the former state senator of the same name, proposed that towns be permitted to use their affordable housing funds to help struggling homeowners restructure their mortgages. It makes far more sense to keep a family in a house than to have that family evicted and then build it another house, Russo argues.

Meanwhile, there's another argument over COAH, one that will be hashed out today in Trenton. It seems that the council has denied a request by Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts to give towns an extra 90 days to submit their affordable-housing plans, which are due by the end of this month.

One reason they need the extra time is that COAH badly botched the open-space estimates on which housing quotas are based. The Garden State Parkway right-of-way in Cranford, for example, was identified by COAH as a likely spot for future townhouses and condos. So were lots of parks, playgrounds and even backyards.

The Republicans in the state Senate are planning to introduce legislation today to impose the 90-day grace period by law.

Roberts, who is a liberal Democrat and generally a defender of the COAH approach, was not too happy with COAH when I called him yesterday.

"My reaction is extreme disappointment," Roberts said. "I think a moderate deadline extension was a completely reasonable request."

"Reasonable" and COAH do not belong in the same sentence. The council embarrassed the Corzine administration earlier this year when a $17,500 affordable-housing fee was imposed on a Sussex County family that had lost its home in a fire and wanted to rebuild. The fee was rescinded after the story got into the papers, but the bureaucrats had outdone themselves. Even the evil Mr. Potter wouldn't have tried such a hardhearted stunt in Pottersville.

I ran Russo's proposal for COAH reform by Roberts.

"Anything we can do to match people in need to available, affordable housing is a smart idea," he said. "Just because we haven't done something before doesn't mean we shouldn't take a serious look at it."

The COAH approach is going to get a serious look one way or another. State Treasurer David Rousseau was nearly booed off the podium at the League of Municipalities convention last month over the issue, with both Democrats and Republicans joining in. League director Bill Dressel says that mayors would much prefer to use their housing funds to help people stay in their houses.

"There is an immediate need to deal with people who quite frankly are the same folks we're trying to help through the affordable housing program," said Dressel. "We don't need to go out and look for these folks."

No, they're right here in the many equivalents of Bedford Falls whom the governor can find right here in New Jersey.

"I suspect that even George Bailey might be three months delinquent on his mortgage this year," said Corzine the other day. "The image of a sheriff's deputy placing a padlock on the house at 320 Sycamore St. is a chilling one."

It is indeed. As George Bailey said, this thing isn't as bad as it appears. And like Bailey, Corzine should realize he has the resources to deal with it right here at home.

http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2008/12/a_wonderful_opportunity_to_tra.html

[Cranbury Conservative]

Mr. Russo’s idea just makes so much sense. His Idea makes even more sense now because of the times we live in here in 2008 soon to be 2009. That is because our current economic situation here is New Jersey is bleak at best.

In these uncertain economic times if there is anyway we can lessen the burden of the taxpayers of New Jersey while at the same time helping our fellow residents then in my opinion it can be done through embracing Mr. Russo’s idea of using affordable housing funds which have already been collected and total over $200 million dollars to help families in New Jersey who risk loosing their homes.

While I am not a fan of bailouts I can say that I see this use of these funds as common sense because the other option we have before us is to force taxpayers to spend BILLIONS of dollars on the unfunded mandate of affordable housing in New Jersey.

By spending the $200 million dollars on helping struggling families keeps their homes we are also at the same time eliminating their potential need down the road for affordable housing.

Again this just makes sense.

Another idea for what can be done with affordable housing was posted as a comment from a fellow reader of Mr. Mulshine's article….

“Posted by JerseyOpine on 12/11/08 at 9:06PM
I agree. Let's use that $200 plus million earmarked for affordable housing, & apply it to the affordable housing mortgage crisis now in effect.

THEN - as soon as plans are made for the monies disbursement, the Legislature should immediately disband COAH & put Mt. Laurel on ice. Revisit it in 25 years when the state has had some time to recover from all the damages inflicted by Mt. Laurel & COAH.

Assuming that 25 yrs from now there still is a state of NJ.”

The first point I have to make here is the best thing about online articles I read on NJ.com, APP.com or MyCentralJersey.com are the comments made at the end of the articles from readers. Sometimes the comments make you laugh. However typically the readers seem to only improve the articles on these sites through their thoughts and suggestions.

A great example of just that is the posting above from JerseyOpine. That is because JerseyOpine gets it when it comes to the affordable housing mess here in New Jersey. Now all we need if for Governor Corzine and the rest of the Party in charge of Trenton to get it as well.

By get it I mean they need to realize it is time to end this mess we have in New Jersey which is called affordable housing once and for all.