COAH news

[PolitickerNJ]

MUNICIPALITIES APPROVE OF BILL TO FIX AND POSTPONE AFFORDABLE HOUSING MANDATES DURING BAD ECONO

Assemblymen Scott T. Rumana, John Amodeo and Vince Polistina welcomed approval from the New Jersey State League of Municipalities on their proposal to suspend affordable housing mandates during the poor economy, which would also require the Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, to fix its rules.

“Municipal advocates are already under tremendous stress to hold the line on property taxes without implementing these unrealistic affordable-housing burdens,” Rumana, R-Passaic, Bergen and Essex, said. “Unlike Governor Corzine, we believe this is not the time to place more mandates on towns that will further exasperate property taxes.”

The three legislators sponsor a measure, A-3255, that would suspend towns’ affordable housing mandates during the housing crisis. During the delay, COAH would be required to find a realistic way to assess towns’ affordable housing obligations.

“This legislation provides the perfect opportunity for Governor Corzine to stand with middle class property taxpayers by rectifying his faulty affordable-housing policy, which will force towns to grow beyond reason and drive up property taxes,” Amodeo, R-Atlantic, said.

Added Polistina, R-Atlantic:

“This would be welcomed relief to middle class taxpayers that Governor Corzine’s budget would punish with higher property taxes and a new plan to tax those property taxes,” Polistina said. “Proceeding with this flawed plan makes no sense now.”

http://www.politickernj.com/arep/28265/municipalities-approve-bill-fix-and-postpone-affordable-housing-mandates-during-bad-econo

[Michael]

Contact our representatives here
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/SelectRep.asp

Tell them no more taxes!

[Independant GMnews]

Freeholders back bill to abolish COAH
Assembly members in 11th, 12th and 13th districts also support bill
BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer

The Monmouth County Board of Chosen Freeholders has joined a growing chorus of state and local lawmakers who are seeking extensive changes to the way affordable housing is handled in the state.

During its March 11 meeting in Freehold, the board voted 5-0 in favor of a resolution supporting state Assembly bill A-3570, which calls for the abolition of the state's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) because of what the board perceives as hardships the agency's mandates place on county municipalities.

"The freeholders have joined many lawmakers in New Jersey in supporting the bill to abolish [COAH]," William Heine, county director of public information, said last week.

"This does not mean they do not support affordable housing," Heine explained, adding, "It merely means that they feel COAH has overstepped its authority."

According to the approved resolution, "COAH has unlawfully extended its regulatory power far beyond what was authorized in the original enabling legislation of 1985 and subsequent legislation."



The freeholders further charge that COAH has "consistently ignored legislative directives and attempts by the Legislature to impose limits on [the agency's] regulatory powers, in effect becoming a fourth branch of state government that refuses to answer to the Legislature or the people of the state of New Jersey."

The resolution also criticizes COAH's revised round-three regulations, which call for the statewide construction of some 115,000 units of affordable housing by 2018. Previous regulations required municipalities to provide 52,000 affordable housing units.

"The recent Third Round Regulations issued by COAH have placed unreasonable, destructive and costly state mandates on New Jersey municipalities that were never intended or authorized by the Legislature," the resolution reads. "These state mandates serve no purpose but to exacerbate the existing high property tax burden imposed on New Jersey residents and also serve to accelerate the flight of middle class residents from the state."

Introduced to the state Legislature in January, and sponsored by Assemblymen Richard Merkt (D-25th District) and Peter Biondi (D- 16th District), bill A-3570 would see COAH completely dissolved and all of its responsibilities turned over to the Legislature.

Some 26 Assembly members have thrown their support behind the proposed measure, including District 11 Assembly members Mary Pat Angelini and David Rible, District 12 AssemblymanDeclanO'Scanlon andAssemblywoman Caroline Casagrande and District 13 Assemblywoman Amy Handlin.

Local towns are also endorsing the proposed legislation.

Middletown Deputy Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger, who has been a vocal critic of COAH, said the township will take up a resolution in support of the bill.

"I can't speak for everybody, but I know that there definitely is support for this," Scharfenberger said. "We are trying to draft a resolution right now."

Scharfenberger said there are ways affordable housing could be administered and constructedwithout intervention by a government agency.

"It's actually pretty easy," Scharfenberger said. "We can bring in private firms such as Habitat for Humanity that use private funds and work with the people who are actually moving into the homes."

He added that there are ways that affordable housing units could be built without using taxpayer money to fund them.

The Holmdel Township Committee unanimously approved a resolution in support of the bill at the Township Committee meeting March 19.

"The recent Third Round Regulations issued by COAH have placed unreasonable, destructive and costly state mandates on New Jersey municipalities that were never intended or authorized by the Legislature," the resolution reads.

Although A-3570 was introduced in January, officials with the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA), which oversees COAH, said they had not yet been made aware of the proposed bill.

"We have yet to see this legislation," DCA spokesman Christopher Donnelly said last week.

"In the meantime, COAH will continue to move forward with the implementation of its third-round rules and with providing New Jersey residents with the affordable housing they need and deserve.

"[DCA Commissioner Joseph] Doria's door is always open should either assemblymen [Merkt or Biondi] wish to discuss ways in which they can help, not hinder, efforts to provide affordable housing," Donnelly said.

Under the proposed bill, state and municipal affordable housing obligations would be determined by the Legislature rather than COAH, which Rible said has ignored lawmakers' calls to make changes to its revised round-three regulations.

Additionally, the Legislature would reinstate the use of regional contribution agreements (RCAs) by state municipalities.

Abolished in June 2008 by Assembly bill A-500, RCAs allowed municipalities to pay other towns to assume a portion of their affordable housing obligations.

The receiving town would use the amount paid by the sending town to support the rehabilitation or construction of affordable housing units.

The method was ultimately abolished because it was seen as a loophole being used by municipalities that sought to forgo the construction of affordable housing units within their borders.

"The RCAs were effective for a lot of communities," Rible said. "If towns didn't have the space they could allocate the money to other towns.

"At the end of the day … it's providing affordable housing," Rible said. "Some people say it's skirting the issue. I don't see a problem with the way [the RCAs] were working."

Although supportive of the proposed bill, Rible said he does not believe it will move forward in the Assembly.

"It's been introduced; it still has to go to a committee," Rible said, adding that becauseAssembly Speaker Joseph Roberts is a firm supporter of the agency, the bill will more than not proceed in the Assembly.

COAH was established in 1985 by an act of the state Legislature in response to a series of state Supreme Court rulings known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine.

According to the Department of Community Affairs, COAH has the power to define housing regions, estimate low- and moderate income housing needs, set criteria and guidelines for municipalities to determine and address their own fair share numbers, and approve and review housing elements and fair-share plans for municipalities.

If municipalities do not construct their fair share of affordable housing as determined by COAH, they can be subject to a builder's remedy lawsuit. Builder's remedy lawsuits are filed by or on the behalf of a developer to challenge a town's failure to comply with its mandatory affordable housing obligation.

If the town is found to be at fault, the builder can be granted the opportunity to construct a project and must designate 15 to 20 percent of the units in the project as affordable housing, according to COAH guidelines.

Since its inception, COAH has had three iterations of its fair-housing plan. Round one of the plan focused on creating reasonable opportunities for affordable housing through municipal zoning ordinances. The second round focused on the rehabilitation of existing housing stock. COAH's third round focuses on the establishment of a uniform growth share element for the state's municipalities.

Affordable housing, as defined by the state, is housing that can be bought or rented with 30 percent or less of an individual's income.

Contact Daniel Howley at dhowley@gmnews.com.

http://independent.gmnews.com/news/2009/0326/front_page/014.html

[Guest]

Sounds interesting and perhaps something that Cranbury should be backing. Perhaps this will negate or push back our COAH obligations.

[publius]

I am so sick of builder's remedy!!!!!!!!!!
How about taxpayer's remedy?
Whereby we keep the builder's out of the countryside and MAKE them (through legislation) fix up "brownfields" and the inner-cities of our state. I've been watching Newark and New Brunswick try to fix themselves up for 25 years now. They still have a long way to go. Maybe, high-density city-living is the way to go in the 21st century. Use more public transport and shop at Mom & Pop stores and make the cities safer places for people to live and work. Maybe, that is a brainstorm of an idea?????????????
Why should we plow over beautiful farmland and forests just so some builder can live in his Tony Soprano McMansion?
Hey...........I know some builders alright...............they ain't no boyscouts. BADA-BOOM-BADA-BING.

[MycentralJersey.com]

Edison fund offers grants for repairs to help keep people in their homes
By LALITA ALOOR AMUTHAN • Staff Writer • April 20, 2009

EDISON — Residents Tony and Nancy Eggert will finally get a much-needed update to their home's heating system, thanks to a $5,000 grant from the township's Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

The township has made the grants available to qualified applicants in the Clara Barton-Amboy Avenue Neighborhood Preservation Program (NPP) area.

"We've needed a new heating system for a long time but did not want to dip into our retirement savings," said Tony Eggert, 69, a 30-year resident of the Clara Barton area and the grant's first applicant.

The extended Cape Cod's 30-year-old heating system was not efficient anymore, he said. "We would turn on the thermostat and shut off two rooms and the winter months were brutal," Eggert said.

Sharon Gray, NPP coordinator, said the township has set aside $500,000 for 100 similar loans, which will be doled out on a first-come, first-served basis to qualified applicants.

The grant funds can be used by eligible residents to finance substantial repairs or replacement of major systems in their homes such as roofs, weatherization, and plumbing, heating and electrical systems.

There is no repayment required on the grant if the applicant lives in the area for 10 years after getting the grant, Gray said.

Eggert said he and his wife are happy to stay, considering their biggest problem — expensive heating bills — has now been alleviated.

"Our church is here, friends are here, we didn't want to give all that up if there was some way we could stay here," he said.

To qualify for the grant, income requirements have to be met — income of less than $44,800 for one person, $51,200 for two people, and increasing in proportion as family size increases.

Gray said the grant would enable the township to meet its COAH obligations.

COAH obligations require that homeowners make a minimum of $10,000 in home improvements.

As part of a joint partnership between the township and Provident Bank called the Clara Barton-Amboy Avenue Neighborhood Home Loan Program, applicants who receive the grant can also apply for a loan for the remaining amount.

Eggert said he planned to apply for a bank loan of $5,000 from Provident Bank to offset the remaining costs of the new heating system.

Lalita Aloor Amuthan: 732-565-7271; laloor@mycentraljersey.com

http://www.mycentraljersey.com/article/20090420/NEWS/904200365/-1/newsfront

[Cape may Herald]

GOP Gubernatorial Candidate Holds Town Hall Meeting
By Joe Hart

Chris Christie, one of five Republican candidates hoping to challenge Gov. Jon Corzine in November, held a town hall meeting in Court House with local Assembly candidates Mike Donohue and

Christie, one of five Republican candidates hoping to challenge Gov. Jon Corzine in November, held a town hall meeting in Court House with local Assembly candidates Mike Donohue and Frank Conrad.

Christie’s main message of the evening was his wish to make New Jersey more friendly for taxpayers and businesses.

“How many of you feel overtaxed?” he asked to a round of applause from the crowd of more that 100.

Christie said he would look to cut state payrolls and work with small businesses to coordinate tax incentives to would work best with them. He said he’s dedicated to significantly reducing state spending by cooperation or conflict. He said he’ll need Donohue and Conrad in the Assembly to back him up and said they had a great chance against the reportedly vulnerable First District Assemblymen Nelson Albano and Matthew Milam.

He said Corzine and his administration are out of touch with ordinary New Jerseyans. “He (Corzine) doesn’t realize that people are forced to decide which bills can be paid this month and which to pay next month,” Christie said. He said residents are leaving New Jersey for other states because they can’t afford it here anymore.

If elected Governor, Christie said he would initiate a red tape task force that would keep an eye on existing and reduce any future bureaucracy.

He said the state DEP (Department of Environmental Protection) has become a “four letter word.”

“They (DEP officials) don’t understand that they are public servants,” he said. They make people wait for years for approval, charge exhorbient fees and giant fines, he added.

He said he understands that the agency is trying to protect the state’s environment, “but you can do it without being hostile to business.”

He said the problem was that the current DEP funding structure allows the agency to keep the revenue generated by fines – “more fines, fund more employees and more employees can charge more fines and so on…”

If he becomes Governor, he said the DEP would no longer keep their fine money, but rather have to go to the legislature with their budgets like the other departments.

Christie said he was willing to make the tough decisions to cut programs, and reduce spending “even if some of those in this room like those programs.” He said he is willing to accept only four years if some of the tough calls he makes are too tough for voters.

When asked about affordable housing, Christie called the state’s current COAH rules “wild, zealous and overreaching.”

He said that the state’s current goal of 115,000 affordable units and over 500,000 market price units as unbelievable and said it could do unspeakable damage to the environment

He said the development would mean new schools, new roads and more use of the area’s water supply.

“When I get to Trenton, I’ll gut COAH,” he said.

Conrad related that as a local businessman he’s had to “jump through hoops every day” because of COAH regulations.

He said municipal solicitors and engineers not doing their real work. Instead, they are forced to work on COAH regulations.
Conrad called the 2.5 percent COAH tax on businesses outrageous “especially in the hardest econ times we’ve ever seen.”
Donohue noted that he and his partner coined the term “COAHagmire” regarding the current affordable-housing mess the state is in.
............................

http://www.capemaycountyherald.com/article/49035-gop+gubernatorial+candidate+holds+town+hall+meeting

[Guest]

Is that grant available to Cranbury residents? Would it help us meet our COAH goals?

[Courier Post Online]

2 attorneys to present at conference
May 27, 2009

Two GluckWalrath attorneys have been invited to present at the New Jersey Association of Counties Annual Conference in Atlantic City. The conference will be held at Bally's Park Place Hotel and Casino on June 16-19. Attorneys Andrew Bayer and Cindy M. Perr will present June 18 on "2009 COAH Update: Legislative and Litigation Issues." The seminar will provide an update on the implementation of the new COAH regulations, the newly passed legislation, and the status of pending lawsuits.


Bayer is a resident of East Windsor.
Perr is a resident of Medford.

http://www.courierpostonline.com/article/20090527/BUSINESS01/905270322/1003/business