Cozine State of the State Speech: COAH Statement...

[Cranbury Conservative]

In his State of the State speech today Governor Corzine stated the following....

“I am calling today for a one-year moratorium on the 2.5 percent developer’s COAH fee, while additionally exempting projects that were in the pipeline before the fee was instituted.”

Obviously this is an incomplete statement since stopping the funding would mean that all COAH mandates would have to be potentially suspended as well.

We will have to wait and see how this plays out.

[wcody]

January 13, 2009
Contact: John Gorman / (609) 292-5199

Senator Sean T. Kean (R-11) Kean Offers to Rework Corzine COAH Proposal

Reacting to Governor Corzine’s call for a one-year moratorium on the 2.5% developer’s COAH fee during his State of the State address, Senator Sean Kean (R-11) issued the following statement:

“Republicans have been saying since June that the non-residential fee on commercial developers is an onerous tax that will deter business growth in the state. While a moratorium may temporarily stop the damage he is doing to our business community, taking away the only source of funding set aside to help municipalities meet their COAH obligations will make matters worse. I urge the Governor to go one step further and place a moratorium on implementation of the current COAH rules. This will give the Legislature the time necessary to correct the flaws in the law and produce a commonsense plan that doesn’t place unreasonable burdens on our municipalities and residents.

“As it stands, COAH is an unfunded mandate that will lead to higher property taxes, kill job creation, and drive our residents out of state. The Governor should take the opportunity to reevaluate this proposal because it will have a crippling impact on our communities for decades to come. We can no longer saddle future generations with these type of financially misguided policies. Republicans stand ready to work with Governor Jon Corzine and Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria in reworking this program to better fit the needs of our towns and New Jersey’s taxpayers.”

Link to Post:
http://www.senatenj.com/index.php/seankean/kean-offers-to-rework-corzine-coah-proposal/2064

[Jay T.]

Admittedly, I have not done a lot of reading into the statements. However, like Mr. Kean it struck me as odd that at this time of economic worry and high property tax that Corzine would make the statement he made. I am in full agreement on halting the builders fee, however, that is tied in with the town's obligations to provide for COAH housing. Stopping the fee without halting the building increases property taxes to a greater extent.