New Jersey Zoning Watch

A law blog on New Jersey land use issues

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    Welcome to New Jersey Zoning Watch, hosted by the law firm of Florio, Perrucci, Steinhardt & Fader LLC. The purpose of New Jersey Zoning Watch is to provide current information on land use, affordable housing, redevelopment, alternative energy and environmental issues confronting the State of New Jersey.

    If you would like more information about a particular issue, please contact your FPS&F relationship partner or Phil Morin at 201-373-8934 or pmorin@florioperrucci.com

    Philip J. Morin III, Esq., Editor

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Archive for October, 2008

Deal Struck On Affordable Housing In Highlands

Posted by Phil Morin on October 30, 2008

The Star Ledger is reporting that the Highlands Council has endorsed an agreement with the Department of Community Affairs that allows municipalities which adopt stringent restrictions on development in their communities to obtain reductions to their affordable housing obligations.

According to the Ledger:

Under the agreement, strict environmental constraints like water availability, steep slopes and the proximity of pristine waters would limit the number of affordable housing units in a particular municipality. At the same time, 20 percent of any new residential construction in those communities must be affordable, and projects with affordable housing will receive priority for approvals.

The adoption of the Highland master plan by individual communities before the end of the year, will also allow these communities additional time to submit a housing plan to the Council on Affordable Housing.

Communities that sign on would get an extra year to file their plan for meeting their affordable housing obligation. And the number of affordable housing units they would need to build would be determined through the Highlands Council’s analysis of sustainable development.

Highlands towns that choose not to conform to the regional master plan would have to follow COAH rules like every other town in the state, under the agreement. Those towns must file their affordable housing plan by Dec. 31.

The agreement also notes that there are still 3,000 affordable homes that must be built in the Highlands region as a result of growth that has already taken place.

For the full article, click here.

Posted in Affordable Housing, Environmental Issues, Highlands | Leave a Comment »

Green Zoning: “No” To Wind Turbines In My Backyard, “Yes” To Solar Power, Transit-Friendly Communities

Posted by Phil Morin on October 10, 2008

In putting together your “keeping on top of the latests land use trends” reading list, include the following two articles written by Andrea Alexander of The Record. Both address some of the challenges and opportunities facing communities as a result of the “green” movement.
In an article from September, Ms. Alexander highlights a recently adopted ordinance in Wayne, New Jersey, that limits the development of wind turbines near residential neighborhoods, schools or day care centers. According to the article:

The Township Council unanimously adopted the measure after a heated debate Wednesday night: Are turbines unsightly intruders with potentially damaging health effects? Or should they be accepted as just part of the skyline of an energy-independent future?

“When you look out your back door, you don’t want to look at a nuclear power plant, you don’t want to look at a wind turbine,’’ Mayor Christopher Vergano said today. “We are protecting the values of residential properties by keeping them [at] a certain setback.’’

Wayne is not the first community to address the issue, however, and won’t be the last. Given the initial reactions of municipalities to regulating the siting of wind turbines (despite their benefits to the community), it appears that obtaining approvals for such facilities will be more like hearings on telecommunications towers and monopoles, than more esthetically “acceptable” projects.

The township isn’t the first in the state to adopt rules to keep wind turbines away from homes. Brick in Ocean County adopted an ordinance in April that allows turbines only in business and industrial zones. At least five towns in the state have adopted ordinances to set guidelines for the location of wind turbines. The regulations generally require setbacks to keep the renewable energy source away from neighbors.

Hillsborough in Somerset County allows residents, farmers and business owners to put up turbines on lots that are greater than 10 acres. Galloway Township in Atlantic County restricts turbines to one-acre residential lots, with a setback from the property line equal to the height of the structure.

Under Wayne’s ordinance, Mayor Christopher Vergano said, turbines could be permitted along sections of Routes 23 and 46 and in the industrial areas off the West Belt Parkway.

For the environmentalists’ perspective of the battle in Wayne and other communities over alternative energy technologies, see the press release entitled “It’s Not Easy Being Green,” at Environment New Jersey here.

Ms. Alexander also wrote an article entitled “Towns Start Reshaping The Landscape for Solar, Wind,” this week on the “green” movement and how municipalities are taking it into consideration in land use planning.

Planning experts say slowing global warming goes beyond putting solar panels on homes and wind turbines on industrial lots. It’s going to take a gradual — but decisive — shift in your way of life.

. . . .

A green community will position new homes near transit, parks and stores, or bring those necessities to existing neighborhoods.

Transportation is the largest contributor to greenhouse gases, and “the most important part about mixing land uses is: People tend to use their cars less, and that is what living green is all about,” said Debbie Alaimo Lawlor, chief of Sustainability and Economic Growth for the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission. The NJMC has land-use authority over parts of 14 communities in Bergen and Hudson counties.

Westwood accepted the connection years ago in zoning the heart of its downtown as a “special pedestrian environment.” The zoning bans new restaurants and sports clubs — destinations people drive to, then leave.

But it welcomes service businesses such as the camera shop, florist and dry cleaners so one walk downtown can fill several errands.

Green planning also was boosted there by another essential: a train station. Houses closest to the station are selling the fastest and holding their value in a down market.

While I’m not particularly a fan of labeling restaurants and fitness centers as “anti-green,” the article does make one re-think how “reducing our carbon footprint” interacts with zoning ordinances in older downtowns which are probably relics of the 1960s (both the downtowns and the zoning).

The article also includes discussion of how the state legislature, regional planning authorities like the Meadowlands Commission and individual municipalities are attempting to provide incentives for (or some might say, force) builders to encorporate green technologies or criteria into their projects, such as solar power or LEED standards.

For the full article, click here.

Posted in Environmental Issues, General, Legislation, Master Plan Review, Transportation | Leave a Comment »

Briefing Schedule Set By Court in COAH Challenge

Posted by Phil Morin on October 8, 2008

The New Jersey State League of Municipalities, in a bulletin to all New Jersey mayors dated today, has laid out the briefing schedule for the current challenges to the Council on Affordable Housing’s “third round” regulations. The initial brief of the League will be due on January 4, 2009. The State’s brief is not due until March 5, 2009. No date for oral argument has been set.

For the remainder of the briefing schedule and a discussion of the League’s reaction to the court’s denial of its request for a stay of the December 31st deadline for submission of municipal affordable housing plans, please click here: NJSLOM 10-8-08 Letter Re: COAH Motion for Stay; Briefing Schedule

Posted in Affordable Housing | Leave a Comment »

Appellate Court Denies League Motion To Stay Affordable Housing Plan Deadline

Posted by Phil Morin on October 7, 2008

On Tuesday, a state appeals court denied a motion filed by the New Jersey State League of Municipalities (“League”) to stay (or delay) the requirement under the latest round of regulations from the Council on Affordable Housing (“COAH”) that municipalities must submit a detailed plan to provide affordable housing by December 31, 2008.

According to an on-line report from the Star Ledger, Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria was pleased with the ruling:

“By denying a stay of the December 31st deadline, the court has not only validated COAH but also paved the way, yet again, for us to move forward in our efforts to provide New Jersey residents with the affordable housing opportunities they need,” he said.

The League also reacted predictably:

“We are disappointed, but not surprised by the court’s action,” said League Director William Dressel. “Unfortunately the end result will be towns seeking Council on Affordable Housing certification will have to prepare plans based on a faulty methodology, a discredited vacant land analysis and the knowledge that further amendments, which will require adjustments to plans, are to be proposed in the upcoming months.”

The court did not decide upon the merits of the League’s overall appeal of the validity of the regulations. However, it is highly unlikely that a decision on the merits will be reached prior to the deadline for filing a plan for substantive certification. Should a municipality choose not to file a plan, they will be potentially exposed to “builder’s remedy” litigation in state court, in which a court can mandate development with an affordable housing component.

Posted in Affordable Housing | Leave a Comment »