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The Greater Atlantic City Chamber would like to thank the following sponsors:
COAH Panel Discussion
All panelists were in agreement that the legislation should be amended so as not to impose the 2.5% fee on projects that were completed prior to the legislation being enacted.
Many groups, including the League of Municipalities, and several legislators are now questioning the affordable housing requirements, arguing that they put an unfair burden on business and municipalities at a time when towns can least afford it and investment by business is most needed.
State Senator Ray Lesniak, one of the affordable housing law sponsors, is now even questioning the timing and ramifications of the legislation. He and State Senator Christopher Bateman of Somerset County have written to Governor Corzine urging him to delay the December 31 deadline for towns to file affordable hosing plans, plans that the nonpartisan Office of Legislative Services estimates will cost local governments up to $2 billion a year to fulfill.
"The court’s and COAH approach to affordable housing was a failure during robust economic times and a booming housing market," they wrote. "Continuing along the same path during an economic recession will not only fail to produce affordable housing, it will doom any chance of economic recovery in New Jersey."
Further evidence of movement on the COAH issue came in the form of a letter sent December 8 by Speaker Roberts and Assembly Housing and Local Government Chairman Jerry Green to COAH Executive Director Lucy Vandenberg urging that COAH give municipalities at least 90 days beyond the current Dec. 31 deadline to submit their affordable housing plans. This is particularly significant given that Roberts was the sponsor of the COAH A500 legislation.
More recently, our own Assemblymen Amodeo and Polistina (District 2 – Atlantic) introduced legislation in the state Assembly to suspend all COAH rules and regulations until further notice.
Fittingly, an editorial in The Press of Atlantic City the day following the Chamber’s panel discussion concluded, "These new requirements have been flawed from the start, before the economy started its sharp decline, and they are even more untenable now."
The Chamber intends to closely monitor the progress of this issue in the state legislature and continue to advocate on behalf of reforming the COAH regulations.
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Photos from COAH Panel Discussion Click a photo to view a larger image |
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| Photos by Rob Rossiello | |||||
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