Bulletin Board Mag 2015 2nd Quarter

State Legislative

Sewer & Water Service Charge Reform Drafted the same for apartments and for single-family homes. To correct this imbalance, NJBA’s draft legislation would stipulate that water and sewer charges be based on usage providing for a more equitable method of calculating such charges while putting water/sewer on the same footing as other utilities, such as electric and telephone. NJBA is working with an Assembly sponsor and introduction of a bill is likely in the near future. “ NJBA worked diligently over the last year conducting outreach and meeting with the members of the Legislature to build the case for another Permit Extension Act. ” NJBA has drafted legislation that would address the inequities that exist in certain water and sewer usage charge calculation formulas and is in the process of identifying legislative sponsors. Under current law, the various statutes governing water and sewer rates provide that user charges can be based on any one of a number of factors. As a result, in many municipalities, the annual water and sewer service charges (user fees) are

A working group, which now includes representatives of NJBA’s Mixed Use Developers Affiliate (MXD), is refining and finalizing the legislative concept and a political strategy to bring the following 3 proposals to fruition:

State Legislative UPDATE By Carol Ann Short, Esq., NJBA CEO

• Standardizing application and escrow review fees for development applications.

the Senate (22-13) in March and had previously passed the Assembly (46-31-1). NJBA vehemently opposed this bill and strongly urged the Governor not to sign it into law. The Governor heard our concerns and conditional vetoed the bill on May 7th. However, the conditional veto recommended the Legislature amend the bill to require the DCA to undertake a review to determine whether the Uniform Construction Code should be amended to require the installation of fire suppression systems in all newly constructed townhouses. After meeting monthly to discuss many of the problems associated with New Jersey’s land use procedures, NJBA Past President David Fisher’s MLUL Reform Task Force was successful in having Senator Jeff Van Drew introduce the first in a series of proposals that will address some of the onerous requirements of the MLUL. S2818 would amend the MLUL by simplifying and streamlining the application and review process for preliminary site plan and subdivision approval consistent with the original intent of the MLUL. This bill would create a (true) preliminary approval process and checklist, as distinguished from a more detailed final approval with all requisite engineering documentation. It would also extend the vesting period for a preliminary approval from three to five years, to allow sufficient time for completion of the detailed engineering plans and outside agency approvals associated with the final approval. NJBA is in the process of meeting with various stakeholders to build a coalition to support the legislation MLUL Preliminary Approval Process Reform Bill Introduced

and hopes to have a legislative hearing scheduled in the next few weeks.

• Modifying the process by which performance bond estimates are developed, how bonds are reduced and released, and the function of maintenance bonds. • Limiting the improvements covered by performance guarantees and the improvements that would be subject to inspection by the municipality.

Land Use Court Legislation Introduced

Due to the complexities of land use law, an experienced judiciary is critical to the efficient operation of the system and achieving consistent outcomes. Judges hearing land use cases should by background and additional required training be experts in the land use field. This would free up judicial resources through greater efficiencies in case management, since experienced judges knowledgeable in land use matters will be able to render decisions more rapidly, thus allowing those judges to participate in more cases. Additionally, unlike most areas of litigation, a very high percentage of land use cases are appealed. Land use expertise would result in fewer appeals, thus improving the schedule of and burden on the higher courts. As a result, NJBA worked with Senator Ron Rice to draft legislation that would establish a Land Use Court to increase the efficiency of the judiciary with respect to land use decisions. The bill, S2847 , has been introduced and has been referred to the Senate Judiciary Committee for consideration. NJBA Continues to Develop FAIR Act NJBA’s initiative, Fees for Application and Inspection Reform Act (FAIR Act), to address the serious abuses and problems associated with development applications and the inspection of development projects continues to evolve internally.

Carol Ann Short, Esq., NJBA CEO

Permits Get Another Extension

Despite being told that another extension would be extremely unlikely, NJBA worked diligently over the last year conducting outreach and meeting with the members of the Legislature to build the case for another Permit Extension Act. After successfully lobbying the legislature to pass A3815/S2815 (Green, Burzichelli, Singleton, Johnson/Sarlo, Kyrillos) , Governor Chris Christie signed the legislation into law on December 26th as P.L.2014, c.84. The new law extends for one year the expiration date of state and local government approvals until December 31, 2015 (with potential six month tolling to June 30, 2016). With the exception of the date change, all of the other provisions of the legislation are virtually identical to the 2012 Permit Extension Act.

Fire Sprinkler Mandate Conditionally Vetoed

NJBA also continues to work against unnecessary and costly mandates. The most critical being A1698/S2316 (Wisniewski/Whelan) , which would have required mandatory fire suppression systems in new single and two family homes. The bill received final legislative approval from

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