RUMANA, BRAMNICK AND RUSSO TO HOLD TOWN HALL MEETING TO DISCUSS NEGATIVE IMPACT OF NEW COAH REGULATIONS

Assemblyman Scott Rumana, Assembly Republican Whip Jon Bramnick and Assemblyman David Russo will hold a town hall meeting this evening to discuss the devastating economic and environmental consequences recently enacted Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) rules and guidelines will have on communities throughout New Jersey.

The three lawmakers said the new law will crush the state’s existing home values, accelerate the growth of property taxes and impose a new tax on commercial development which would be particularly devastating during these volatile economic times.

“Allowing developers to build these market-rate homes will glut an already depressed housing market,” explained Rumana, R-Passaic, Bergen and Essex. “The construction of these homes will continue to suppress the real estate market and further erode the value of homeowners' most important investments. Many homeowners have already had their retirement nest eggs decimated by the turbulence in the U.S. stock market.

“The last thing they need is a further decline in their property values and another increase in their property tax bills which is exactly what will happen,” he continued. “If we are required to build more homes, we’ll need to build more schools. These new COAH regulations are a noose around the necks of homeowners.”

According to the new law, there could conceivably be a total of 700,000 units of new housing built over the next decade. The two legislators said that to put that into perspective, that’s approximately 600,000 market rate units of housing the state doesn’t need.

Bramnick, R-Union, Morris, Somerset and Essex, noting reports from the state’s top economists who said Monday that New Jersey’s economy will continue to worsen for at least the next 18 months, said he is particularly concerned with the 2.5 percent tax that will implemented on all commercial development under the new COAH law.

The new tax would be applied to economic development projects that were approved and started prior to the law’s effective date of July 17, 2008, but had not yet received certificates of occupancy (CO). As a result, some projects may end up costing builders hundreds of thousands of dollars more than the projected cost when applications were approved.

“This new tax on commercial development will have a negative effect on the development of businesses in the state at a time when our economy is in crisis,” said Bramnick, chairman of the Assembly Republican Policy Committee. “Not only is it fundamentally unfair to slap businesses with another fee or tax after the fact, but we need to be encouraging economic growth and new jobs for New Jersey, not discouraging it.”

Russo noted the adverse effects of eliminating Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) on both suburban and urban municipalities. A valuable planning tool, RCAs allowed fully-developed towns to “sell” portions of their affordable-housing unit responsibly to communities which then used the money to rebuild their blighted areas and provide decent homes for their residents.

“RCAs helped protect the environment by preserving what little green spaces are left in towns, created quality, affordable housing in communities struggling to finance their projects, and prevented towns from mandates that would create tremendous strains on their infrastructures,” said Russo, R-Passaic, Bergen and Essex.

“No doubt, these new rules will impose a significant cost on towns,” he added. “We need to develop an affordable-housing policy that will help those in need without destroying our environment and financially strapping our residents.”

Rumana, a former mayor of Wayne Township and a member of its Planning Board, agreed, saying,  “The elimination of the Regional Contribution Agreements or RCA’s will force unnecessary housing into our states green areas,  promoting suburban sprawl and in fact contradicting our smart growth policy. By not looking for a better way to address our affordable housing needs, global warming will be exacerbated,  flooding conditions will worsen and more congestion will be added to our streets. 

“There is a better way of providing affordable housing opportunities in our state,” continued Rumana, a member of the Assembly Republican Policy Committee. “Sound state investment and tax incentives, along with proper income-eligible units, can create affordable housing for many lower- and middle-income citizens.”

The town hall meeting will be held today at the Wayne Municipal Building, 475 Valley Road, Wayne, N.J., from 7 to 9 p.m.

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