Economic Stimulus Needed
But is A4808 the cure?
WHAT CAN I DO TO HELP?
Help us convince the Governor and lawmakers to stand firm on A500. Call Gov. Corzine at 609/292-6000 and tell him to “STOP THE ROLLBACK OF THE DEVELOPER FEE.”
You should also tell your state legislators.
And you can send letters.
Click here to see a detailed fact sheet on the proposal, and a news article.
As the New Jersey legislative session rushes to complete the budget, A4808 New Jersey Economic Stimulus Act of 2009 raises more questions than it answers. As we noted in a previous post, the bill would actually hurt the economy, as it would force municipalities to return the nearly $20 million they have collected since A500 from office and shopping center developers – money that developers have already paid and that towns have already planned to use to build much-needed new homes, creating jobs in the process.
It would also place a two-year moratorium on A500’s 2.5 percent non-residential Developer Fee. This would not only directly delay the creation of new homes and increased housing choices for more New Jerseyans, but the uncertainty regarding the future of the fee will also further stall other municipal residential building projects.
Because of the importance of this issue we were very pleased to read – Whose stimulus is it anyway? – an editorial last Thursday in the Star-Ledger.
The Star-Ledger stated: “A compromise may be in the works to limit the amount of money refunded to developers; that’s a good start. But the fact that the bill would place $15 million in the state affordable housing trust fund shows lawmakers see the real need for it. So why not have towns hold on to the fees they’ve already collected, and that are already being applied to ongoing projects?”
The following are a few key passages from the editorial.
The logic of having commercial developers contribute to the creation of affordable housing made sense a year ago. And it makes sense today.
As for economic stimulus — building homes that people can afford would do a pretty good job of that, too.
To read the full editorial click here.
