New Jersey Land Use and Environmental Law

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On January 17, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed into law P.L. 2011, c. 203, which extends the deadline for counties and municipalities to file wastewater management plans by at least 180 days. The legislation, which was passed by the Senate and General Assembly on January 9, 2011, is aimed at averting the “negative economic impacts” associated with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) regulations that would have required the withdrawal of numerous wastewater service areas throughout the state.

Continue reading "Governor Christie Signs Bill Extending Deadline for Wastewater Management Plans" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 03:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The New Jersey Senate has passed a bill known as S3156, which would extend the deadline for counties and municipalities to file wastewater management plans by at least 180 days, and potentially up to 2 years. The bill, which was passed by the Senate on January 9, 2011, will now move to the General Assembly, which is also anticipated to pass it in short order.

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Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 06:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The New Jersey Legislature is set to introduce a bill that aims to stablize the state’s solar industry, which has been in free fall since early summer. Assemblyman Upendra Chivakula (D-Middlesex) expects to introduce a bill in the lame duck session that would halt the precipitous drop of prices for solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs), which is a major mechanism for financing photovoltaic (PV) systems in New Jersey.

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Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 06:04 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Today, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno signed a bill into law that extends a prior moratorium on the 2.5 percent non-residential development fee. This law (Legislative Bill S-2974) extends the moratorium for an additional two years, which should provide relief to commercial real estate developers.

Continue reading "Acting Governor Guadagno Signs Bill to Extend Moratorium on 2.5 Percent Non-Residential Development Fee" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 09:19 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

In an effort to provide certainty to development projects in the urban and more developed areas of the State, legislation has been adopted that extends general development plan (GDP) protection to large development projects situated on smaller sites.

Continue reading "New “Vertical GDP” Law Provides Options to Developers" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 01:00 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On June 16, 2011, the Law Division of the Superior Court issued a decision in Estaugh Commons v. Haddonfield Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment that makes it harder for municipal land use boards to deny use variance applications by developers seeking to build affordable housing. At issue in the lawsuit was whether an inclusionary development proposed by a private developer should have been considered an “inherently beneficial use” by the Zoning Board of Adjustment when evaluating the developer’s use variance application.

Continue reading "Court Holds Inclusionary Development Qualifies as "Inherently Beneficial Use" in Use Variance Applications" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 01:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Thomas F. Carroll, III, Esq.

On June 29, 2011, Governor Chris Christie issued a “Reorganization Plan” designed to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (“COAH”). Unless both houses of the New Jersey Legislature pass a concurrent resolution within 60 days disapproving of the Reorganization Plan (“RP”), the RP will become effective and COAH will be formally abolished.

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Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 05:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On June 23, 2011, Governor Christie conditionally vetoed S-2006/A-3125, which would have amended the Municipal Land Use Law ("MLUL") to generally prohibit municipalities from regulating the installation of solar panels on residential properties and to limit the amount of fees municipalities may charge for applications pertaining to solar panel installations. The bill was business-friendly insofar it would have made it easier and cheaper for homeowners to install solar panels.

Continue reading "Bill Prohibiting Municipal Regulation of Solar Panels is Vetoed by Governor Christie" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 03:45 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

On May 16, 2011, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) opened a 29-day window for companies to file applications to build offshore wind projects along the New Jersey coast. The application process represents New Jersey's latest effort to spur the development of the nation's first offshore wind project.

Continue reading "Offshore Wind Project Application Deadline is June 14" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 05:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has granted the petitions for certification filed by the New Jersey State League of Muncipalities (NJSLOM) and thirteen municipalities seeking review of the Appellate Division's invalidation of portions of COAH's "third round" regulations concerning municipal affordable housing obligations.

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Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 07:06 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and Princeton Regional Schools have contracted with the New Jersey consulting firm Gabel Associates to provide a feasibility study to explore the potential for solar installations throughout the municipalities. If all goes well, the entities will enter into a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with a solar developer to implement the plan.

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Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 04:24 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.

In an opinion issued on February 24, 2011, the Appellate Division ruled that COAH's Regional Affordable Housing Development Program Guidelines ("Guidelines") are actually regulations that should have been adopted under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA").

Continue reading "Court Strikes Down COAH's Imposition of Regulations as "Guidelines"" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 10:25 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

By: Michael J. Lipari, Esq.

Renewable energy projects continue their emergence throughout New Jersey as the beneficial aspects of these projects are being realized by property owners. New Jersey is currently ranked second in the United States for solar installations largely in part to the emergence of solar fields being constructed on farms and otherwise vacant land. Recent state and federal legislative initiatives have made these types of projects economically feasible.

Continue reading "Princeton University to Develop Solar Field" »

Posted by Henry T. Chou, Esq. at 10:29 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)