Council opposes pair of state land use law bills
Contend measures would take away local authority on development decisions
BY CHRIS GAETANO
Staff Writer

SOUTH BRUNSWICK - Township officials have expressed concern over a set of bills pending in the state Assembly that they say would curtail the oversight ability of local land use boards.

The bills, sponsored by Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Middlesex/

Somerset/Union), would affect when and what is considered when discussing applications for development.

The first, A-3860, would amend the municipal land use law's stated intent and purpose - a factor when local Planning and Zoning boards consider applications for development - to include housing as an end in and of itself. It would join a laundry list of already present items such as safety, environmental soundness and historic preservation. If passed, the legislation would add providing "a supply of housing adequate to meet the demographic, social and economic needs of the state's diverse and dynamic population" to that list.

The other, A-3870, would prevent new ordinances from retroactively affecting a pending application. Under the current system, if someone files an application in a community and the local government passes an ordinance that would affect it, the application would need to be revised to fit the ordinance.

At last week's Township Council meeting, Councilman Chris Killmurray expressed reservations about the legislation, saying that they took power away from local governments to regulate their development.

"They're local decisions and we should have the authority," he said.

Killmurray said that A-3860 seems innocuous, but has language that could be used against the township when trying to oppose a housing development that might not be good for the community. He said that it simply adds one more way for developers to override local land use boards.

"As innocuous as it seems, the language makes it easier for developers to say 'Gee, our development meets a stated purpose of the land use law,' which can tie the hand of a town. That 300-unit development is harder to stop because a portion of it 'provides housing.' Sounds laudatory on paper, but in practice, by adding a purpose you make it easier for the developers," said Killmurray.

He has expressed similar reasons for concern over A-3870. He said that if it passes, the legislation would impede a town's ability to conduct review of an application and respond to concerns about it through regulatory means.

"[It] is something that would hurt local towns' efforts to conduct a proper review of any application and decide based on facts, not some artificial timeline that warms a bureaucrat's heart ... but doesn't deal with reality," said Killmurray.

The council passed a set of resolutions that voiced strong opposition to the bills.

Assemblyman Green was not available for comment by press time.