A draft report from the Land Use and Planning Subcommittee of the Department of Community Affairs concludes that the Department of Environmental Protection’s aggressive regulation of land use limits realistic opportunities for construction of affordable housing in suburban and rural communities. The report charges that ”current environmental rules are skewed against builders,” according to an article in today’s Star Ledger.
”The … barriers prevent a predictable and efficient land use system from existing, which in turn prevents the state from meeting its current and projected housing demand,” the report concludes.
As we reported on this blog in December, it appears that DCA and DEP are at odds over how to implement policies that meet Governor Corzine’s stated goal of 100,000 new affordable housing units over the next ten years. DCA Commissioner Joseph Doria has called for a relaxation of strict DEP rules where opportunities for construction of affordable housing are available. According to the Star Ledger article:
The report suggests requiring state and local governments decide quickly when developers seek to build — and automatically to approve projects if no decision is made within 90 days.
It calls for rewriting DEP rules to make them “flexible” and giving the state Planning Commission the power to override DEP rules and local laws. It would also prevent DEP from stopping construction within 300 feet of a waterway if the area was developed in the past, and allow sewer line construction in environmentally sensitive areas.
Not surprisingly, DEP Commissioner Lisa Jackson has taken an opposite view, as have environmental activists. “Affordable housing must be done in an environmentally sensitive manner,” Jackson said. “I have heard a lot of people complain they can’t build on flood plains. They tell me it is the only land left. Building affordable housing there would be morally wrong.”
DCA Commissioner Doria stressed that the report was a draft for discussion purposes and that DEP input would be sought as DCA’s overall plan is developed as other subcommittees provide their input on state housing policy in the coming months.
For the full article from the Star Ledger, click here.
