With the Permit Extension Act already under fire despite substantial legislative support, the Sierra Club has begun an assault on the entire Smart Growth Economic Development Coalition’s economic stimulus package, referring to it as the “Dirty Dozen.”

The Builders Association and their allies are releasing a package of bills they call an economic stimulus package. In fact, what the bills would do is overturn environmental laws, undermine good planning, promote sprawl and give tax breaks and public subsidies to wealthy developers at a time when the state of New Jersey is going broke.

This package of bills will put sprawl on steroids and allow for the paving over of half of New Jersey’s open spaces.

The bills in the package are taken from the Department of Community Affairs’ (DCA) Housing Task Force reports, which were written in secret without any input from the public or environmental or citizens’ groups. They include:

1. The Permit Extension Act — This bill would extend all permits for six years and revive those that have expired within the past two years, undermining the ability of the state to implement new environmental regulations, building codes, or local zoning ordinances and indiscriminately promoting building, regardless of whether the project is a good one or a bad one.
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For the Sierra Club’s critique of all 12 legislative proposals in an Op-Ed entitled “Builders Gone Wild” at the Asbury Park Press website, click here.