WyBlog

New sensible zoning law makes NJ more business friendly

Finally, some common sense when it comes to zoning regulations. Governor Christie signed a new law this week which prohibits towns from imposing new zoning restrictions on development applications once they are submitted for review.

Naturally the econuts are apopleptic. Their favorite heavy handed tools are local zoning boards. Whenever a development project is proposed they swoop in to urge passage of new zoning restrictions which would make that project either much more expensive or unfeasible entirely. Every new doghouse and outhouse is seen as evidence of "sprawl" and if erected would doom Mother Gaia forever.

You'd think that the Constitutional prohibition against ex post facto laws would preclude such shenanigans, but you'd be wrong. The U.S. Supreme Court ruled in 1926 that zoning laws serve "the public purpose". And so when a developer arrives with a plan which meets current zoning rules but is seen as "unwanted" by the town the zoning board quickly adopts new more restrictive requirements.

I saw it done up close when a fellow I know bought a tract of land and proposed building 5 new houses on it. His application met all the zoning restrictions in place at the time. But the neighborhood organized themselves in opposition to the plan and our town suddenly adopted a whole host of new lot coverage, setback, and steep slope regulations which effectively elminated any chance he could develop that property at all.

The zoning board changed the rules after he bought the land and in doing so deprived him of the value of his investment.

New Jersey did the same thing on a much larger scale via the Highlands Act. In one fell swoop the state legislature halted all development on more than 1/3 of the land in New Jersey. Existing projects were stopped cold. Land owners who were counting on selling their property or developing it themselves were suddenly deprived of their right to do so.

The reactionary nature of zoning created a great deal of uncertainty for developers. They never knew for sure if the town would change the rules once they expressed an interest in a project. And more often than not the town changed the rules not just once, but multiple times as the projects moved forward.

Now the playing field is leveled. Towns are free to enact new zoning laws, but those laws can no longer apply to an existing development project. We can now be certain of exactly which rules apply to our property. That's good for investor confidence and ultimately good for us all.

Posted at 10:25 by Chris Wysocki   [/nj_politics]   Comments | Archived | Perm Link |
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