Homes for New Jersey supports fair Redevelopment!

Redevelopment, Eminent Domain and Relocation Assistance Proposed Statutory Amendments

1. Amend the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law to:

• Revise the standard used to determine whether an area is "in need of redevelopment" (that is, blighted) to revise existing broad language that permits municipalities to designate areas inappropriately; and deleting criterion (h) dealing with smart growth.
• Encourage use of less intrusive means of addressing neighborhood blighting conditions, including revising the statutory language providing for designation of "areas in need of rehabilitation" to make its intent clearer and make it easier to use, including language that would require municipalities to investigate whether to use that route or other less intrusive means of addressing neighborhood blighting conditions, including use of "spot blight" eminent domain, before using redevelopment.
• Provide for more extensive public participation in the process of determining that an area is "in need of redevelopment", including:
  • Changing that procedure from a resolution to an ordinance; and in the framing of the redevelopment plan.
  • Extending notice periods for property owners and others affected by action.
  • Require notice to property owners subject to potential taking before introduction of redevelopment plan and any subsequent amendments affecting them
  • Provide notice to tenants as well as property owners.
  • Require that reports and plans be widely available; e.g., posted on web sites and available for public viewing at libraries, etc.
  • Provide owners with notice after adoption of plan as well.
• Provide for classification of minor redevelopment plans, with varying requirements for notice, contents of redevelopment plan, and redeveloper selection/property conveyance. A minor redevelopment project should have fewer procedural requirements for designation of an area in need of redevelopment and have fewer requirements for designation of a redeveloper so that small developers, non-profits and minority owned businesses would have a greater opportunity to handle these projects.
• Enhance the planning content of major redevelopment plans, by requiring plans to include:
  • Overall planning strategy, including community design objectives, scale, character and intensity of the proposed redevelopment.
  • Implementation plan and timetable.
• Define and establish criteria for preparation of General Redevelopment Plans, as described above, to require GRP to set forth overall strategy, and long-term redevelopment implementation plan and timetable.
• Recast the "smart growth" provisions in the law to make clear that "smart growth" principles are a standard to guide redevelopment plans, and not an alternative means for designation of areas in need of redevelopment. The principles should be spelled out in the statute.
• Require consideration of environmental and historic resources in redevelopment areas, including requirement that such resources be identified as part of the study used to determine whether the area meets the criteria for an "area in need of redevelopment" and provide for referral of such information to the municipal environmental commission and/or historic preservation commission for review, with the opportunity to make recommendations to the planning board with respect to how such resources should be addressed in the redevelopment plan. This would not change any decision making authority with respect to either designation or the plan.
• Modify the process for the selection of redevelopers or conveyance of properties in redevelopment areas, including
  • Adding clear statutory language expressing the preference for open, competitive processes in the selection of redevelopers and conveyance of properties in redevelopment areas;
  • Establishing guidelines for RFP/RFQ processes to be used in selection of redevelopers and conveyance of properties
  • Requiring that if a municipality seeks to select a developer or convey properties without a competitive process, the municipality would be required to hold a public hearing and make formal written findings to establish that the developer has unique qualities or that the project has unique circumstances to justify the selection.
  • Requiring that in any redevelopment area where an existing property owner notifies the municipality that it wants to be designated redeveloper of the area, if the municipality wants to consider other entities as redeveloper, the municipality must hold an open, competitive procedure for designating the redeveloper.
  • Providing that a municipality may not designate a redeveloper other than the property owner where the redevelopment area does not include properties other than the owner's holdings, and the owner has notified the municipality that it wants to be designated redeveloper, unless the municipality finds, after a public hearing and formal written findings, that the owner is not qualified to undertake the redevelopment of its property.
• Create and Preserve Affordable Housing: Redevelopment is disproportionately likely to remove housing that is affordable to lower income families. Much of the market affordable housing units is affordable precisely because it tends to be in worse condition and is located in areas that contain other blighting factors. As a result, redevelopment removes inexpensive housing and replaces it with more expensive housing - or no housing at all. The legislation should allow projects to utilize one of the following options, choosing whichever creates the highest number of units:
  • Require that 20% of all residential units constructed in any redevelopment area where the net residential density exceeds 4 DU/acre be affordable to low and moderate income households, and 12% where the net residential density is below 4 DU/acre. Add general language requiring municipalities to take appropriate steps to ensure that these requirements are feasible; e.g., fee waivers, tax abatement, grant assistance.
  • Provide for the one for one replacement of any housing which is affordable to persons of low and moderate income, as established by its rent level or market value at the time of adoption of the redevelopment plan and as defined by the Council on Affordable Housing, which is to be removed as a result of the redevelopment plan. The distribution of the replacement housing shall correspond as closely as reasonably feasible to the distribution of the housing being removed with respect to tenure, size and affordability level.
• Give current renters and property owners the right of first refusal to move into or purchase the replacement housing.
• Require that 20% of all residential units constructed in any redevelopment area, which was not previously residential, be affordable to low and moderate income households

2. Amend the eminent domain provisions in redevelopment law as follows:

• Revise the language of the redevelopment law to make clear that each property that may be taken must be identified by address and block/lot number in the plan.
• Require that, with respect to each property to be taken, the plan specify the taking criterion (from among those used for area in need of redevelopment designation).
• Require a threshold standard over and above being in an "area in need of redevelopment" to justify use of eminent domain against any substantially code- compliant occupied residential property; i.e., a formal finding that taking of that particular property is required to carry out the objectives of the redevelopment plan and project.
• Require that the plan provide a timetable for acquisition of properties listed to be taken

3. Amend the relocation requirements of the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, as follows:

• Requiring that a relocation strategy be included in the redevelopment plan, including estimates of projected displacement and an analysis of housing market conditions, including the realistic availability of housing by price range, size and type in the region;
• Setting clear standards for what constitutes 'comparable affordable housing' for relocation purposes, making clear that comparability applies not only to the dwelling unit, but to neighborhood and public service conditions;
• Setting clear standards defining under what conditions replacement housing (either within or outside the redevelopment area) must be provided as a part of the redevelopment project, based on the principle that one to one replacement housing be provided except to the extent that the municipality can show that adequate comparable affordable housing is available within the housing market area.
• Provide that where the housing market analysis shows a need for replacement housing, the redevelopment plan must specify how and where the replacement housing will be provided.

4. Establish criteria for determining compensation in takings for redevelopment as follows:

• Provide that compensation is to be based on value at time of adoption of the plan or at time of taking, whichever is higher. This can be based on an index of price appreciation in the municipality or market area.
• Provide that appraisals should take into account, in addition to highest and best use of property, (a) potential increased value as a result of overall economic impact of redevelopment and reuse; (b) impact on quality of life as well as devaluation of property from partial takings.
• Provide that additional compensation is due if taking does not take place by timetable set forth in redevelopment plan.

5. Amend the Revenue Allocation District Financing Act to provide that revenue allocation financing can be used in areas designated as in need of rehabilitation as well as areas in need of redevelopment.

6. Adopt A.252 amending the Uniform Relocation Assistance Law to phase in an increase in relocation assistance payments to current levels based on the increase in the CPI since the assistance payments were established in 1972, and provide for future CPI indexing of relocation assistance payment levels.

7. Amend the Municipal Land Use Law as follows:

• Add a Redevelopment Element as an optional element in the municipal master plan
• Require that that any municipality using its redevelopment powers must either adopt a Redevelopment Element, or incorporate its redevelopment activities in the Land Use Element, setting forth its overall redevelopment strategy, priorities and target areas.

8. Amend the Public Advocate law to provide explicitly that the Public Advocate may monitor and intervene in matters involving redevelopment and the use of eminent domain