ASSEMBLY, No. 1583
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
INTRODUCED FEBRUARY 22, 1996
By Assemblymen AZZOLINA and DORIA
An Act concerning the extension of certain approvals and amending P.L.1992, c.82.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1992, c.82 (40:55D-131) is amended to read as follows:
2. The Legislature finds and determines that:
a. There exists a state of economic emergency in the State of New Jersey, which began on January 1, 1989, and is anticipated to extend at least through December 31, 1996, which has drastically affected various segments of the New Jersey economy, but none as severely as the State's banking, real estate and construction sectors.
b. The process of obtaining planning and zoning board of adjustment approvals for subdivisions, site plans and variances is difficult, time consuming and expensive, both for private applicants and government bodies.
c. The process of obtaining the myriad other government approvals, such as wetlands permits, sewer extension permits, on-site wastewater disposal permits, stream encroachment permits, highway access permits, and numerous waivers and variances, is also difficult and expensive; further, changes in the law can render these approvals, if expired or lapsed, impossible to renew or to re-obtain.
d. The current economic crisis has wreaked devastation on the building industry, and many landowners and developers are seeing their life's work destroyed by the lack of credit and dearth of buyers and tenants, due to uncertainty over the state of the economy and high levels of unemployment.
e. The construction industry and related trades are sustaining severe economic losses, and the lapsing of government development approvals is exacerbating those losses.
f. Due to the current inability of builders to obtain construction financing, under existing economic conditions, more and more once-approved permits are expiring or lapsing and, as these approvals lapse, lenders must re-appraise and thereafter substantially lower real estate valuations established in conjunction with approved projects, thereby requiring the reclassification of numerous loans which, in turn, affects the stability of the banking system and reduces the funds available for future lending, thus creating more severe restrictions on credit and leading to a vicious cycle of default.
g. As a result of the continued downturn of the economy, and the continued expiration of approvals which were granted by State and local governments, it is possible that thousands of government actions will be undone by the passage of time.
h. Obtaining an extension of an approval pursuant to existing statutory or regulatory provisions is both costly in terms of time and financial resources, and insufficient to cope with the extent of the present financial emergency; moreover, the costs imposed fall on the public as well as the private sector.
i. Obtaining extensions of approvals granted by State government is frequently impossible, always difficult, and always expensive and no policy reason is served by the expiration of these permits, which were usually approved only after exhaustive review of the application. j. It is the purpose of this act to prevent the wholesale abandonment of approvals due to the present unfavorable economic conditions, by tolling the expiration of these approvals until such time as the economy improves, thereby preventing a waste of public and private resources.
k. It is the purpose of this act to extend permits and other approvals that are regulatory in nature and not to extend contracts and other agreements entered into by a government entity which acts in a proprietary, nonregulatory capacity with respect to development activites. Further, it is not the purpose of this act to extend contracts and other agreements entered into by a government entity which acts in a proprietary, nonregulatory capacity with respect to the acquisition, ownership, maintenance, improvement, use or sale of property for conservation, recreation, water supply or other public purposes, or with respect to actions to quiet title to riparian lands or with respect to the granting of a conveyance, easement, license or lease pursuant to State riparian law.
(cf: P.L.1994, c.145, s.1)
2. Section 3 of P.L.1992, c.82 (C.40:55D-132) is amended to read as follows:
3. As used in this act:
"Approval" means any approval of a soil erosion and sediment control plan granted by a local soil conservation district under the authority conferred by R.S.4:24-22 et seq., waterfront development permit issued pursuant to R.S.12:5-1 et seq., permit issued pursuant to "The Wetlands Act of 1970," P.L.1970, c.272 (C.13:9A-10 et seq.), permit issued pursuant to the "Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act," P.L.1987, c.156 (C.13:9B-1 et seq.), approval of an application for development granted by the Delaware and Raritan Canal Commission pursuant to the "Delaware and Raritan Canal State Park Law of 1974," P.L.1974, c.118 (C.13:13A-1 et seq.), permit issued by the Hackensack Meadowlands Development Commission pursuant to the "Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act," P.L.1968, c.404 (C.13:17-1 et seq.), approval of an application for development granted by the Pinelands Commission pursuant to the "Pinelands Protection Act," P.L.1979, c.111 (C.13:18A-1 et seq.), permit issued pursuant to the "Coastal Area Facility Review Act," P.L.1973, c.185 (C.13:19-1 et seq.), septic approval granted pursuant to Title 26 of the Revised Statutes, permit granted pursuant to R.S.27:7-1 et seq. or any supplement thereto, permit granted by the Department of Transportation pursuant to Title 27 of the Revised Statutes or under the general authority conferred by State law, approval granted by a sewerage authority pursuant to the "sewerage authorities law," P.L.1946, c.138 (C.40:14A-1 et seq.), approval granted by a municipal authority pursuant to the "municipal and county utilities authorities law," P.L.1957, c.183 (C.40:14B-1 et seq.), approval issued by a county planning board pursuant to Chapter 27 of Title 40 of the Revised Statutes, preliminary and final approval granted in connection with an application for development pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.), permit granted pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) permit or certification issued pursuant to the "Water Supply Management Act," P.L.1981, c.262 (C.58:1A-1 et seq.), permit granted authorizing the drilling of a well pursuant to P.L.1947, c.377 (C.58:4A-5 et seq.), certification or permit granted, or exemption from a sewerage connection ban granted, pursuant to the "Water Pollution Control Act," P.L.1977, c.74 (C.58:10A-1 et seq.), certification granted pursuant to "The Realty Improvement Sewerage and Facilities Act (1954)," P.L.1954, c.199 (C.58:11-23 et seq.), certification or approval granted pursuant to P.L.1971, c.386 (C.58:11-25.1 et al.), certification issued pursuant to the "Water Quality Planning Act," P.L.1977, c.75 (C.58:11A-1 et seq.), approval granted pursuant to the "Safe Drinking Water Act," P.L.1977, c.224 (C.58:12A-1 et seq.), stream encroachment permit issued pursuant to the "Flood Hazard Area Control Act," P.L.1962, c.19 (C.58:16A-50 et seq.), any municipal or county approval or permit granted under the general authority conferred by State law, or any other government authorization of any development application or any permit related thereto whether that authorization is in the form of a permit, approval, license, certification, waiver, letter of interpretation, agreement or any other executive or administrative decision which allows a development to proceed ; except that approval shall not include any contract, option agreement, memorandum of agreement, memorandum of understanding, conveyence, easement, license, or State riparian lease, or any other agreement, entered into by a government entity which is exercising proprietary, nonregulatory functions .
"Development" means the division of a parcel of land into two or more parcels, the construction, reconstruction, conversion, structural alteration, relocation or enlargement of any building or other structure or facility, or of any grading, soil removal or relocation, excavation or landfill or any use or change in the use of any building or other structure or land or extension of the use of land.
"Economic emergency" means the period beginning January 1, 1989 and continuing through to December 31, 1996.
"Government" means any municipal, county, regional or State government, or any agency, department, commission or other instrumentality thereof.
(cf: P.L.1994, c.145, s.2)
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall be retroactive to August 7, 1992.
STATEMENT
This bill would amend the “Permit Extension Act,” P.L.1992, c.82 (C.40:55D-130 et seq.) to clarify that it does not apply to actions on the part of government that are proprietary in nature. Many government departments and agencies enter in agreements or grant approvals that are not regulatory in nature. The “Permit Extension Act” was never intended to extend those agreements. Rather, the “Permit Extension Act” was intended to extend only regulatory approvals issued by various governmental entities. This bill would prevent the application of the act to agreements in which a government entity is acting in a quasi-private capacity. For example, the Economic Development Authority has no regulatory functions but does function in a proprietary manner to foster development by entering into contracts and agreements. A mandatory extension of those contracts and agreements to December 31, 1996 would nullify contract rights held by the EDA and would render it ineffective in its mission to the detriment of the public interest. Because the “Permit Extension Act” was never intended to apply to nonregulatory approvals, the provisions of this bill are retroactive to the date the act was approved, August 7, 1992.
Clarifies that Permit Extension Act does not apply to proprietary agreements.