What's Inside

• What's New...
  • COAH Adopts New Third Round Regulations
    The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) adopted its revised third round rules and methodology at its monthly COAH Board meeting in May. Additionally, as a result of the over 4,800 public comments received regarding the new rules, the Board also voted on a series of amendments. The new rules, which went into effect on June 2, 2008, continue to use a growth share approach which bases municipal affordable housing obligations on market-rate residential and non-residential growth.
  • New Law Broadens Notification Requirements for New Jersey Site Remediation Projects
    Recent amendments to New Jersey’s contaminated site remediation statute expand the list of local and county officials that parties responsible for a remediation must notify of those activities. The changes, signed into law by Governor Corzine on January 14, 2008, also add to the list of documents that parties responsible for a remediation must make available to those officials.
  • COAH Proposes New Third Round Rules
    On December 17, 2007, the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) voted to propose its revised third round regulations resulting from the Appellate Division Decision on January 25, 2007. The rules are scheduled to be published in the January 22, 2008 New Jersey Register.
    Visit the two sites listed below for additional information: http://www.state.nj.us/dca/coah/dec07proposal.shtml; http://www.state.nj.us/dca/news/news/2007/approved/071217.html.
    
  • Following Gallenthin's Lead, Court Invalidates Newark's Designation of the Mulberry Street Area as 'An Area in Need of Redevelopment'
  
  
  • On October 9, 2007, Joseph V. Doria, Jr. was sworn in as Acting Commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs. Click here for more information.
• Articles...
  • Appellate Court Broadens Property Owners’ Right to Challenge Redevelopment Designations in New Jersey
    
• Proposed Eminent Domain Legislation
  • Federal
  • Other States
  • New Jersey and Analysis of Assembly Bill to Significantly Change Redevelopment Law
    
• Agency Contacts
  • Federal
  • New Jersey

THE KELO DECISION

Supreme Court Upholds Use of Eminent Domain for
Economic Development
In the closely-watched case of Kelo v. City of New London, a sharply divided U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that the use of eminent domain for economic development constitutes a valid public purpose and therefore is permissible under the Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution. The decision vests state and local governments with broad power to enact laws allowing for acquisition of private property by eminent domain as part of a comprehensive redevelopment initiative, even where the property to be acquired is not blighted or in need of redevelopment. Read more on this.

"Redevelopment" is the cooperative public-private process of clearing away the existing improvements on a property and replacing them with new improvements designed to promote government policy goals.