Bill Text: NJ A2104 | 2018-2019 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Modifies intent, purpose and standard of construction of "Municipal Land Use Law."
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-01-09 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly State and Local Government Committee [A2104 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2018-A2104-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
218th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2018 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman JERRY GREEN
District 22 (Middlesex, Somerset and Union)
SYNOPSIS
Modifies intent, purpose and standard of construction of "Municipal Land Use Law."
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning municipal land use and amending P.L.1975, c.291.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 2 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-2) is amended to read as follows:
2. It is the intent and purpose of this act:
a. To encourage municipal action to guide the appropriate use or development of all lands in this State, in a manner which will promote the public health, safety, morals, and general welfare;
b. To secure safety from fire, flood, panic and other natural and man-made disasters;
c. To provide adequate light, air and open space;
d. To ensure that the development of individual municipalities does not conflict with the development and general welfare of neighboring municipalities, the county and the State as a whole;
e. To promote the establishment of appropriate population densities and concentrations that will contribute to the well-being of persons, neighborhoods, communities and regions and preservation of the environment;
f. To encourage the appropriate and efficient expenditure of public funds by the coordination of public development with land use policies;
g. To provide sufficient space in appropriate locations for a variety of agricultural, residential, recreational, commercial and industrial uses and open space, both public and private, according to their respective environmental requirements in order to meet the needs of all New Jersey citizens;
h. To encourage the location and design of transportation routes which will promote the free flow of traffic while discouraging location of such facilities and routes which result in congestion or blight;
i. To promote a desirable visual environment through creative development techniques and good civic design and arrangement;
j. To promote the conservation of historic sites and districts, open space, energy resources and valuable natural resources in the State and to prevent urban sprawl and degradation of the environment through improper use of land;
k. To encourage planned unit developments which incorporate the best features of design and relate the type, design and layout of residential, commercial, industrial and recreational development to the particular site;
l. To encourage senior citizen community housing construction;
m. To encourage coordination of the various public and private procedures and activities shaping land development with a view of lessening the cost of such development and to the more efficient use of land;
n. To promote utilization of renewable energy resources; [and]
o. To promote the maximum practicable recovery and recycling of recyclable materials from municipal solid waste through the use of planning practices designed to incorporate the State Recycling Plan goals and to complement municipal recycling programs; and
p. To provide a supply of housing adequate to meet the demographic, social, and economic needs of the State's diverse and dynamic population.
(cf: P.L.1987, c.102, s.25)
2. Section 79 of P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-92) is amended to read as follows:
79. This act, P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.), being necessary for the welfare of the State and its inhabitants, and being an enabling act representing a delegation of the State's police power to municipalities pursuant to Article IV, Section VI, paragraph 2 of the State Constitution, shall be considered [liberally to effect the purposes thereof] in such a manner as to grant power only to the extent specifically provided for herein.
(cf: P.L.1975, c.291, s.79)
3. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would specifically add as an intent and purpose of the "Municipal Land Use Law," N.J.S.A.40:55D-1 et seq., the intention and purpose of providing a supply of housing adequate to meet the demographic, social, and economic needs of the State's diverse and dynamic population.
The bill would also alter the existing statement of statutory construction contained in the "Municipal Land Use Law," which currently provides that the law shall be liberally constructed to effect the purposes thereof, by providing that the law would be construed in such a manner as to grant power only to the extent specifically provided for within the law.
