Bill Text: NJ S3066 | 2022-2023 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Prohibits construction of commercial or industrial buildings within certain distance of residential homes without homeowner approval; requires development of waiver form to allow construction of commercial or industrial buildings.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-09-29 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S3066 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2022-S3066-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Senator EDWARD DURR
District 3 (Cumberland, Gloucester and Salem)
SYNOPSIS
Prohibits construction of commercial or industrial buildings within certain distance of residential homes without homeowner approval; requires development of waiver form to allow construction of commercial or industrial buildings.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning construction of commercial or industrial buildings within certain distance of residential homes and supplementing P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. The Legislature finds and declares that:
a. Water damage is one of the leading causes of home insurance claims in the country. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), just one inch of water can cause upwards of $25,000 in damages, and the average flood insurance claim in 2021 was approximately $44,400 for residential properties.
b. The NFIP estimates that homeowners are 27 times more likely to experience a flood than a fire during a 30-year mortgage, and 25 percent of all flood claims occur to homes outside of high-risk areas.
c. The construction of commercial or industrial buildings requires an extensive amount of both soil and vegetation removal, and the grading and leveling of land surfaces. These processes significantly impact water drainage and stress the surrounding properties with excessive water runoff from rainfall and snowmelt.
d. Given the potential for significant water damage associated with the construction of commercial or industrial buildings, it is fitting and proper that site plans for the construction of new commercial or industrial buildings should not be approved without first obtaining a waiver from the residential homeowners who will be impacted by the construction.
2. a. A municipal approving authority shall not approve any site plan for the construction of a new commercial or industrial building within 5,000 feet of one or more existing residential homes without first obtaining a waiver from each residential homeowner within that radius approving the construction.
b. The governing body of each municipality shall develop a waiver form to be utilized by a municipal approving authority, pursuant to subsection a. of this section, to obtain permission from residential homeowners for the construction of a new commercial or industrial building.
c. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, the Commissioner of Community Affairs shall develop harmonized guidelines for a municipal governing body to establish a waiver form required pursuant to subsection b. of this section. The guidelines shall include, but not be limited to:
(1) the manner and form in which impacted residential homeowners shall be notified of the proposed construction of a new commercial or industrial building;
(2) the manner in which the waiver shall be distributed to, and collected from, the impacted residential homeowners;
(3) the time frame in which the waiver shall be distributed to, and collected from, the impacted residential homeowners; and
(4) the posting of the results of the waivers on the municipality's Internet website and process for residential homeowners to verify the accuracy and authenticity of the waivers.
The commissioner shall distribute the guidelines developed to the governing body of each municipality in this State.
d. As used in P.L. , c. (C. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill), "commercial or industrial building" means a building, or part thereof, used for the manufacturing, processing, or assembling of material or manufactured products, or for research, office, industrial, commercial, retail, recreational, hotel or motel facilities, or warehousing purposes, or for any combination thereof.
3. This act shall take effect immediately and shall apply to any commercial or industrial building for which preliminary site plan approval is solicited on or after the 90th day following the date of enactment.
STATEMENT
This bill prohibits a municipal approving authority from approving any site plan for the construction of a new commercial or industrial building within 5,000 feet of one or more existing residential homes without first obtaining a waiver from each residential homeowner within that radius approving the construction. Under the bill, the governing body of each municipality is required to develop a waiver form to be utilized by a municipal approving authority to obtain permission from residential homeowners for the construction of a new commercial or industrial building.
The Commissioner of Community Affairs is required to develop harmonized guidelines for a municipal governing body to establish the waiver form. The guidelines would include, but not be limited to:
· the manner and form in which impacted residential homeowners will be notified of the proposed construction of a new commercial or industrial building;
· the manner in which the waiver will be distributed to, and collected from, the impacted residential homeowners;
· the time frame in which the waiver will be distributed to, and collected from, the impacted residential homeowners; and
· the posting of the results of the waivers on the municipality's Internet website and process for residential homeowners to verify the accuracy and authenticity of the waivers.
Water damage is one of the leading causes of home insurance claims in the country. According to the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP), just one inch of water can cause upwards of $25,000 in damages, and the average flood insurance claim in 2021 was approximately $44,400 for residential properties. The construction of commercial or industrial buildings requires an extensive amount of both soil and vegetation removal, and the grading and leveling of land surfaces. These processes significantly impact water drainage and stress the surrounding properties with excessive water runoff from rainfall and snowmelt.
