Promoting economic growth in New Jersey by creating homes that are affordable to the workforce and friendly to the environment
The Smart Housing Incentive Act is intended to provide people who live and work in New Jersey with greater opportunities for homeownership and rental housing they can afford, especially near jobs and with access to transportation alternatives. This housing will be located and designed to use our natural resources wisely and respect the environment. By meeting the needs of our workforce, it will facilitate economic growth.
The act creates a voluntary state pilot program designed to overcome a key obstacles: local opposition to residential zoning. The program rewards municipalities that adopt as-of-right zoning for housing that is:
1) Well-located – in places where state and regional plans support significant growth, where wastewater can be provided and in an area either near transit, concentrated development, identified by a municipal plan as appropriate for higher density or containing a brownfield or greyfield site.
2) Walkable – compact development with minimum densities ranging from eight units/acre in suburban neighborhoods to 20 units/acre near transit to 50 units/acre in urban downtowns. Public sidewalks and roads must connect the development with surrounding neighborhoods.
3) Water- and energy- efficient – meeting standards for Energy Star and water conservation.
4) Mixed-income – including a mix of opportunities for low, moderate, middle, and upper-income households, thereby helping towns meet COAH requirements and address local housing needs.
The program fosters well-designed projects, by encouraging a mix of uses, authorizing municipalities to adopt design standards and reduced/shared parking requirements, and calling for tailored Residential Site Improvement Standards.
The program offers municipalities three types of incentives:
1) Planning and visioning grants,
2) Incentive payments for every net new unit in an approved Smart Housing Zone of $1,000 when zoning is adopted and $4,000 when construction is complete. Payments are limited to 500 units per municipality for five years.
3) Priority for other state programs that help local officials address the impacts of growth.
Municipalities can spend up to one-half of the incentive payments for any capital or operating expenditure reasonably related to providing services to additional residents. The remainder must be spent on “green investments” such as land preservation, park/public space improvements and energy efficiency measures.
The program would be administered by the Department of Community Affairs. The Department could require a municipality to return incentive funds under certain conditions.
The program can be launched as a revenue-neutral pilot program. Planning grants would be provided using funds from existing programs. A new state revolving fund would be created to pay incentives to municipalities. It would be replenished by developer fees of $4,000 for each net new middle and market-rate unit, and grants from the New Jersey Affordable Housing trust fund for net new low and moderate income units. It was inspired by successful programs operating in Massachusetts and Connecticut.
For more information or sign on as a supporter, call my office district office at (908) 561-5757, or send me an email at asmgreen@njleg.org.
Monday, November 10, 2008
Thursday, November 6, 2008
YES WE DID!!
As Chairman of the Plainfield Democratic Committee, and as a leader in the State of New Jersey, I was asked by the staff of Presidential Elect Barack Obama to speak on his behalf throughout the state, targeting issues and platforms of importance. The entire experience of being in the trenches for OUR new President, as a leader in this great state, put all of my political sacrifices into proper perspective and birthed a new sense of pride to have been a part of this historical Presidential campaign.
The city of Plainfield then added to my speechlessness by having EVERY district vote for Obama in RECORD numbers! The 5,029 newly registered votes, coupled with the record number of people flooding the polls, produced 16,000 voters in Plainfield! Of the 16,000 that voted, 14,498 voted for Obama, while 1,035 voted for McCain. Plainfield gave Barack Obama over 90% of support in terms of percentages.
One of the first phone calls I received on Wednesday morning was from the Obama staff. They called not only to congratulate me in chairing our community’s efforts, but also to applaud and praise our community itself in its POWERFUL message of unity and dedication. They also were astonished by how my efforts rang true and successful throughout the ENTIRE 22nd district. We had volunteers from Plainfield headquarters going into neighboring towns, Scotch Plains, Linden, Rahway, and North Plainfield on behalf of the Obama campaign, inducing record-breaking numbers in support and voting turnout. The numbers clearly speak for themselves.
As I stated Tuesday night at the victory party down at headquarters, the victory in electing Barack Obama President of the United States, is the HIGHLIGHT of my career. There is NOTHING that anyone can say or do to take away from the goals that I set years ago when I first got into politics; a primary one being to make a difference in the political arenas in which I represent. Such a goal was ACCOMPLISHED in working closely with the Obama staff in getting him elected.
One of the things I learned in this election though, is that one can do EVERYTHING the right way and yet still garner negative criticism, even when instances occur that are out my control. For example, the county and state asked members of leadership to send out personal letters, fund them, as well as support ALL Democrats within our respected counties. Unfortunately, some people would like to slant this request in the negative. These sorts of petty issues no longer bother me, nor does the fact that certain parties within our community are PERSISTENT in carrying on with such petty politics. These activities no longer bother me because of the CHANGE that the city of Plainfield, the State of New Jersey, and the entire nation of America has ushered in by electing Barack Obama as President.
During the past two months, I organized, on behalf of the Plainfield Democratic Committee, two very successful rallies for the winning Democratic ticket. I also organized a rally this past Sunday here in Plainfield at the Black United Fund, where at least 400 people came together in means of securing our ‘Get the Vote Out’ Operation. As the numbers do not lie, our operation was a HUGE success.
I am filled with joy and appreciation in witnessing first hand, the team work and unity within our community, as well as the neighboring communities, and would like to personally thank everyone for the determination and poise they showed in getting Barack Obama elected President.
As earlier stated, the results from Tuesday are more important than trying to pick apart the efforts and find something negative, a move attempting to take away from the joy and victory of our effort. Even today when I read the Star Ledger, I was surprised to see a HUGE error in the reporting statistics. Plainfield was the ONLY town in Union County presented in a chart on page 35 in today’s Star Ledger, where the votes for Obama, the 14,498, were put in the McCain column, and the McCain votes, 1,035 were in the Obama column. This misrepresentation can be damaging to our image to readers because it is absolutely false. Therefore, I am curious to see if those negativity-seeking parties will accuse the paper of fraud, or are they going to conduct themselves with the ‘business as usual’ mindset, letting misinformation persist.
One final thought regarding Tuesday’s election results… YES WE CAN! AND YES WE DID! Electing Barack Obama is a huge step in repairing our nation, and the work is only going to begin in January. Let us not become wearing in laboring diligently in positive work, and continue to transcend our nation to the greatness is so honestly deserves!
The city of Plainfield then added to my speechlessness by having EVERY district vote for Obama in RECORD numbers! The 5,029 newly registered votes, coupled with the record number of people flooding the polls, produced 16,000 voters in Plainfield! Of the 16,000 that voted, 14,498 voted for Obama, while 1,035 voted for McCain. Plainfield gave Barack Obama over 90% of support in terms of percentages.
One of the first phone calls I received on Wednesday morning was from the Obama staff. They called not only to congratulate me in chairing our community’s efforts, but also to applaud and praise our community itself in its POWERFUL message of unity and dedication. They also were astonished by how my efforts rang true and successful throughout the ENTIRE 22nd district. We had volunteers from Plainfield headquarters going into neighboring towns, Scotch Plains, Linden, Rahway, and North Plainfield on behalf of the Obama campaign, inducing record-breaking numbers in support and voting turnout. The numbers clearly speak for themselves.
As I stated Tuesday night at the victory party down at headquarters, the victory in electing Barack Obama President of the United States, is the HIGHLIGHT of my career. There is NOTHING that anyone can say or do to take away from the goals that I set years ago when I first got into politics; a primary one being to make a difference in the political arenas in which I represent. Such a goal was ACCOMPLISHED in working closely with the Obama staff in getting him elected.
One of the things I learned in this election though, is that one can do EVERYTHING the right way and yet still garner negative criticism, even when instances occur that are out my control. For example, the county and state asked members of leadership to send out personal letters, fund them, as well as support ALL Democrats within our respected counties. Unfortunately, some people would like to slant this request in the negative. These sorts of petty issues no longer bother me, nor does the fact that certain parties within our community are PERSISTENT in carrying on with such petty politics. These activities no longer bother me because of the CHANGE that the city of Plainfield, the State of New Jersey, and the entire nation of America has ushered in by electing Barack Obama as President.
During the past two months, I organized, on behalf of the Plainfield Democratic Committee, two very successful rallies for the winning Democratic ticket. I also organized a rally this past Sunday here in Plainfield at the Black United Fund, where at least 400 people came together in means of securing our ‘Get the Vote Out’ Operation. As the numbers do not lie, our operation was a HUGE success.
I am filled with joy and appreciation in witnessing first hand, the team work and unity within our community, as well as the neighboring communities, and would like to personally thank everyone for the determination and poise they showed in getting Barack Obama elected President.
As earlier stated, the results from Tuesday are more important than trying to pick apart the efforts and find something negative, a move attempting to take away from the joy and victory of our effort. Even today when I read the Star Ledger, I was surprised to see a HUGE error in the reporting statistics. Plainfield was the ONLY town in Union County presented in a chart on page 35 in today’s Star Ledger, where the votes for Obama, the 14,498, were put in the McCain column, and the McCain votes, 1,035 were in the Obama column. This misrepresentation can be damaging to our image to readers because it is absolutely false. Therefore, I am curious to see if those negativity-seeking parties will accuse the paper of fraud, or are they going to conduct themselves with the ‘business as usual’ mindset, letting misinformation persist.
One final thought regarding Tuesday’s election results… YES WE CAN! AND YES WE DID! Electing Barack Obama is a huge step in repairing our nation, and the work is only going to begin in January. Let us not become wearing in laboring diligently in positive work, and continue to transcend our nation to the greatness is so honestly deserves!
Monday, November 3, 2008
Time to Stand AND Deliver
I had the privilege of meeting with a large group of concerned clergymen of the Plainfield area. In the past, the working relationship between the clergymen and me has been positive and effective; which is why I felt it of dire importance to share with them the urgency of taking our working relationships to higher heights.
The current financial crisis is engulfing our great nation and the State of New Jersey mercilessly. Because of this phenomena, it is key that we do not merely duplicate relief efforts, but UNITE as a community to properly and effectively deal with these problems that we are facing even as a country. We need to come together and press forward to combat these detrimental societal issues such as education. We as a community need to partner up with the Board of Education, to maintain lines of communication. These lines of communication will most certainly induce resolve. In maintaining these sorts of relationships, those same energies can be poured into securing job opportunities, outreach programs, and better clergy-community relations. I do stress the promotion of job opportunities because our community has countless numbers of capable, unemployed citizens; and with the efforts that I would like us to partake in, we will be able to provide a vehicle with such a purpose.
No longer should our local communities be dependant upon federal and state funding. Do not get me wrong, such funding is helpful beyond explanation, but we as a community should wean ourselves from its dependence; for such funding should serve as supplemental or emergency-oriented funding/spending. We should begin to deliver services through our communal assets; church and volunteer organizations and others because these sorts of services are centrally rooted within the community. As our current national, statewide, and local crises ensue, it is evident that emergency lending from the federal and state levels is necessary. Having a solid, attentive community would allow for the incoming relief funding to touch, saturate, those who are in direct need of it. This sort of unity will deny such funding to be left up to chance.
A significant issue the clergy and me discussed the other night was the institution of a progressive re-entry program within our community. This program would provide the necessary aid to help those in need, reestablish their ties to the community. In order for this type of program to be successful, we need to first accept the reality that ex-convicts, once released, have paid their debts to society, and should not be put through societal double jeopardy. If we do not embrace this reality, then we will sadly see the rate of recidivism increase.
Therefore, in turning the corner in facilitating healthy communication within our community, it is time for us to forge together and cease in the damaging criticisms of ourselves. In short, let us move out of a sort of crab-mentality, and propel members of our community to lengths of greatness. Criticism, let me say, is positive and needed, so long as it is constructive. However, the constant battering and shooting-down of positive movements by peoples in our community will continue to divide us and weaken bonds of kinship. It is time now for us to come together and bring solutions, as a whole, to the table.
Due to the crisis on Wall Street, we can no longer judge and debase individuals who have been rendered homeless, for, there are FAMILIES who were generating incomes of $100,000 a year who are sadly ONE paycheck away from homelessness. Credit cards are maxed out, equity is shot, and there monies have been lost in a failing market. Our aid needs to reach even those families, thus garnering an all-inclusive grasp of our community. Reverend DeForest ‘Buster’ Soaries and his organization and I have agreed to collaborate and assemble a group of knowledgeable citizens, in the field of foreclosures and financial crises, who will be able to assist and met needs within our community. This group will provide a means to reaching projected goals and meet needs of those in need.
His program, along with others across the state, is ready NOW to address these issues and solicit help for those in need. Until we get OUR service program in place, I recommend Plainfield and neighboring communities, reach out to my office so that we can better assist you with your needs. The feedback I received from the forum the other night was tremendous; which is why I know and believe that we as a community can continue to move in this sound direction of solution and result in dealing with these dire issues. I will take any suggestions from the community that may help to resolve the problems and issues afflicting our community. This is a time wherein the community needs to feast on positivity, and have negativity laid to rest. I hope and pray that the city will take a supporting stance in the suggestions I am voicing, because no one knows when the threat of hard economic or social times may befall them. So again, if you have ANY recommendations or suggestions to the current crises in our community, do not hesitate to call my district office at (908) 561-5757.
On a crisis that everyone within the State of New Jersey is facing, it is important to keep in perspective that this crisis affects democrats, republicans, and independents. This explains why I am receiving STRONG bi-partisan support from Trenton. Unfortunately, there is a consistent handful of people in Plainfield that cannot discern between good government and personal vendettas. To them, I say directly, I am receiving hefty support from ALL avenues of people; from people of different races, creeds, and political stances, democratic, republican, and independent. Now is the time to set aside PETTY politics and assume COMPLETE concern in the collective effort of achieving solutions, and overcoming this current crisis.
The current financial crisis is engulfing our great nation and the State of New Jersey mercilessly. Because of this phenomena, it is key that we do not merely duplicate relief efforts, but UNITE as a community to properly and effectively deal with these problems that we are facing even as a country. We need to come together and press forward to combat these detrimental societal issues such as education. We as a community need to partner up with the Board of Education, to maintain lines of communication. These lines of communication will most certainly induce resolve. In maintaining these sorts of relationships, those same energies can be poured into securing job opportunities, outreach programs, and better clergy-community relations. I do stress the promotion of job opportunities because our community has countless numbers of capable, unemployed citizens; and with the efforts that I would like us to partake in, we will be able to provide a vehicle with such a purpose.
No longer should our local communities be dependant upon federal and state funding. Do not get me wrong, such funding is helpful beyond explanation, but we as a community should wean ourselves from its dependence; for such funding should serve as supplemental or emergency-oriented funding/spending. We should begin to deliver services through our communal assets; church and volunteer organizations and others because these sorts of services are centrally rooted within the community. As our current national, statewide, and local crises ensue, it is evident that emergency lending from the federal and state levels is necessary. Having a solid, attentive community would allow for the incoming relief funding to touch, saturate, those who are in direct need of it. This sort of unity will deny such funding to be left up to chance.
A significant issue the clergy and me discussed the other night was the institution of a progressive re-entry program within our community. This program would provide the necessary aid to help those in need, reestablish their ties to the community. In order for this type of program to be successful, we need to first accept the reality that ex-convicts, once released, have paid their debts to society, and should not be put through societal double jeopardy. If we do not embrace this reality, then we will sadly see the rate of recidivism increase.
Therefore, in turning the corner in facilitating healthy communication within our community, it is time for us to forge together and cease in the damaging criticisms of ourselves. In short, let us move out of a sort of crab-mentality, and propel members of our community to lengths of greatness. Criticism, let me say, is positive and needed, so long as it is constructive. However, the constant battering and shooting-down of positive movements by peoples in our community will continue to divide us and weaken bonds of kinship. It is time now for us to come together and bring solutions, as a whole, to the table.
Due to the crisis on Wall Street, we can no longer judge and debase individuals who have been rendered homeless, for, there are FAMILIES who were generating incomes of $100,000 a year who are sadly ONE paycheck away from homelessness. Credit cards are maxed out, equity is shot, and there monies have been lost in a failing market. Our aid needs to reach even those families, thus garnering an all-inclusive grasp of our community. Reverend DeForest ‘Buster’ Soaries and his organization and I have agreed to collaborate and assemble a group of knowledgeable citizens, in the field of foreclosures and financial crises, who will be able to assist and met needs within our community. This group will provide a means to reaching projected goals and meet needs of those in need.
His program, along with others across the state, is ready NOW to address these issues and solicit help for those in need. Until we get OUR service program in place, I recommend Plainfield and neighboring communities, reach out to my office so that we can better assist you with your needs. The feedback I received from the forum the other night was tremendous; which is why I know and believe that we as a community can continue to move in this sound direction of solution and result in dealing with these dire issues. I will take any suggestions from the community that may help to resolve the problems and issues afflicting our community. This is a time wherein the community needs to feast on positivity, and have negativity laid to rest. I hope and pray that the city will take a supporting stance in the suggestions I am voicing, because no one knows when the threat of hard economic or social times may befall them. So again, if you have ANY recommendations or suggestions to the current crises in our community, do not hesitate to call my district office at (908) 561-5757.
On a crisis that everyone within the State of New Jersey is facing, it is important to keep in perspective that this crisis affects democrats, republicans, and independents. This explains why I am receiving STRONG bi-partisan support from Trenton. Unfortunately, there is a consistent handful of people in Plainfield that cannot discern between good government and personal vendettas. To them, I say directly, I am receiving hefty support from ALL avenues of people; from people of different races, creeds, and political stances, democratic, republican, and independent. Now is the time to set aside PETTY politics and assume COMPLETE concern in the collective effort of achieving solutions, and overcoming this current crisis.
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