Affordable Housing Need Endures
The issue of where to create new housing opportunities, how many homes should be built, and who should be able to live in them is a very contentious subject in the State of New Jersey. Just mention "COAH" in some places and hear the battle lines being drawn. And yet several weeks ago, a compromise was reached in the legislature that should have been welcomed by all parties.
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It took months of negotiations between mayors, developers and advocates to create a workable alternative to the current situation. The final proposal even included some of the Governor's main goals: the abolition of COAH and getting rid of the developer's fees.
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Assembly representatives Jerry Green and Mila Jasey, co-sponsors of the bill, worked hard to balance a wide range of interests and viewpoints. Without Assemblyman Green's thoughtful leadership, the bill might have died in committee. Instead, it was passed by both houses and is supported by everyone from business interests to housing activists.
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And yet the Governor vetoed it, issuing conditions that would effectively strip the bill of everything that would ensure fair treatment to those who cannot afford $500,000 homes.
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Without State oversight and without clear mandates, there will be no new homes for everyday working people and struggling families. Towns like Plainfield, Roselle and East Orange would be forced, yet again, to carry water for places like Watchung, Summit, and Westfield, places that have escaped their obligations for too long.
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Why throw away all the hard work that has been done so far? Why not take this workable bill and keep New Jersey moving forward?
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Rev. Julia Hamilton
Executive Director
Unitarian Universalist Legislative Ministry of New Jersey
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