Bipartisan Bill to
Extend Permit Expiration Dates Advanced by Assembly Panel
(TRENTON Patrick Diegnan and Paul Moriarty to extend
expiration dates for certain state and local permits.
The bill (A-3815) would extend for two years the expiration dates of certain
permits pursuant to the “Permit Extension Act of 2008.” The law originally
suspended the running of certain government approvals until July 1, 2010. A
2012 extended the end date to Dec. 31, 2014. This bill would further extend the
date to Dec. 31, 2015.
“As a result of the recent
recession, once-approved permits are in danger of expiring or lapsing because
gaining permit extensions is difficult and costly and developers do not have
the resources to obtain extensions,” said Green (D-Middlesex/Somerset/Union).
“By extending permits with this bill, we can prevent a waste of public and
private resources.”
“When permit approvals lapse, lenders have to re-appraise, and that
substantially lowers real estate valuations established in conjunction with
approved projects, which then leads to the reclassification of numerous loans,”
said Burzichelli (D-Cumberland/Gloucester/Salem). “This permit extension is
necessary to avoid a vicious cycle of default.”
“This bill will ensure that there are sufficient funds available for future
lending and that there are fewer restrictions on credit,” said Singleton
(D-Burlington). “The wellness of state, regional, county and municipal agencies
is dependent upon this measure.”
“The economic downturn had a negative effect on the state’s banking, real
estate and construction sectors, and the extreme tightening of lending
standards for home buyers and other real estate borrowers has reduced access to
the capital markets,” said Johnson (D-Bergen). “The process of obtaining
planning board and zoning board of adjustment approvals for subdivisions, site
plans and variances can be difficult, time consuming and expensive, both for
private applicants and government bodies. This extension is intended to make
things easier as we continue to recover.”
“Once a permit expires,
it can be impossible to renew or re-obtain. Unfortunately, many landowners and
developers are seeing their life's work destroyed by the lack of credit and
dearth of buyers and tenants, due to the crisis in real estate financing and
the building industry, uncertainty over the state of the economy and increasing
levels of unemployment in the construction industry,” said Diegnan
(D-Middlesex). “This measure will facilitate operations considering the
still-dire state of our economy.”
“As a result of the continued downturn of the economy, and the continued
expiration of approvals which were granted by state and local governments, it
is possible that thousands of government actions will be undone by the passage
of time,” said Moriarty (D-Camden/Gloucester). “Obtaining an extension of an
approval pursuant to existing statutory or regulatory provisions can be both
costly in terms of time and financial resources, and insufficient to cope with
the extent of the present financial situation. This legislation will avoid
unnecessary costs being imposed on both the public and private sectors.”
The bill was advanced by the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, of which Burzichelli is chair.
No comments:
Post a Comment