State Senate President Steve Sweeney looks to move after the election to add to a bill already in Assembly to curb development
By Jon Hurdle, Contributing Writer, NJ Spotlight
Towns would be unable to designate farmland for commercial redevelopment under legislative proposals that are aimed at curbing warehouse sprawl in New Jersey.
Senate President Steve Sweeney (D-Gloucester) and Sen. Dawn Addiego (D-Burlington) are now looking to exclude farmland from redevelopment or rehabilitation under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law of 1992, which allows municipalities to designate land for those purposes.
The proposal has already been made in an Assembly bill (A-5793) introduced by Assemblymen Parker Space (R-Morris, Sussex, Warren) and Eric Houghtaling (D-Monmouth) on June 1. The Senate version is expected to mirror the Assembly’s.
Ongoing warehouse boom prompts renewed calls for broader regulation
A Senate bill, expected to be introduced after the November elections, would change the definitions of redevelopment and rehabilitation under the law so that farmland can’t be used for commercial development such as warehouses.
“In the last few years, we have taken great lengths to protect our state’s farmlands,” Sweeney said in a statement last week. “By taking these steps to exclude farmland from being classified as a redevelopment area or rehabilitation area, we are further ensuring the protection of these vital spaces and preventing further warehouse sprawl, which will help keep New Jersey green for decades to come.”
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