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TOM HESTER SR.
NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM
Six weeks after its formation, a five-member panel has submitted recommendations to Gov. Chris Christie on what the state government's role should be, if any, in providing affordable housing in New Jersey.
The submission of the recommendations could not have been more timely. It enabled Christie to issue an executive order Friday that rescinded an order of Feb. 9 that created the so-called Housing Opportunity Task Force and led to the dismissal of a court action brought by affordable housing advocates that claimed the segment of the order that halted the activities of the state Council on Affordable Housing were unconstitutional. A court hearing was set for Monday in Newark.
Christie sent a letter to appeal court Judge Stephen Skillman notifying him they Feb. 9 order had been rescinded.
The panel, headed by former state senator Marcia Karrow (R-Hunterdon) had 90 days to submit its recommendations. It took 38 days.
Early Friday evening, Christie issued a statement.
"My administration has received the report of the Housing Opportunity Task Force and will begin immediately reviewing its findings and recommendations. I want to thank the chairwoman of the task force, former Senator Marcia Karrow, and the other members for their hard work and service. It is time for us to chart a new course and implement a sensible planning system that considers economic growth and development along with our affordable housing needs. I look forward to working with Senators Lesniak and Bateman and Assemblymen Green and Rible in these reform efforts."The court action was sought by the Cherry-Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.
"Governor Christie has, at the last minute, rescinded Executive Order 12 in an attempt to avoid a court determination that his actions to shut down the Council on Affordable Housing violated the New Jersey Constitution's separation of powers doctrine,'' said Kevin Walsh, Fair Share's associate director.
"Governor Christie has realized that his actions were illegal and unconstitutional," Walsh said. "He has rescinded his order in an attempt to avoid defending his actions before the courts."
The state attorney general's office has been permitted to file a motion explaining the content of the new order and the rescission of the Feb. 9 order, after which the Skillman will determine if any further court action is necessary.
The full Senate is set to vote Monday on the Lesniak-Bateman bill (S-1), which would abolish COAH.
The other task force members were: Rutgers University Prof. James Hughes, Perth Amboy Mayor Wilda Diaz, Morris Plains Mayor Frank Druetzler, and Ira Oskowsky, former director of the state Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
