newjerseynewsroom.com

Housing advocates lobbied lawmakers urging the delay

BY TOM HESTER SR.

NEWJERSEYNEWSROOM.COM

The state Senate Monday postponed a vote on legislation that would abolish the state Council on Affordable Housing and give cities and towns more power in determining how much affordable housing they should provide.

As senators gathered for a mid-afternoon voting session, word came that the proposal (S-1) has been held and that amendments would be offered during the session. If there are floor amendments, it would be highly unlikely a vote on the bill would follow.

Affordable housing advocates who oppose the legislation theorize that the sponsors, Sen. Raymond J. Lesniak (D-Union) and Sen. Christopher Bateman (R-Somerset) do not have the 21 votes needed for passage. Sen. Loretta Weinberg (D-Bergen) said publicly that she would not support the measure.

Staci Berger, director of advocacy and policy for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, said leaders of her organization met with the staff of Senate President Stephen M. Sweeney (D-Gloucester) last week and that advocates contacted senators even through the weekend urging them to oppose the bill.

Bergen said over the past week, dozens of groups contacted senators urging them to delay the vote. Sge said the organizations include civil rights, clergy, special needs housing providers, non-profit housing developers, tenant advocates, planners and environmentalists.

"It's definitely a move in the right direction,'' Berger said the delay. "It will give time for folks to look at the legislation. It's good that they hit the pause button.''

Berger added, "Nobody has seen or heard about the amendments so we don't know if they will make the bill better or worse.''

When they introduced the bill in January, Lesniak and Bateman said they wanted to see it approved by the Senate by the end of March. With the Legislature turning its attention to the 2010-11 budget, no Senate voting session is scheduled in the near future.‘'

While Lesniak and Bateman maintain their bill would provide more affordable housing, the advocates charge it would gut the state's current housing policy and reduce the number of homes built near jobs and transit.

"We applaud members of the Senate for listening to their constituents and the broad array of organizations opposed to Senator Lesniak's bill in its current form,'' Berger said. "We hope that these amendments improve the most egregious elements of this bill.''

Derek Roseman, a spokesman for the Senate Democrats, said late Monday afternoon that he expects Lesniak to offer amendments but did not know when that may occur.

The advocates questioned whether the proposal still has momentum, given Gov. Chris Christie's unexpected revocation Friday of an executive order that haled all activities of COAH and established a panel to examine the state's role, if any, in providing affordable housing. The panel submitted its recommendations on Friday.

"Governor Christie has realized that his actions were illegal and unconstitutional," Kevin Walsh, associate director of Fair Share Housing Center said. "He has rescinded his order in an attempt to avoid defending his actions before the courts."

"The process for housing reform in both the Senate and with the governor's task force seems to have gone off track,'' said Adam Gordon, Fair Share's counsel. "Going forward, we urge the Legislature and the executive branch to fully open the discussion of the housing policy New Jersey needs to all stakeholders and not just the special interests."