Last week the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to eliminate the American Community Survey (ACS). The vote came during consideration of the FY 2013 funding bill for the Department of Commerce. This action strikes at the heart of the quality of federal data for local planning. ACS was created as the replacement for census “long form” data. Thus, ACS is the only source for a variety of critical housing, demographic, economic and social data.

The Senate is expected to take up its version of the Commerce Department funding bill as early as next week. A broad coalition of organizations, ranging from major business groups to civil rights organizations, are working to ensure the Senate understands the vital importance of ACS and the role of small area data in making good policy and economic decisions. ACS is also the base for a variety of formula allocations for federal and state programs. Suffice to say, ACS is an important source of information that can’t be found elsewhere.

How You Can Help:

Individuals -  Contact Senator Menendenz and Senator Lautenberg

Dear Senator,

Last week, the House voted to eliminate one of the most crucial tools available to the government to determine how to distribute federal and state funding—the American Community Survey. I urge you not to make the same mistake this week and support full funding for the ACS.

The American Community Survey (ACS) is an ongoing survey that analyzes community data yearly, giving a better snapshot of a population than the decennial Census. The ACS survey collects information on a number of economic, social, and educational factors not included in the decennial Census, including: income, health insurance, education level, veteran status, disabilities, transportation, work, housing, and the cost of living. The information collected by the ACS is critical to helping the government determine the annual distribution of more than $400 billion in federal and state funds.

Without this data, determining the true needs of a community and ensuring that funds are properly distributed will be much more difficult. Communities that have a desperate need for resources may be short-changed, impacting local economies and the national economic recovery.

When you vote on the Commerce, Justice, and Science FY13 spending bill this week, please support the ACS by voting to give the survey full funding.

Thank you,
 

Organizations - APA-NJ has just signed on to a national letter being organized by the Census Project.  Contact Brendan Nichols at the Census Project bnichols@ccmc.org with your organizations name and town to add your support.  DEADLINE – CLOSE OF BUSINESS TOMORROW (5/17)

The American Planning Association – New Jersey Chapter (APA – NJ) is calling for volunteers to pilot the first round of projects for the 2012 Community Planning Assistance Program (CPAP). The CPAP is a volunteer-led professional effort to provide pro bono planning services to community based planning efforts. Each project will advance the APA’s planning agenda, and provide dynamic and effective community development practice to initiatives throughout the State. The following projects are being launch in Spring/Summer of 2012.

Planning Curriculum Development in Newark Public Schools

The CPAP is working in conjunction with Newark Early College High School to conduct a pilot project that will incorporate a groundbreaking community and economic development component in to their social studies curriculum. The project will model a five to six week workshop where students will be expected to compile a neighborhood plan for a section of Martin Luther King Boulevard in the South Ward.

Click here to learn more 

 Maurice River Township Economic Development Plan

The Township is looking to create an Economic Development Plan for the existing villages and a planned highway development district. Due to recent highway construction that has diverted traffic from the municipality, Maurice River’s local businesses that rely on out of town revenue have suffered. The Township hopes to create a plan that will ensure local business stability and tax base durability.

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Women Rising (Bergen Communities United) Neighborhood Plan
 

Bergen Communities United is looking to update their Neighborhood Plan for the Bergen Hill/ McGinley Square section of Jersey City by engaging community residents in a community visioning and planning process. The new plan will assess the accomplishments that derived from the 2005 BCU Neighborhood Plan. The new plan will identify new goals and objectives for the further revitalization of the BCU neighborhood.

Click here to learn more

The American Planning Association – New Jersey Chapter (APA-NJ) is currently advocating that the New Jersey Legislature enact a two (2) year extension of the law/legislatively-enacted July 17, 2012 deadline for municipalities to commit Affordable Housing Trust Funds (“Trust Funds”). Given the widespread confusion set forth with regard to COAH and implementing affordable housing, an extension is clearly warranted.

It was unforeseeable that residential and commercial development would be so drastically impacted by the Great Recession and that validity of COAH’s regulations would remain uncertain over the nearly four year period since the enactment of A-500 in 2008.

As such, APA-NJ advocates that its members contact their legislators with regard to Assembly bill A2717, which will attempt to enact an extension of the timeline set forth in A500. APA-NJ believes that with an amendment that reduces the proposed extension from four (4) years to two (2) years the bill warrants adoption.

Notwithstanding proposed legislation, APA-NJ, in direct consultation with its Housing Committee and its known experts in the field of affordable housing, offers the following advisory to its members.

APA-NJ Recommendations

Due to the uncertainty that the Legislature will enact a bill to extend the July 17, 2012 deadline, APA-NJ recommends that its members work with their municipalities to take the proactive steps to commit their Trust Funds that are subject to transfer to the State controlled Trust Fund

While municipalities are in varying stages of the process, our specific recommendations are as follows:

I. Municipalities with Approved Spending Plans:

A municipality may spend – and/or commit to expend – development fees for any activity approved by the Council to address its municipal fair share obligation.

A municipality’s commitment to expend affordable housing trust funds would be evidenced by;

• a fully executed contract or developer’s agreement for the production or administration of affordable housing units in accordance with regulations promulgated by the council, or;
• the adoption of a municipal ordinance creating and allocating funds to a program that is consistent with housing activities authorized under rules promulgated by the council.

Affordable housing created pursuant to an approved spending plan must be supported by a “policy and procedures” manual adopted by resolution of the municipal governing body. The municipality should document its affordable housing program history by accounting for the number of affordable housing units completed or rehabilitated under each affordable housing program.

A municipality’s set aside of a portion of its Trust Fund for the purpose of providing affordability assistance to low and moderate income households in affordable units was included in all COAH-approved municipal fair share plans. As is the case of all COAH-approved spending plan activities, a municipality should document its housing affordability program history and document the number of assisted households. (Based on COAH’s regulations, affordability assistance programs may include down payment assistance, security deposit assistance, low interest loans, common maintenance expenses for units located in condominiums, rental assistance, and any other program authorized by the Council. A municipality may contract with a private or public entity to administer any part of its housing element and fair share plan, including the requirement for affordability assistance.)

II. Municipalities that Petitioned COAH but are Not Substantively Certified

Subject to a review and approval by your municipal legal counsel – and where appropriate – your municipality should consider employing the provisions of 5:97-8.11 to undertake or commit to undertake affordable housing mechanisms that were not in your municipality’s adopted spending plan on the basis of there being an “emergent affordable housing mechanism”:

5:97-8.11 Consideration for mechanisms not in the adopted Fair Share Plan
(a) A municipality may request authorization for expenditure of affordable housing trust funds on emergent affordable housing mechanisms not included in the municipal Fair Share Plan, in the form of an amendment to the spending plan.
(b) In addition to the requirements for approval of a spending plan or amendment to an approved spending plan set forth at N.J.A.C. 5:96-5, the resolution submitted by the municipality shall include a certification that the affordable housing opportunity addresses the Council’s criteria set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:97-6, and the municipality shall submit information regarding the proposed mechanism in a format to be provided by the Council.
(c) The municipality shall submit an amendment to its Fair Share Plan to include the mechanism at the earlier of two years after the Council’s approval of the spending plan amendment or the next planned amendment to the Fair Share Plan resulting from plan evaluation review pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:96-10.
(d) The municipality shall submit monitoring pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:96-11 relating to the affordable units created using affordable housing trust funds.

A municipality proposing a committal to expend affordable housing funds for an emergent housing opportunity must;

• submit supporting documentation to COAH in the form of a fully executed contract, or;
• execute a developer’s agreement for the production or administration of affordable housing units in accordance with regulations promulgated by the council or by the adoption of a municipal ordinance creating and allocating funds to a program that is consistent with housing activities authorized under rules promulgated by the council.

Again, programs so created shall be supported by a policy and procedures manual adopted by resolution of the municipal governing body and/or by an accounting of the number of affordable housing units to be completed or rehabilitated under each program.

Before accepting any of the herein above advice regarding the commitment to expend, APA-NJ members are strongly advised to consult with their municipality’s legal and planning professionals.

Click Here to Purchase Your Copy Today!

The Redevelopment Handbook was originally published in 2003 to provide municipalities with a guide to the various techniques that can be used to invigorate an area that is not physically or economically contributing to the community. The 2nd edition follows the same format and offers technical resources and guidance that provide readers with the opportunity to explore the benefits of redevelopment and plan for targeted growth in their communities. 

The new edition demonstrates that many towns can benefit from strategic revitalization, particularly as New Jersey’s suburbs begin to show their age. It also includes examples of how updating the appearance and functionality of worn structures and obsolete land uses can bring new energy and life to a community. Lastly, new chapters on relocation issues and sustainable redevelopment are also included.  

The Redevelopment Handbook was coauthored by Stan Slachetka and David Roberts with assistance from the staff of the Department of Community Affairs.

Slachetka is a licensed professional planner and Associate and Planning Group Manager with the Middletown-based firm of T&M Associates. Roberts is a Department Manager with the Red Bank-based firm of Maser Consulting. He is a licensed professional planner and a certified landscape architect in New Jersey, and a registered landscape architect in five states.  Both are active members of the APA-NJ Redevelopment Committee.