Real Estate - Government Regulation

* Home
* History
* Population
* Government
* Politics
* Lobbyists
* Taxes
* State Symbols
* Biographies
* Economy
* Employers
* Real Estate
* Education
* Recreation
* Restaurants
* Hotels
* Health
* Environment
* Stadiums/Teams
* Theaters
* Historic Villages
* Historic homes
* Battlefields/Military
* Lighthouses
* Art Museums
* History Museums
*  Wildlife
*  Climate
* Zoos/Aquariums
* Beaches
* National Parks
* State Parks
* Amusement Parks
* Waterparks
* Swimming holes
* Arboretums
More...
*   Gallery of images and videos
*   Fast Facts on key topics
* Timeline of dates and events
*   Anthology of quotes, comments and jokes
*   Links to other resources

-- Real Estate - Government Regulation

Real estate
* Overview * Government Regulation * Associations

-- Home rule, eminent domain and riparian lands

Historically, the control of land use in New Jersey was subject to regulation by municipal governments under the tradition of "home rule" by which local elected officials and residents protected their authority to determine the use and development of real property. The limited role of the state government was primarily in the acquisition or condemnation of land for major projects like railroads, highways and canals. The state also maintained ownership of property--known as riparian lands--subject to present or past flows of tides, which under a principle inherited from British common law placed the property in state ownership as the sovereign. Under the state constitution, revenues from the sale or lease of these lands continues to be dedicated for support of the public schools.

-- Regional land-use planning and regulation

Although the state lacks significant statewide control over land use, commencing in the latter part of the last century a series of separate laws, as well as judicial decisions, have imposed state regulatory authority in designated regions or for specific purposes which have given the state an increasing--and often controversial--place in land-use regulation.

-- Hackensack Meadowlands

The Hackensack Meadowlands was the first region over which state regulation was asserted with the enactment effective in January 1969 of the Hackensack Meadowlands Reclamation and Development Act (N.J.S.A. 13:17-1 et seq.). The legislation created a state commission to develop a master plan; implement environmental restoration programs; and regulate land use for a 30.4-square-mile area along the Hackensack River covering parts of 14 municipalities in Bergen and Hudson Counties. In 2015, Governor Christie signed legislation to merge the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission and the New Jersey Sports & Exposition Authority into a new consolidated entity, the "Meadowlands Regional Commission." P.L. 2015, C. 19

-- Coastal zone

      New Jersey's Atlantic coast is subject to limited land-use regulation under the Coastal Area Facility Review Act (known as "CAFRA"; N.J.S.A. 13:9 et seq.), which requires larger projects to obtain state permits before construction to determine compliance with the state Coastal Zone Management Plan adopted pursuant to federal legislation enacted in 1972. In addition to the CAFRA program, development in both coastal and freshwater wetlands are regulated by the state under separate laws requiring approvals before filling in or building in wetlands (Wetlands Act of 1970, N.J.S.A. 13:9A-1, et seq.; Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act of 1987, N.J.S.A. 13:9B-1, et seq.).

-- Pinelands

        The most significant legislation over land use--covering 1.1 million acres comprising over a fifth of the state's total land area--is the Pinelands Protection Act of 1979, which created a commission to adopt and enforce a plan restricting development, along with companion federal legislation, in all or parts of 56 municipalities in seven counties in southern New Jersey (N.J.S.A. 13:18A et seq.).

-- State Planning Act

       In 1985, the State Planning Act, (N.J.S.A. 52:18A-196 et seq.) was approved to create a State Planning Commission to develop and adopt a plan to serve as a state policy guide for state agencies and local governments in planning, infrastructure investment and other public actions affecting economic growth and development. The implementation of the rather general goals of the plan is primarily through a cross-acceptance process in which local plans are evaluated for consistency with the state plan. After a series of public meetings and opportunities to submit comments, the final document is then adopted as the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. The Plan has had little impact, and the Christie administration has indicated a lack of support for state initiatives which interfere with local government planning and zoning decisions.

-- Highlands

The most recent state regional land-use planning initiative--the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act of 2004--created a council to plan and oversee development in a 1,343 square mile area in the northwest part of the state within portions of seven counties and includes 88 municipalities. N.J.S.A. 13:20-1 et seq.

* State Planning Commission, New Jersey Department of State
* Office for Planning Advocacy, New Jersey Department of State
* Proposed Final State Development and Redevelopment Plan, Office for Planning Advocacy
* Meadowlands Regional Commission
* Pinelands Commission
* Highlands Council

Construction regulation

        - Uniform Construction Code

        New Jersey also gas enacted legislation to establish more consistent policies relating to construction. New Jersey was the first state to adopt a comprehensive Uniform Construction Code, which provided for building regulations and standards for licensing local enforcement officials. Under the State Uniform Construction Code, the state has mandated use of model codes designed by national model code agencies for general construction and for practices related to such topics as electrical and plumbing installation.

       - New Home Warranty and Builders Registration

       Additional legislation, the New Home Warranty and Builders Registration Act (N.J.S.A. 46:3B-1et seq) was enacted in 1977 to provide a broad scope for the warranty of a new home and standards for construction and quality of the structural elements and components of a new home. The law requires a builder to register with the state government before starting construction of any new home and before offering a warranty on any new home bought and sold in the state. The law and regulations provide limited ten-year warranty coverage against defects of materials, workmanship, and systems in a new home and requires a builder to provide follow up services for needed repairs. The law and regulations also provide a process through which the builder and the homeowner can resolve disputes over corrections of such defects. Builder who fail to comply may have their registration suspended or revoked, thus preventing them from building new homes in New Jersey.
* Information for New Home Builders, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs
* Bureau of Homeowner Protection, New Jersey Department of Community Affairs

-- Mount Laurel doctrine and Council on Affordable Housing

Apart from legislation, the New Jersey Supreme Court also has had a major impact on real property development in New Jersey through various decisions, with the most significant the decision in 1975 in Southern Burlington County N.A.A.C.P. v. Mount Laurel Township. This decision initiated the "Mount Laurel" doctrine, expanded in a series of subsequent cases, which held that municipalities could not use their planning and zoning powers to exclude a "fair share" of housing affordable to low and moderate income households. Mount Laurel was the first court ruling in the country to prohibit communities from engaging in "exclusionary zoning" practices.

The legislation provoked a long series of lawsuits in which developers and fair housing groups sued several municipalities challenging their land-use regulations. In 1985, in an effort to reduce the volume of litigation, the legislature passed the Fair Housing Act which created an administrative agency, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), to establish regulations and determine the number of affordable housing units each municipality would be required to provide. N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.

Real estate
* Overview * Government Regulation * Associations