Assembly to Consider Bill to Suspend Development Fee

TRENTON, NJ—A bipartisan bill is now before the New Jersey State Assembly that would suspend the 2.5% fee on commercial building projects in the state.

The fee, calculated based on the assessed value of the project, is paid to municipalities to fund affordable housing projects.It has been suspended four times previously since its passage in 2008. The fee has been suspended for a total of four years during difficult economic times, but the latest fee moratorium expired about a year ago, according to The Record.

The New Jersey Business and Industry Association supports the moratorium, stating that the economy is still struggling and the cost of doing business in New Jersey is too high.

"You don't want to be saying to developers, 'We want you to come to New Jersey, invest and develop and create jobs, and we'll give you tax incentives to do that,' and on the flip side, say, 'We're going to add 2.5% to the cost of your project,'" says David Brogan, an NJBIA vice president.

"We all support affordable housing, but we also must be cognizant that the state's economy continues to struggle with high unemployment and paltry economic growth," says Assemblyman John Burzichelli, one of the sponsors of the bill. "This moratorium is the right thing to do until we're confident the economy has rebounded and we've created enough jobs to sustain the recovery." See story in The Record.