TRENTON, NJ—Over the objections of the commercial real estate community, Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed a bill that would have again suspended a 2.5% fee on commercial real estate projects that help finance the development of low- and moderate-income housing units in the Garden State.
In sending the bill back to the State Legislature, Christie says he hopes to enact a broader affordable housing policy for the state, according to NJBiz.
“This bill was nothing more than an interim measure to jolt the economy a bit in places where there were projects in the pipeline,” says Michael McGuinness, CEO of NAIOP New Jersey in reaction to Christie's veto. “There are some pretty big ones, and it was meant to keep us competitive, keep us at the table … until we could do more long-lasting, permanent reform of the (Council on Affordable Housing) dilemma.”
The 2.5% fee on nonresidential projects, which goes into a municipal housing trust fund, was created by legislation enacted in 2008. The fee was suspended in 2009 and then again in 2011. The most recent moratorium expired July 1, 2013, and commercial developers have lobbied lawmakers to reinstate the moratorium once more. See story in NJBiz.
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