Bill Text: NJ A3833 | 2024-2025 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires Office of Planning Advocacy to publish certain information concerning warehouses over 100,000 square feet on its Internet website.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Introduced) 2024-02-22 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Commerce, Economic Development and Agriculture Committee [A3833 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2024-A3833-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman ALEX SAUICKIE
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires Office of Planning Advocacy to publish certain information concerning warehouses over 100,000 square feet on its Internet website.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act requiring the Office of Planning Advocacy to publish certain warehouse information and amending P.L.1985, c.398.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. Section 6 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-201) is amended to read as follows:
6. a. There is established in the Department of the Treasury the Office of State Planning, which was renamed as the "Office of Planning Advocacy," and transferred to the Department of State pursuant to Governor Christie's Reorganization Plan No. 002-2011, effective August 28, 2011. The director of the office shall be appointed by and serve at the pleasure of the Governor. The director shall supervise and direct the activities of the office and shall serve as the secretary and principal executive officer of the State Planning Commission.
b. The Office of Planning Advocacy shall assist the commission in the performance of its duties and shall:
(1) [Publish] publish an annual report on the status of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan which shall describe the progress towards achieving the goals of the plan, the degree of consistency achieved among municipal, county, regional, and State plans, and plans of military facilities, the capital needs of the State, and progress towards providing housing where [such] a need is indicated;
(2) [Provide] provide planning service to other agencies or instrumentalities of State government, review the plans prepared by them, and coordinate planning to avoid or mitigate conflicts between plans;
(3) [Provide] provide advice and assistance to regional, county, and local planning units;
(4) [Review] review and comment on the plans of interstate agencies where the plans affect this State;
(5) [Compile] compile quantitative current estimates and Statewide forecasts for population, employment, housing, and land needs for development and redevelopment; [and]
(6) [Prepare] prepare and submit to the State Planning Commission, as an aid in the preparation of the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, alternate growth and development strategies which are likely to produce favorable economic, environmental, and social results ; and
(7) compile and publish on the office's Internet website a bi-annual listing of warehouses greater than 100,000 square feet in this State, including, but not limited to:
(a) whether a warehouse was built on speculation;
(b) the total square footage of each warehouse and the percentage of square feet that has been rented, leased, and purchased in each warehouse;
(c) the warehouse's operating hours, number of full- and part-time employees, and municipality in which it is located;
(d) information concerning the volume of vehicle traffic attributable to the warehouse;
(e) whether the warehouse was built on farmland;
(f) the distance the warehouse is from adjacent municipal boundaries;
(g) the year the warehouse was built;
(h) information on whether the warehouse includes any green building construction standards that reduce or eliminate the negative impact the warehouse may have on the environment;
(i) the watershed or watersheds in which the warehouse is located; and
(j) whether the warehouse is located in an overburdened community, as defined in section 2 of P.L.2020, c.92 (C.13:1D-158).
c. The director shall ensure that the responsibilities and duties of the commission are fulfilled, and shall represent the commission and promote its activities before government agencies, public and private interest groups, and the general public, and shall undertake or direct [such] other activities as the commission shall direct or as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et al.).
d. With the consent of the commission, the director shall assign to the commission from the staff of the office at least two full-time planners, a full-time liaison to local and county governments and regional entities, and [such] other staff, clerical, stenographic, and expert assistance as the director shall deem necessary for the fulfillment of the commission's responsibilities and duties.
e. The Office of Planning Advocacy shall assist the Military and Defense Economic Ombudsman in the performance of [his] the ombudsman's duties and the director shall assign to the Military and Defense Economic Ombudsman, from the staff of the office, at least one full-time planner, a full-time liaison to local governments and regional and State entities, and [such] other staff, clerical, stenographic, and expert assistance as the director shall deem necessary for the fulfillment of the ombudsman's responsibilities and duties.
(cf: P.L.2016, c.21, s.9)
2. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill requires the Office of Planning Advocacy (office) to compile and publish on the office's Internet website a bi-annual listing of each warehouse over 100,000 square feet in this State. The bill requires that the bi-annual listing is to include certain information enumerated in the bill. Related to compilation of this information, current law requires that the office assist the State Planning Commission (commission), and sections 9 and 10 of P.L.1985,c.398 (C.52:18A-204 and C.52:18A-205) entitle the commission to call on governmental entities for assistance in performance of its duties and requires those entities to make certain relevant data available to the commission.
This bill is intended to require the State to provide local boards and the public with useful warehouse information that can be used by them during an application process. This educational tool will better prepare individuals for the choices they are making and provide them with non-industry data.
It is part of a series of bills by the sponsor to empower local governments and the people they serve to better understand the planning decisions they are making and how it impacts their daily lives.
