Page 19 - RE-NJ

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affordable housing in the state,
but also challenges. Chief among
them is a controversial program
that significantly increases flood
elevations for new construction,
which Gov. Phil Murphy’s
administration adopted on its
last day in office despite sizable
opposition.
Aside from challenging the rules in
court, NJBA is appealing to the new
Sherrill administration for a more
measured approach to what it views
as a “monumentally restrictive” land
use policy.
“This is a pivotal moment,”
Kolakowski said. “With a new
administration and renewed
focus on affordability, we have
an opportunity to align policy,
permitting and planning in a way
that meaningfully increases housing
supply across the state.”
Make no mistake: With the
convention set to kick off, NJBA
is perhaps more bullish than it has
been since before the pandemic. It
pointed to the creation of the state’s
first-ever chief operating officer, a
The Atlantic Builders Convention is slated to return to the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Atlantic City from March 24 to 26.
role filled by Kellie Doucette, along
with Sherrill’s pledge to develop a
real-time dashboard to track permits
and recent executive actions aimed
at pausing new regulations and
establishing a permitting efficiency
task force.
Such steps align closely with
builders and developers’ long-held
quest for a coordinated, realistic
plan for where and how housing can
be built in New Jersey.
“It took a long time to dig ourselves
into this highly overregulated
environment, and it’s going to take
a while to unpack it,” Kolakowski
said. “So she’s putting a tremendous
amount of structure in place.”
That also figures help NJBA’s
MINNO
A R C H I T E C T S A N D WASKO
P L A N N E R S
ARCHITECTURE PLANNING INTERIOR DESIGN SUSTAINABILITY