The Appellate Division released an opinion today holding that Gov. Christie overstepped his statutory authority in abolishing COAH through the Reorganization Plan. The issue of remedy was very sticky, i.e., whether COAH is now to be “reconstituted,” but the court essentially ignored that issue.

In response to Governor Christie's Executive Order No 2, which directs state agencies to implement reforms furthering common sense principles, the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) has adopted a new rule that gives NJDEP the flexibility to modify compliance with rules in certain circumstances that do not compromise protections to the environment and public health. Requests for waivers will be accepted beginning on August 1, 2012.

On January 17, 2012, Governor Chris Christie signed into law P.L. 2011, c. 203, which extends the deadline for counties and municipalities to file wastewater management plans by at least 180 days. The legislation, which was passed by the Senate and General Assembly on January 9, 2011, is aimed at averting the “negative economic impacts” associated with New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) regulations that would have required the withdrawal of numerous wastewater service areas throughout the state.

The New Jersey Senate has passed a bill known as S3156, which would extend the deadline for counties and municipalities to file wastewater management plans by at least 180 days, and potentially up to 2 years. The bill, which was passed by the Senate on January 9, 2011, will now move to the General Assembly, which is also anticipated to pass it in short order.

The New Jersey Legislature is set to introduce a bill that aims to stablize the state’s solar industry, which has been in free fall since early summer. Assemblyman Upendra Chivakula (D-Middlesex) expects to introduce a bill in the lame duck session that would halt the precipitous drop of prices for solar renewable energy certificates (SRECs), which is a major mechanism for financing photovoltaic (PV) systems in New Jersey.

Today, Acting Governor Kim Guadagno signed a bill into law that extends a prior moratorium on the 2.5 percent non-residential development fee. This law (Legislative Bill S-2974) extends the moratorium for an additional two years, which should provide relief to commercial real estate developers.

In an effort to provide certainty to development projects in the urban and more developed areas of the State, legislation has been adopted that extends general development plan (GDP) protection to large development projects situated on smaller sites.

On June 16, 2011, the Law Division of the Superior Court issued a decision in Estaugh Commons v. Haddonfield Borough Zoning Board of Adjustment that makes it harder for municipal land use boards to deny use variance applications by developers seeking to build affordable housing. At issue in the lawsuit was whether an inclusionary development proposed by a private developer should have been considered an “inherently beneficial use” by the Zoning Board of Adjustment when evaluating the developer’s use variance application.

On June 29, 2011, Governor Chris Christie issued a “Reorganization Plan” designed to abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (“COAH”). Unless both houses of the New Jersey Legislature pass a concurrent resolution within 60 days disapproving of the Reorganization Plan (“RP”), the RP will become effective and COAH will be formally abolished.

On June 23, 2011, Governor Christie conditionally vetoed S-2006/A-3125, which would have amended the Municipal Land Use Law ("MLUL") to generally prohibit municipalities from regulating the installation of solar panels on residential properties and to limit the amount of fees municipalities may charge for applications pertaining to solar panel installations. The bill was business-friendly insofar it would have made it easier and cheaper for homeowners to install solar panels.

On May 16, 2011, New Jersey Board of Public Utilities (BPU) opened a 29-day window for companies to file applications to build offshore wind projects along the New Jersey coast. The application process represents New Jersey's latest effort to spur the development of the nation's first offshore wind project.

The New Jersey Supreme Court has granted the petitions for certification filed by the New Jersey State League of Muncipalities (NJSLOM) and thirteen municipalities seeking review of the Appellate Division's invalidation of portions of COAH's "third round" regulations concerning municipal affordable housing obligations.

Princeton Borough, Princeton Township and Princeton Regional Schools have contracted with the New Jersey consulting firm Gabel Associates to provide a feasibility study to explore the potential for solar installations throughout the municipalities. If all goes well, the entities will enter into a power purchase agreement (“PPA”) with a solar developer to implement the plan.

In an opinion issued on February 24, 2011, the Appellate Division ruled that COAH's Regional Affordable Housing Development Program Guidelines ("Guidelines") are actually regulations that should have been adopted under the Administrative Procedure Act ("APA").