SRECs are those credits purchased by power companies for the production of solar energy. Given that solar energy facility production has exceeded expectations, creating a glut of SRECs available for purchase, the value of the SRECs have dropped to less than half of the pre-glut value.
 

The newly adopted New Jersey Energy Master Plan proposes to accelerate the purchasing obligation of utilities, or take other actions to stabilize the SREC market, and therefore may improve the value of SRECs and increase the ability to finance solar energy facilities. That, along with ongoing federal tax credits, create the opportunity for New Jersey to continue to be one of the national leaders in solar energy production, currently second only to California.
 

However, one significant component of solar energy facilities is the cost of the solar panels themselves. A recent report conducted by Science Daily concludes that the cost of solar panels has dropped by 70% since 2009, significantly enhancing opportunities to make solar energy production a more attractive investment for those producing and selling energy as well as those building net-metered energy facilities, providing energy for on-site use.
 

For the foregoing reasons, opportunities and profitability of solar energy continues to increase and should be considered by most property owners, including those that might have declined to pursue solar energy as recently as a few months ago. Below is the link to the Science Daily article discussing the huge drop is the cost of solar panels.

What is NJR Clean Energy Ventures? from Stark & Stark on Vimeo.

The League is the lobbying arm of New Jersey’s municipalities and is supported in large part from public funding in the form of membership dues. Additionally, its employees participate in the Public Employees’ Retirement System, after The League was declared a public agency for that purpose by a 1955 Attorney General Opinion. Given that the lobbying done by The League on behalf of municipalities throughout the state of New Jersey, which until now the documentation for was private, one would expect a treasure-trove of information to become available to those seeking to challenge the lobbying and other efforts of The League in the future. 

In this instance, Fair Share Housing was seeking information regarding the League’s position opposing affordable housing regulations proposed by the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). Therefore, all COAH regulations adopted in the past 10 years have been declared unconstitutional. The latest regulations are on appeal before the New Jersey Supreme Court challenging the latest determination of unconstitutionality. The League has largely been supportive of these unconstitutional regulations and has opposed reasonable attempts at legislation and regulations enforcing a municipality’s obligations to zone for reasonable opportunity for housing for all of the residents of New Jersey.

Here in my firm's Lawrenceville, New Jersey office, I expect this decision to be a source of conversation among our attorneys. If you have questions about how this decision could impact you and your business, feel free to contact me to discuss this matter in more detail.

Developers, property owners, architects, engineers and frankly all of us are to be thankful for building code requirements that consider earthquakes as an element of structural design, not only here in New Jersey, but throughout the entire nation. 

While structural design and building codes in California for instance must pay far more attention to the possibility and severity of earthquakes, all building codes are required to consider the impact of natural events (including wind and earthquakes) no matter how uncommon such natural events might be. Without such building code requirements, there could have been far more damage than the building shaking and buzz around the office we felt here in New Jersey.

Recent Trends in the Solar Industry from Stark & Stark on Vimeo.

What is needed in order to make a solar project work? from Stark & Stark on Vimeo.

What are the different types of solar projects? from Stark & Stark on Vimeo.

How Does Solar Energy Production Work? from Stark & Stark on Vimeo.

Under the old Time of Decision Rule, a developer was bound by all development regulations in effect, not coincidentally, at the time of the decision. This rule applies common sense to the regulation of municipal land use in New Jersey by making those ordinance provisions in effect at the time of submission of an application binding and not subject to change, except for ordinances relating to health and public safety. While reaching consensus with local officials is always a useful objective in the pursuit of development approvals, whether or not to approach such officials before an application is filed will need to be considered anew in light of the Time of Application Rule.

You can access a copy of the Time of Application rule online here.
 

As for the substance of the WQMP rules, there remains various troubling aspects. Indeed, for example, the rules and the policies being implemented under the rules will likely result in significantly reducing lands located within designated sewer service areas as well as impose onerous engineering and legal requirements on the application for and limitations on the approval and use of individual wastewater disposal (septic) systems. Given that treating wastewater (sewerage) via sanitary sewer systems is commonly accepted to be safer and more efficient than septic systems, the rules do far more to regulate and limit land use and development than to protect the environment. Also troubling is the fact that millions of dollars of land value and development rights will be lost by removing property from sewer service areas, yet this can be accomplished by the DEP and the counties without notice to the property owner or developer.
 

Accordingly, it is critical for land owners and developers to closely monitor wastewater management planning and advocate for inclusion in sewer service areas where appropriate in order to avoid the potential impact on development opportunities and land values.

You can view a copy of the executive order here. Municipalities are constitutionally required to exercise their zoning discretion to allow for reasonable opportunities for affordable housing. Under the Fair Housing Act, COAH was created for the purpose of creating and enforcing those obligations. Unfortunately, most on all sides of the debate over affordable housing have agreed that COAH has fallen far short of it's obligations and created at least as many problems as it has opportunities. Indeed, State Senator Raymond Lesniak has introduced legislation seeking to abolish COAH and create totally new mechanisms for creation of affordable housing. Where and how this issue will end remains to be seen, but certainly the Governor and Legislature are shaking up the "house" as relates to affordable housing.

1) Amend the bill to require a firm 20% set-aside for affordable housing (COAH or Mt. Laurel Housing) as opposed to the 20% being a cap on the amount of affordable housing; and
 

2) Granting municipal boards discretion to decline a conversion if they are not satisfied that the conversion will not cause substantial detriment to the public good and will not substantially impair the intent and purpose of the zone plan and zone ordinance. 
 

The bill now requires the legislature to amend the bill in accordance with the foregoing requirements.  A copy of the Governor's Conditional Veto is available online here.

An identical bill has been introduced in the New Jersey State Assembly and referred to the Housing and Local Government Committee.
 

The bill as approved by the Senate Economic Growth Committee and introduced in the Assembly may be accessed online here.