September 9, 2019: What do California, Connecticut, Hawaii, New York and the District of Columbia have in common? They have banned single use plastic bags. While New Jersey was on the verge of leading the ban against plastic bags in Spring of 2018, the bill was vetoed by Governor Murphy because it was not strict enough.
September 6, 2019 – Downtown New Jersey acts as an advocate for downtown commercial districts in New Jersey, tracking legislative, regulatory, and policy issues that can affect the success of the state’s downtowns and then informing and educating members on these issues. Since our last Policy Watch, there has been movement on a few bills impacting downtowns…
June 6, 2019: Downtown New Jersey acts as an advocate for downtown commercial districts in New Jersey, tracking judicial and legislative issues that can affect the success of the state’s downtowns and then informing and educating members on these issues. Since our last Policy Watch, there has been movement on a few bills impacting downtowns…
May 17, 2019: For decades, New Jersey has experienced notable success with redeveloping many of its distressed areas by affording municipalities the ability to provide tax incentives to redevelopers (e.g. PILOTs). These incentives encourage redevelopers to accept the substantial risks and additional costs that come with most redevelopment projects – for example, the risk factor for unknown markets and the often-required construction of highly-amenitized, elevator buildings, and structured parking (at a cost of roughly $25,000 per space vs. $3,000 per space in a surface lot).
March 8, 2019: Vices. New Jersey cities and towns have long tried to regulate vices and the businesses that supply them: bars, tattoo parlors, smoke shops, and various forms of adult entertainment. Yet, as more towns look to reinvigorate their Main Street storefronts and downtown areas, are there ways that some of these vices could actually be beneficial to a municipality?
February 12, 2019: Downtown New Jersey acts as an advocate for downtown commercial districts in New Jersey, tracking judicial and legislative issues that can affect the success of the state’s downtowns and then informing and educating members on these issues. Since our last Policy Watch, there has been movement on a few bills impacting downtowns…
