By James Osborne, The Philadelphia Inquirer

Mar. 16--Legislation that would limit how much towns and cities can alter real estate development rules once projects are filed passed the New Jersey Assembly yesterday.

The bipartisan legislation, which was approved by the Senate last week and awaits a decision by Gov. Christie, would keep the zoning code that was in effect at the time a developer filed a project application as the rule until completion.

Under current law, a developer must abide by any changes made to the zoning code between the time an application is filed and a final decision is made by a municipality.

Assemblyman Jerry Green (D., Union), one of the sponsors, said this was the first in what he believed would be a series of bills designed to make the state more friendly to developers.

"People don't want to do business in New Jersey because in the eleventh hour, [the municipalities] can make them start the whole process all over again, so they're going elsewhere," he said.

The state's building industry has lobbied heavily for the change, which has failed in previous attempts.

"A developer can spend five years and hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars, and then municipalities are able to change those ordinances at whim," said Amy Whilldin, spokeswoman for the New Jersey Builders Association. "It happens all the time."

But the bill has been opposed by municipal leaders and environmentalists, who say it will allow developers to circumvent clean-water and wildlife-protection regulations.

A spokesman for Christie's office said the governor had yet to make a decision on the rule change.

Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club, said in a statement that the proposed legislation was "another example that New Jersey is being handed over to the developers. All this bill will accomplish is more sprawl, more overdevelopment, more pollution, and higher property taxes."

The development rules outlined in the bill mirror those in Pennsylvania, Delaware, and Connecticut, said Whilldin.

Bill Dressel, director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said a change in the law would be a significant blow to local authority and also would remove the ability of zoning boards to tailor ordinances to reflect the latest trends in development and to correct any oversights.

"It becomes a game of gotcha," he said. When developers present a project, "it's hard to anticipate all the nuances of an application," said Dressel.

The bill is the latest in a series of legislative measures over the last decade that have softened what is commonly seen as New Jersey's regulation-heavy stance to real estate development, said Ken Lechner, the director of community development and planning in Gloucester Township.

"Towns will have to be more careful," he said. They "have to be more aware their ordinances are what they need to be and are current with what they want the town to be."

Contact staff writer James Osborne at 856-779-3876 or jaosborne@phillynews.com.

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