BY VINCENT TODARO
Staff Writer
EAST BRUNSWICK — Though the slowness of government has long been the topic of many complaints, it may not always be so slow for some.
And that would be developers and others applying for a variety of building-related permits. These parties would gain from what is being commonly called the “Fast Track” law, which guarantees permits within 45 days if a municipality does not act.
With the legislation, approved by then-Gov. James McGreevey last summer, about to take effect, many local bodies including the East Brunswick Township Council and Milltown Borough Council have recently passed resolutions condemning the new law and asking that it be repealed.
East Brunswick Councilwoman Christi Calvano said the fast track legislation makes it easier for developers to avoid environmental and other protections. The legislation dictates that if a local government has not made a decision on a permit request within 45 days, the permit is automatically given.
Though at first she thought the law may be beneficial because it would expedite the permit process, she later realized how dangerous it is to good governing.
“There is no opportunity for local government to do anything once a permit is granted,” she said. “It weakens the environmental protections that are already existing.”
Environmentalists warn that the law takes power away from municipalities, increases sprawl and threatens environmental health.
Under the law, an applicant must be notified if a permit application is technically complete within 45 days of its filing, or it will be deemed complete. And if action is not taken on an application within 45 days of its being deemed complete, it will automatically be approved.
McGreevey, however, put a temporary moratorium on the fast track law in November to correct flaws with the bill. Members of Save N.J. Coalition said the law could be implemented by September if it is not repealed.
Council Vice President Catherine Diem said the law allows too many opportunities for bad decisions to be made.
Government officials, she noted, need time to make decisions on things such as permits, and fast track would not always allow that. A local government needs time to explore the request as well as have dialogue with the party making the request “to make sure the decisions about the developers are the right decisions.”
The council passed its resolution during an April 4 meeting. Diem and council members Nancy Pinkin and Donald Klemp supported it. Calvano and Council President David Stahl were not present.
At the meeting, Anthony Riccobono, a former Republican councilman who asked the council to take action against the fast track legislation, thanked Stahl for putting the item on the agenda, and Diem, who chaired the meeting, for supporting it. He also commended Calvano for doing “legwork” on the issue.
Riccobono said the legislation is a detriment to East Brunswick and New Jersey as a whole.
Many environmental groups are also opposed to the legislation, and meetings sponsored by the New Jersey Environmental Federation and Save New Jersey Coalition were being held on the topic in Edison and South Brunswick over the last two weeks.
Many state legislators are working to repeal the law before it takes effect, as 21 members of the state Senate and Assembly are sponsoring bills to accomplish that.
The law was “passed in record time by the New Jersey Legislature in June 2004 and signed by Governor McGreevey in July 2004,” according to an e-mail from the New Jersey Environmental Federation that was being distributed among local environmental groups last week.
“In short, the law weakens public health and environmental protections, eliminates public participation, and allows polluters to write their own permits,” the federation states. “It is the worst environmental law passed in New Jersey’s history.”
“It’s supposed to be implemented this spring; that’s why it’s important to me now,” said Calvano, adding that McGreevey wasted little time in passing the law but put in place an extension so that it would not take effect until 2005.
The legislation affects approvals from the state departments of community affairs, environmental protection and transportation.
“The state can grant a permit before a local government has adequately addressed a permit,” Calvano said.
Another aspect of the Fast Track law that troubles local officials is that it includes a smart growth ombudsman, but fails to clearly define that position, she said.
“There really is no good definition of that position,” she said. “There’s not enough definition as to the authority or responsibility of the ombudsman.”