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On January 17, 2012, Governor Christie signed a bill to assist telecommunications carriers in obtaining local land use approvals for installations on existing structures. The act amends the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law to exempt collocations on existing support structures from formal site plan review and approval by the municipal approving authority, provided the facility meets the following criteria:
(i) The existing support structure has previously received all necessary government approvals;
(ii) The proposed collocation complies with the final approval of the existing support structure, including any conditions of approval;
(iii) The proposed collocation does not create a condition that requires variance relief;
(iv) The proposed collocation does not increase the overall height of the existing support structure by more than 10 percent of the original height of the support structure;
(v) The collocation does not increase the width of the support structure; and
(vi) The proposed collocation does not increase the size of the existing equipment compound to an area greater than 2,500 square feet.
The act intends to broadly extend the site plan exemption to collocations involving any structure capable of supporting wireless communications equipment, including monopoles, lattice towers, water tanks, utility poles and buildings. However, ambiguities and qualifications in the act will require further interpretation of its application.
The act does not completely usurp municipalities' jurisdiction to zone and review proposed wireless facilities and collocations. Towns may still adopt zoning ordinances pertaining to the design and permitted locations for wireless facilities and require that carriers appear before the local planning board or zoning board of adjustment, as appropriate, to obtain approval for the use, such as a use variance or conditional use approval.
Nevertheless, the act may provide two distinct benefits for wireless collocations: (i) It exempts qualifying collocations from zoning applications and hearings when a facility is permitted by the local zoning ordinance and complies with all the applicable bulk requirements; and (ii) when zoning is required by the zoning ordinance, the act could eliminate certain filing requirements for qualifying collocations (e.g., a survey requirement) because the applications will not be seeking site plan approval.
The full text of the act is available here:
http://www.njleg.state.nj.us/2010/Bills/S3000/2989_R3.PDF
On May 18, Day Pitney New Jersey Real Estate Partner Peter Wolfson was a panelist on the "P3 Partnerships: A Path for Progressive Development," panel at a CoreNet NJ event.
Day Pitney is sponsoring the upcoming New England Energy Conference and Exposition (NEECE), which is being held on May 17-18 at the AC Hotel by Marriott in Worcester, MA.
Day Pitney Alert
New Jersey-based partner Christopher Stracco is speaking on a panel at the Annual New Jersey Seminar of the Society of Professional Assessors titled, "Timely Topics for Assessors and Appraisers," on April 8.
On February 23, Partner Craig M. Gianetti spoke at the program, "Land Use Update 2022," about challenges to zoning ordinances and ethical issues in land use matters.
Day Pitney Environmental Partner Todd Terhune was featured by Law360 Pulse in a Q&A article discussing his arrival to the firm and his position as Vice Chair of the Environmental practice.
Environmental partner Todd Terhune's arrival to Day Pitney was featured in Real Estate NJ article, "Day Pitney Adds Terhune as Partner, Vice Chair of Environmental Team."
Todd Terhune's arrival to the firm was profiled in the Law360 article titled, "Day Pitney Adds Environmental Group Vice Chair in NJ."
Day Pitney was included in Real Estate NJ's "Professional Spotlight 2022: Top Law Firms in New Jersey Commercial Real Estate."
Boston-based Commercial Real Estate Partner Jared Ross was quoted in The Boston Globe article, "BPDA Bids to Streamline Process of Developing City-Owned Land."
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