Monmouth County Communities Recovery From Sandy Will Get Extended Building Permits Under Houghtaling and Downey Bill

OCEAN TWP -- With devastation from Superstorm Sandy still present in many communities across New Jersey, a bill sponsored by Monmouth County Assembly Members Eric Houghtaling and Joann Downey that will extend building permits for Monmouth County was recently signed into law. The law will aid in rebuilding efforts by extending building permits that have been granted by state, regional, county, and municipal agencies, and was signed into law by Governor Christie after passing both houses of the Legislature unanimously.

“Sandy created all sorts of bureaucratic headaches for builders and developers, who were forced to delay projects and then got tangled in red tape trying to renew their building permits,” said Downey (D-Monmouth), “So any step we can take to make rebuilding and revitalization easier for our towns damaged by Sandy is a step worth taking.”

The law (A-3617) will extend the “Permit Extension Act of 2008,” will go into effect immediately and be retroactive to January 1, 2016. Building permits granted by state, regional, county, and municipal agencies will now be extended until December 31, 2016 in the nine most Superstorm Sandy-impacted counties: Atlantic, Bergen, Cape May, Essex, Hudson, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, and Union. Because many builders and developers do not have the resources to obtain costly and difficult permit extensions, this law will aid in rebuilding and prevent waste of public and private resources.

“I was Mayor of Neptune in the wake of Sandy, and I saw how important rebuilding efforts were for the local economy and public morale,” said Houghtaling (D-Monmouth), “This law will help pave the way for rebuilding in communities that need them the most.”