Bill Would Require Vote on Improvement Districts

A bill in the New Jersey State Assembly could put locally established business improvement districts in jeopardy.

Assembly Bill 3859, if passed, would require the approval of the majority of affected property owners every 10 years.

The bill is being sponsored by Rep. Angel Fuentes, a Democrat from Camden, and Rep. Albert Coutinho, a Democrat from Newark.

Improvement districts have been established in Spring Lake and more recently in Belmar.

A business improvement district is an area within a municipality where businesses pay an extra tax in order to fund projects and improvements within that district.

In Spring Lake, the BID provides concerted marketing efforts and hosts a number of events throughout the year in the borough's downtown.

Belmar's Special Improvement District had its $168,000 budget approved in January. The funds will be raised through an assessment of all commercial properties in the borough.

The establishment of these districts was not always met with open arms.

In Spring Lake, a law suit against the borough accompanied the establishment of the business improvement district. It was later dismissed by a judge.

In Belmar, local business owners crowded the chambers of the governing body during a January meeting to oppose what many considered another unnecessary tax and a hindrance to their businesses.

The proposed bill would require notarized ballots to be submitted by the property owners, who may or may not be the ones operating the businesses and thus benefiting from the business improvement districts' work.

"We should oppose this ordinance," Spring Lake Councilwoman Janice Venables of the measure. "We put an awful lot into this [Spring Lake's Special Improvement District] and I am opposed to this bill."

The governing body of Spring Lake passed a resolution at a recent meeting formally opposing the proposed bill.

The bill was introduced in the state assembly on Feb. 22 and referred to the Assembly Commerce and Economic Development Committee. From there it was given a second reading with committee amendments and remains on the assembly floor as of March 14.