Findings, determinations

The Legislature finds and determines that:

a. With the enactment of the "New Jersey Urban Enterprise Zones Act," P.L.1983, c.303 (C.52:27H-60 et seq.), the State has endeavored to induce private business concerns to locate or expand operations in certain urban areas;

b. Similar encouragement should be provided for the construction of new single-family housing units, needed to provide housing convenient to this business activity and to stimulate neighborhood revitalization;

c. The deterioration of once-flourishing residential neighborhoods is a problem of enormous magnitude for the State of New Jersey, the solution to which has been, and should continue to be, an overriding public concern of federal, State and local governments;

d. The deterioration of those residential neighborhoods is in large measure the result of the unwillingness of the owners of, and investors in, residential properties to properly maintain and improve their properties, arising out of fear of the resulting increase in property taxes;

e. In many of those neighborhoods, particularly in urban centers, the deterioration of housing stock has resulted in vacant lots, abandoned buildings and poorly maintained properties, and the concomitant negative psychological and financial impact upon owners of, and investors in those residential neighborhoods;

f. In addition, the heavy tax burdens in many urban municipalities inhibit the development of new housing in those municipalities, notwithstanding the fact that those municipalities contain ample vacant land for the construction of new housing and numerous unused or underused buildings which may be converted to housing;

g. Further, while the rapidly growing demand for housing has begun to encourage some private investment in urban residential construction, the substantial property tax burdens in many of our urban areas have discouraged many prospective purchasers of newly constructed housing units in those municipalities;

h. These prospective purchasers may be further discouraged by the severe intra-municipal assessment discrepancies in certain urban areas, in which older residential properties remain assessed at a fraction of market value while newly constructed residential properties are assessed at full market values and the owners thereof pay substantially higher taxes than the owners of the older properties;

i. Property tax abatements for the construction of certain residential structures, and property tax abatements for the conversion of other structures to residential use, will constitute a substantial incentive for owners and investors to improve vacant land and underutilized structures;

j. The provision of property tax abatements for new residential structures in certain urban areas will assure the prospective purchasers of those properties that their property tax assessments will be no greater than the assessments of older homes, thus removing the fear of overly high tax burdens;

k. In certain urban areas, the encouragement of residential construction and conversion can be expected to make available older, more affordable housing stock, thus encouraging both the provision of affordable housing and general urban redevelopment, while in other urban areas, any new residential construction can be expected to contribute to the growth and neighborhood stability needed in conjunction with incentives for the rebirth of the business community;

l. Article VIII, Section I, paragraph 6 of the Constitution of this State authorizes the Legislature to enact general laws under which municipalities may adopt ordinances granting exemptions or abatements from taxation for limited periods of time not in excess of five years on buildings and structures in areas declared in need of rehabilitation in accordance with statutory criteria; and

m. It is, therefore, a compelling public purpose to provide qualified municipalities with the means of providing the appropriate abatements.

L.1989, c.207, s.1.