July 6, 2009: COAH Resolution Response
I write to respond to the recent letter of
Mr. Peter Van Nortwick criticizing Pat Short and me for opposing
Middletown COAH Resolution, 09-128, abolishing the Council on
Affordable Housing. Initially, I would challenge Mr. Van Nortwick
to substantiate the quote attributed to Mr. Short. His assertion
that Mr. Short opposed the Resolution because it eliminated a
“handout to some of the residents of the town” is baseless.
In fact, this Resolution had a political
objective. The Republicans at the local and county level have been
working for the better part of the last year to make COAH a lightning
rod for this year’s election. Conjuring up images of local
communities overrun with “low income” outsiders and
decrying the conversion of our pastoral Township into an
“urban” landscape, locally elected officials have roundly
criticized Trenton for its COAH legislation, exaggerated its impact and
attempted to deem all locally elected Democrats guilty by
association. The sponsor, Deputy Mayor Scharfenberger, no doubt
hoped that Mr. Short and I would vote “no” to the gross
exaggerations contained in the Resolution. He got what he wanted.
I welcome debate on COAH, but distorting
facts suggests that the goal is political advantage, not debate on the
issues. This resolution played on people’s fears and
grossly overstated COAH’s impact. The Resolution stated
that “approximately 10,000 more units of housing would have to be
approved for construction in the Township of Middletown”
requiring Middletown to “forfeit any reasonable zoning
principles, land use regulations and open space preservation
efforts”. There are no plans to build anywhere close
to 10,000 units of housing, and we continue to pass resolutions
preserving open space. As Mr. Van Nortwick knows,
Middletown’s Affordable Housing Plan has no such plans. I
vigorously objected to this ridiculous assertion when the Resolution
was passed. I am heartily in favor of debate, and our Township
Committee has come a long way in the past two years in terms of
debating Township issues in public, but it is a dangerous precedent to
fill official Township resolutions with gross exaggerations to achieve
political ends.
For the record, Mr. Short and I share many
of their concerns about COAH, but could not support an error-ridden
Resolution that amounted to nothing more than political
hyperbole. We previously voted for a resolution authorizing
Middletown to join the state-wide litigation challenging the most
recent COAH legislation. We too feel the implementation strategy
pursued by the State is unworkable and unfair to Middletown. We
also voted with the rest of the Middletown Township Committee (5-0, 3
Republicans and 2 Democrats), in support of the Affordable Housing Plan
submitted by Middletown to the State. From my perspective, if we
cannot legally amend the most recent COAH legislation, then the State
should impose a three year moratorium on its implementation.
Requiring implementation during the worst financial crisis in 50 years
makes little sense. A moratorium would give municipalities,
developers and taxpayers a breather while our economy hopefully
rebounds.
Again, we welcome debate, but let’s get our facts straight.
Sean F. Byrnes,
Middletown Township Committee
The referenced Van Nortwick letter follows:
At a recent Middletown Township Committee
meeting, Committeemen Patrick Short and Sean Byrnes stunned those in
attendance by voting against a resolution supporting the abolishment of
the government subsidized low-income housing program known as
COAH. Mr. Short even went on to scold the rest of the township
committee for "opposing a handout to some of the residents of the
town." This liberal, socialist thinking flies in the face of
common sense and shows a total lack of compassion for the beleaguered
Middletown taxpayer. I, like many people in New Jersey, worked
hard, saved and sacrificed to be able to purchase my home.
However, I cannot afford to subsidize homes for others. In fact,
the billions of taxpayer dollars spent on this program and other
ill-advised government programs are quickly making my house
unaffordable. With the economy struggling and New Jersey property
taxes the highest in the nation, the taxpayers cannot afford to
underwrite these programs any longer. Mr. Byrnes and Mr. Short's
support for the governor's low-income housing program is very
disappointing and will not only cost the township millions of dollars,
but will result in the replacement of hundreds of acres of open space
with a blighted urban landscape, crowded schools and congested roads.
Peter VanNortwick
Middletown, NJ