approved

Proponents of the bill had cited economic conditions and the possible impact on getting projects done within the time limit imposed by existing and new permits as the reasoning behind the legislation. "With expiring permits now frozen, developers will be in a position to thaw out their approvals and put them to productive use as soon as the market begins to turn around," Ted Zangari, a member of the Newark-based Sills Cummis law firm, tells GlobeSt.com.

[IMGCAP(2)]Zangari is also a founder of the Smart Growth Economic Development Coalition, the advocacy group behind the bill and the larger legislative initiative. "This action will contribute to, if not spur, a recovery," he says. "Recent actions by Gov. Corzine indicate that he has his game face on and is serious about retaining and recruiting businesses, and about revitalizing the state's smart growth areas."

State officials could not be reached for comment. Opponents of the permit extension bill, including officials of the New Jersey DEP, argued that among other things the extension would lock in environmental and other regulations that could change--i.e., become more stringent--over the life of a permit. "We removed about 75% of the bad," said Jeff Tittel, director of the New Jersey Chapter of the Sierra Club, in a statement in late June after the bill cleared the legislature. "So it is a bad bill, but we did the best we could."