Regional Approval Process Would Help Commercial Development, NJBA President Says

Dwight W. Pittenger, president of Pittenger Builders, Neptune, NJ, and 2016 president of the New Jersey Builders Association (Steve Lubetkin Photo/StateBroadcastNews.com. Used by permission)

ATLANTIC CITY, NJ—A more regionally focused approach to zoning and planning for commercial construction is probably the most critical issue facing New Jersey’s commercial real estate industry, says incoming New Jersey Builders Association president Dwight Pittenger, president of Neptune, NJ-based Pittenger Builders.

In a wide-ranging exclusive interview with GlobeSt.com during the Atlantic Builders Convention in Atlantic City, Pittenger suggested that the state consider identifying industries that are critical to the state’s development objectives, such as pharmaceuticals or technology, and then organize regional planning and zoning processes so that those industries could gain faster approval of new business locations that is currently possible at the municipal level.