Senator Steve Oroho, a member of the Senate Budget and Appropriations Committee, sent a letter to Secretary of Agriculture Charles Kuperus, seeking his assistance in gaining an exemption for farm improvements from the newly enacted 2.5 percent COAH tax. The letter is attached.
“The politicians in Trenton seem bound and determined to take the garden out of the Garden State,” Oroho stated. “If the DEP, the Highlands Commission and the COAH have their way, farms in this state will soon be nothing more than a bittersweet memory. In order for New Jersey’s economy to grow, we must promote business development and not penalize job growth, in all aspects of our economy, including agriculture.”
July 30, 2008
Honorable Charles M. Kuperus
Secretary of Agriculture
Department of Agriculture
P.O. Box 330
Trenton, New Jersey 08625
Dear Secretary Kuperus:
I am writing to call your attention to recently-enacted affordable housing legislation that will have the unfortunate effect of undermining your efforts to promote, protect and serve the Garden State’s diverse agriculture and agribusiness industries.
As you may be aware, P.L. 2008, c. 46 mandates the imposition of a 2.5% non-residential development fee on the construction of “any building or structure, or portion thereof, which is designated to a use group other than a residential use group according to the State Uniform Construction Code. This fee is to be collected from a “developer,” the definition of which means the legal or beneficial owner or owners of a lot or of any land proposed to be included in a proposed development, including the holder of an option or contract to purchase, or other person having an enforceable proprietary interest in such land.
Although the legislation provides certain exemptions from the development fee, agricultural buildings and structures designed to improve the profitability of a farmer’s operations or utilize alternative energy sources to reduce their soaring energy bills, are not included among the statutory exemptions. I am sure that you would agree that the building of a new greenhouse by a New Jersey farmer that could enable him to sell agricultural products in greater volume and at higher price should not be subject to a 2.5% development tax that no other farmer in the nation is required to pay. Similarly, I think you would agree that taxing a farmer who attempts to reduce soaring energy costs by constructing a windmill or utilizing bio-mass technology for energy should not be forced to pay a development tax.
As you are no doubt aware, the continued viability of New Jersey’s farming has faced considerable challenges emanating from Trenton over the passed six years. Urban legislators conspire to reduce funding for farmland preservation, bureaucrats at the Department of Environmental Protection heap ever more onerous regulatory mandates on farmers, and the Governor of this State seeks to eliminate the Department of Agriculture while wasteful and unnecessary programs go unscathed in the annual budget process. The imposition of a 2.5% fee on farmers is only the latest example of government policies that if not reversed, will drive farming in New Jersey toward extinction.
It is my intention to introduce legislation to amend the new affordable housing law to eliminate this harmful mandate that has been imposed on New Jersey’s agricultural community. I will share a copy of my legislation with you when it is completed, and I look forward to your comments.
If you wish to discuss this matter further, please do not hesitate to contact me.
Very truly yours,
Steven Oroho
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