1970: Edmund T. Hume appointed second commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.

1970: New Jersey Mortgage Finance Agency created to provide financing for single-family homes. Established in but not of the Department of Community Affairs.

1971: Lawrence F. “Pat” Kramer appointed third commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.

1971: Southern Burlington County NAACP sues Mount Laurel Township for exclusionary zoning.

1971: Local Public Contracts Law (40A:11-1 et seq.) is enacted, requiring Division of Local Finance (currently Division of Local Government Services) to approve of public contracts in certain cases and provide guidance on the law itself.

1971: Division of Local Finance is renamed the Division of Local Government Services.

1971: Division on Aging, Division of Youth and Office of Economic Opportunity merge to form Division of Human Resources.

1971: Under the Business Incentive Loan Act, the New Jersey Urban Loan Authority, a quasi-independent body within the Department of Community Affairs, is created to provide financial backing to business ventures, particularly those owned and operated by minorities, in economically depressed areas of the state.

1971: New Jersey Sports and Exposition Authority is established as a semi-autonomous agency in the Department of Community Affairs to provide for the construction and operation of a sports complex in the Meadowlands. Later in 1971, the Authority announces it has signed a contract to move the New York Giants from New York to the new sports complex beginning with the 1975 football season.

November 1971: First Green Acres bond issue approved to purchase open space for recreation and conservation (did not include historic resources).

December 1971: Office on Women is established as a pioneering state agency for women’s advocacy. The Division’s mission is to create, promote and expand the rights and opportunities for all women in New Jersey.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                 

1972: An adjunct to the New Jersey Urban Loan Authority, the New Jersey State Development Corporation is established by state law to administer a multi-million-dollar federal grant. It works to develop and build local Community Development Corporations (CDC).

September 1972: First statewide conference on needs of women in New Jersey held in Trenton.

1974: Patricia Q. Sheehan appointed fourth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.

August 26, 1974: Governor Byrne signs legislation replacing the Office on Women with the Division on Women.

January 1975: Office of Hispanic Affairs established to assist New Jersey’s Latino population in gaining access to and participating in the public policy process.

1975: Mount Laurel I – the first landmark decision on affordable housing.

1975: Office of Aging in the Division of Human Resources is reorganized as Division on Aging.

1975: Maintenance of Viable Neighborhoods Act passes and creates Neighborhood Preservation Program, which runs until 2009.

October 1975: Governor Byrne signs Uniform Construction Code Act into law, requiring the Department of Community Affairs to adopt one uniform construction code for the entire state, administer the code in those municipalities requesting it, and establish a system of training and competency certification for all construction code enforcement officials at both state and local levels.

1976: Division of State and Regional Planning completes its first draft of State Development Plan to lay the groundwork for a growth pattern and parameters for development. Plan will go into effect in 1980.  

1976: DCA receives its first Section 8 Housing Program grant from HUD. The major focus was to help disabled families and individuals find affordable housing. Within one year, all of the Section 8 Housing Certificates were used and DCA successfully assisted 410 families and individuals.           

January 1, 1977: New Jersey Uniform Construction Code takes effect.

1977: Governor Byrne signs the Planned Real Estate Development Full Disclosure Act, which requires that a developer of a common interest community such as a condominium, cooperative or subdivided property with an association that manages commonly owned interests register an offering plan with the Department of Community Affairs prior to offering housing units for sale.

1977: Municipal Appropriations Cap (NJSA 40A:4-45.3 et seq.) instituted to limit increases in local government expenditure increases; Division of Local Government Services responsible for administering the law and reviewing local government budgets to ensure compliance with expenditure limitations.

1977: Division on Aging begins a series of public hearings on the use of casino gambling revenues to benefit older citizens.

1978: Joseph A. LeFante appointed fifth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.

1978: Office of the Ombudsman for the Institutionalized Elderly is created by the Legislature and located in the Department of Community Affairs.

1978/79: Department of Community Affairs undergoes major reorganization. Six programmatic areas separated into two areas – Local Government Affairs and Human Affairs. The Human Affairs divisions include the Division on Women, Division on Aging and an expanded Division of Community Resources. The Local Government Affairs divisions include the Division of Housing, Division of Planning and Division of Local Government Services.

1979: Governor Byrne signs Displaced Homemakers Act. Division on Women identifies existing displaced homemaker programs in New Jersey and develops and offers technical assistance to expand existing programs to help women who have spent most of their adult life working in the home to transition to take on the role of income earner.

1979: New Home Warranty and Builders Registration Program begins to protect homebuyers from poor construction practices. Program is the first such legislatively mandated program in the nation.

DCA 50th Anniversary