2000: Carnival-Amusement Ride Rules are adopted. The rules rewrite the requirements for carnival and amusement rides and establish design standards for new carnival and amusement rides.
2000: DCA wins HUD Best Practices Award for its successful Section 8 Regional Opportunity Counseling Program. DCA is the only housing agency out of 2,800 agencies administering the Section 8 Housing Program to receive back-to-back Best Practices Awards from HUD.
2001: A partnership between the Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development and the Public Service Electric & Gas Company resulted in a new scholarship component for interns participating in the Latino Leaders Fellowship Institute and Hispanic Interns in Community Service Program.
2001: Three college students die in fire at Seton Hall and others are severely injured. The deaths and injuries result in laws requiring that all dormitories and fraternity and sorority houses are equipped with automatic fire sprinkler systems within four years.
2001: DCA Section 8 Housing Program had grown from the original 410 families in 1976 to more than 20,000 families. More than 14,000 landlords participate in the program.
Sept. 11, 2001: Terrorist attacks in New York City, Washington D.C. and western Pennsylvania.
January 2002: The Neighborhood Revitalization Tax Credit (NRTC) Program is signed into law. The program offers business entities a 100 percent tax credit against various New Jersey state taxes for investing in the revitalization of low-and moderate-income neighborhoods in eligible municipalities.
2002: Municipal Rehabilitation and Economic Recovery Act (MERA) is enacted, giving the Division of Local Government Services and Local Finance Board enhanced powers over the operations of insolvent municipalities (NJSA 52:27BBB1 et seq.).
2002: Governor McGreevey signs Reorganization Plan, returning responsibility for asbestos contractor licensing and boilers, pressure vessels and refrigeration to the Department of Labor.
2002: Susan Bass Levin appointed thirteenth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
2002: New Jersey Historic Trust moves from the Department of Environmental Protection to the Department of Community Affairs.
2002: Governor’s Advisory Council Against Sexual Violence is established to review the effectiveness of protocols, standards and procedures for the examination and treatment of victims of sexual violence, as well as develop recommendations on how to improve the services offered to victims of sexual violence. The Council also monitors the effectiveness of laws and reviews proposed legislation that would govern sexual violence. The Council reports their progress to the Governor.
July 7, 2002: The Open Public Records Act (OPRA), which creates the Government Records Council (GRC), goes into effect. The GRC’s primary goals are to resolve disputes regarding access to government records and respond to inquiries about the statute from members of the public and records custodians.
2002: Through the State’s Domestic Security Preparedness Task Force, Division of Codes and Standards staff participate in the development of best practices for the evaluation of commercial buildings.
2003: Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency establishes Smart Start Program to provide down payment and/or closing cost assistance to homebuyers.
2003: Division on Women coordinates Governor’s Roundtable on Women series to address and prioritize issues of importance to women.
2003: Division of Housing and Community Resources splits into separate divisions.
2004: The New Jersey Cultural Trust partners with the New Jersey Historic Trust to establish historic preservation grants for cultural non-profit organizations. Grants are awarded every three years.
2004: Division on Women establishes the Domestic Violence Fatality and Near Fatality Review Board to review acts of domestic violence and learn from the circumstances in an effort to positively change public policy.
2004: Working in Newark’s Neighborhoods, a subsidiary corporation of the New Jersey Redevelopment Authority, is created to invest funds in redevelopment projects in the City of Newark’s neighborhoods.
December 2004: COAH adopts third round rules and fair share housing obligations for 1987-2014, based on a growth share approach. From 2005 to 2008, 284 municipalities petition COAH for third round substantive certification.
2005: Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency launches the Special Needs Housing Trust Fund Mortgage Program to fund the construction of supportive housing for individuals with special needs.
2005: Partnership with Department of Community Affairs, Department of Human Services and Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency creates the New Jersey Housing Resource Center (NJHRC.gov) a free, searchable, multilingual online database of affordable and accessible housing throughout New Jersey.
2005: State Lead Hazard Control Assistance Fund is created and runs until 2012.
2005: The Government Records Council changes the format of its “Findings and Recommendations of the Executive Director” to improve the clarity of the Council’s decisions. These changes provide members of the public a better understanding of how the Council reaches its conclusions.
2005: Governor Codey signs Reorganization Plan, transferring responsibility for Residential Health Care Facilities from the Department of Health to the Department of Community Affairs.
September 2005: Governor Codey and State Legislature announce the appropriation of $1 million to purchase Automatic External Defibrillators for the New Jersey Fire Service. As a result, the Division of Fire Safety distributes approximately 1,000 AEDs. Every municipality and fire district with its own fire department is eligible to receive at least one defibrillator.
2006: New Jersey Redevelopment Authority launches the Redevelopment Training Institute to provide non-profit and for-profit developers, professional consultants, entrepreneurs and municipal/county officials with knowledge about the redevelopment and real estate development process in New Jersey.
2006: Division of Codes and Standards staff participate in the development and adoption of changes to the International Building Code to address homeland security concerns. The 2006 edition of the International Building Code incorporates the first of these changes limiting certain fire safety exceptions to buildings of less than 420 feet in height.
2007-2008: Housing Market Crash and Financial Crisis. Great Recession begins.
January 2007: Portions of COAH’s third round rules overturned by Appellate Court decision.
2007: Joseph V. Doria Jr. appointed fourteenth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
2007: Local Unit Realignment and Consolidation Commission (52:27D-506) is created to recommend legislative changes that would encourage the more efficient operation of local government in New Jersey. The Division of Local Government Services and the Local Finance Board are required to work in conjunction with the Commission in effecting its goals.
2007: Foreclosure Prevention and Asset Preservation Program established. Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency partners statewide with qualified housing counselors who are experts in foreclosure prevention and asset preservation to assist homeowners experiencing financial hardship and potential loss of their home due to adjustable rate resets, sub-prime or inappropriate loans.
2007: 4% property tax levy cap is instituted for municipalities and counties (NJSA 40A:45-44 to 45.47), requiring the Local Finance Board to approve cap waiver applications.
2007: Local Option Municipal Consolidation (40A:65-25 et seq.) is enacted, requiring the Division of Local Government Services and the Local Finance Board to review and approve municipal consolidation proposals, as well as assist municipalities through the process.
August 29, 2007: The Government Records Council holds its 1st Annual OPRA Seminar. The Council opens the seminar to members of the public, as well as records custodians.
2008: Urban Enterprise Zone (UEZ) Authority moves from New Jersey Commerce Commission to Department of Community Affairs. UEZ Authority assists in efforts to revitalize the state’s most distressed urban communities by creating private sector jobs and public and private investment in 32 designated UEZ zones.
2008: The Division of Housing and Division of Community Resources merge to form the Division of Housing and Community Resources.
June 2008: COAH adopts revised third round rules.
July 2008: Governor Corzine signs into law a comprehensive housing reform package, commonly known as “A-500” (P.L.2008, c.46). The package institutes major changes in New Jersey’s affordable housing policies and impacts how affordable housing is paid for and where it will be built. The two most significant changes effectuated are the imposition of a 2.5% fee on most non-residential construction and ending the practice of Regional Contribution Agreements, where suburban towns would send up to 50% of their affordable housing obligations outside its borders often to urban areas or inner ring suburbs.
December 2008: COAH receives over 250 municipal petitions for substantive certification in response to revised third round rules.
2008-2010: To assist New Jerseyans affected by the Great Recession and also help jumpstart the state’s housing market, Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency establishes or partners in a number of programs, including the Mortgage Assistance Pilot Program, National Foreclosure Mitigation Counseling Program, New Jersey Judiciary Foreclosure Mediation Program, Tax Credit Loan Program, Tax Credit Assistance Program, and Tax Credit Exchange Program.
2009: As part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was enacted in response to the Great Recession, additional Community Development Block Grant funds are allocated to New Jersey and administered by the Department of Community Affairs through the ARRA Small Cities Program and Neighborhood Stabilization Program (NSP2). The programs are aimed at preventing or reducing neighborhood blight.
2009: The 2009 edition of the International Building Code is published, incorporating a package of changes addressing homeland security concerns, including provisions to limit progressive collapse and provisions addressing the structural integrity of exit stairways, spray-on fire proofing, redundant water supply for sprinkler systems, additional exit stairs, the remoteness of exit stairs and the designation of a fire service elevator.
2010: Lori Grifa appointed fifteenth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
2010: Property Tax Levy Cap Law (NJSA 40A:45-44 to 45.47) is revised to decrease the cap to 2% and eliminate Local Finance Board waivers, but requires the Division of Local Government Services to approve referendum questions for municipalities seeking voter approval to raise tax levy above the 2% cap.
2010: Transitional Aid to Localities Program is created, requiring the Division of Local Government Services to monitor financially stressed municipalities and to enforce conditions placed on special state aid (NJSA 52:27D-118.42a).
2010: Best Practices Checklist is created to provide standards every year by which local governments can assess their effectiveness in budgeting, management and cost control. The Division of Local Government Services is charged with reviewing and tabulating the responses.
October 2010: Portions of COAH’s revised third round rules overturned by Appellate Court decision.
2011: Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency launches New Jersey Homekeeper Program to aid homeowners in danger of foreclosure.
2011: As part of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform Act, which was enacted in response to the housing market crash and financial crisis, a third round of funding for the Neighborhood Stabilization Program is provided to states and localities, including New Jersey. The Department of Community Affairs administers the NSP3 funds to purchase foreclosed or abandoned homes and to rehabilitate, resell, or redevelop these homes in order to stabilize neighborhoods and stem the decline of house values of neighboring homes.
2011: Application for Urban Enterprise Zone business certification moves to an online system, decreasing processing time from weeks to days.
2011: The 1772 Foundation partners with the New Jersey Historic Trust to establish a new source of matching grants, up to $15,000, for non-profit historic property owners.
2011: Center for Hispanic Policy, Research and Development moves from the Department of Community Affairs to the Department of State.
2011: The Office of Local Planning Services begins to provide general planning services to local governmental entities.
August 28, 2011: Tropical Storm Irene hits New Jersey.
2012: Richard E. Constable, III appointed sixteenth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
2012: Division on Women moves from the Department of Community Affairs to the Division of Children and Families.
September 28, 2012: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approves New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Action Plan for Tropical Storm Irene.
October 29, 2012: Superstorm Sandy hits New Jersey.
April 29, 2013: U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development approves New Jersey Department of Community Affairs Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery Action Plan for Superstorm Sandy.
Spring 2013: Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency establishes Fund for Restoration of Multifamily Housing (FRM) Program with CDBG Disaster Recovery funds. The program provides qualified housing developers with subsidies in the form of zero- and low-interest loans to finance the development of affordable housing in the nine counties the federal government designated as the most impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
Spring 2013: Sandy Recovery Division is created to administer storm recovery programs designed to help homeowners, renters, landlords, developers and local communities.
May 2013: New Jersey is awarded $1.83 billion in first round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for Superstorm Sandy.
May 24, 2013: Department of Community Affairs launches reNewJerseyStronger housing recovery initiative and begins to accept applications from Sandy-impacted homeowners for the Reconstruction, Rehabilitation, Elevation and Mitigation (RREM) Program and the Homeowner Resettlement Program. Application period ends August 1, 2013.
June 8, 2013: Housing Recovery Centers open in each of the nine counties most impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
June 27, 2013: New Jersey Redevelopment Authority launches the Predevelopment Fund for Affordable Rental Housing. The initiative, supported through federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Disaster Recovery funds, provides financing to help non-profit developers revitalize Superstorm Sandy-affected areas by covering the predevelopment costs associated with the redevelopment of properties that are currently considered unsafe, underutilized, or in foreclosure.
2014: Submissions of local government officers’ Financial Disclosure Forms transition from a paper system to electronic filing.
2014: COAH proposes revised third round rules.
June 5, 2014: New Jersey Redevelopment Authority is awarded $20 million in New Market Tax Credits by the U.S. Treasury to invest capital in commercial and mixed-use development projects in New Jersey communities with high poverty, low wage and high unemployment and in areas of New Jersey severely impacted by Superstorm Sandy.
May 2014: New Jersey is awarded $1.46 billion in second round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for Superstorm Sandy.
Fall 2014: New Jersey expends more than $1 billion in CDBG Disaster Recovery funds.
October 2014: DCA begins hosting Housing Recovery Information Sessions in communities hard hit by Superstorm Sandy.
January 7, 2015: Department of Community Affairs launches new Sandy housing recovery programs, including the Low to Moderate Income (LMI) Homeowner Rebuilding Program, Tenant-Based Rental Assistance Program and Sandy Recovery Housing Counseling Program.
2015: Charles A. Richman appointed seventeenth commissioner of the Department of Community Affairs.
2015: User Friendly Budgets are established by the Division of Local Government Services. The User-Friendly Budget seeks to present municipal budgets in a more easily comprehensible format for the average citizen by summarizing the annual municipal operating budget, displaying information on key cost drivers, and better explaining the municipal budget’s impact on local property taxes.
March 2015: New Jersey Supreme Court relegates New Jersey’s Fair Housing Act compliance to New Jersey’s Superior Courts.
April 2015: New Jersey is awarded $882 million in third and final round of CDBG Disaster Recovery funds for Superstorm Sandy.
July 2015: Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency launches the New Jersey HomeSaver Program, a foreclosure prevention initiative that offers eligible homeowners up to $50,000 in financial assistance to help bring their monthly mortgage to an affordable level.
September 3, 2015: Government Records Council launches an online Denial of Access Complaint form to allow members of the public to file OPRA complaints electronically.
2016: The Preserve New Jersey Historic Preservation Fund is established by constitutional amendment and will provide a stable source of grant funding, an estimated $3 million annually, for preservation efforts.
2016: Division of Local Government Services requires all municipalities to complete the User Friendly Budget form as part of their annual municipal budget.
Spring 2016: New Jersey expends more than $2 billion in CDBG Disaster Recovery funds.
July 1, 2016: Government Records Council implements a digital Statement of Information to allow OPRA custodians to complete forms electronically.
September 5, 2016: 4,000th home in the RREM Program completes construction; milestone signifies that more than half of the homes in the program are completed.
