N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31Z-1.6

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 12, June 17, 2024

Section 19:31Z-1.6 - Approval of completed application

(a) For redevelopment projects eligible pursuant to section 12 at P.L. 2020, c. 156 (N.J.S.A. 34:1B-280) and N.J.A.C. 19:31Z-1.3, the Authority shall review applications submitted by the corresponding application deadline. The review shall determine if the applicant:

1. Complies with the eligibility criteria;

2. Satisfies the submission requirements; and

3. Provides adequate information to make an eligibility determination for the subject application.

(b) The Authority shall allocate tax credits to eligible redevelopment projects in ranked order based on the factors set forth below. To receive a tax credit award, a developer's application shall meet a minimum score. The Authority shall establish weights for the factors and the minimum score before applications are submitted for the State fiscal year and shall provide public notice of the weights through its website. These factors may include:

1. The environmental history of the brownfield site and the impact of the contamination, hazard, or other environmental concern on the surrounding community;

2. The degree to which the redevelopment project enhances and promotes job creation and economic development, such as the land use and other designations of the site of the redevelopment project related to uses and purposes of the site, including, but not limited to, if it is an area in need of redevelopment;

3. Positive impact of the redevelopment project on the surrounding community. For the entity or entities in the applicant's ownership structure that will have direct or indirect control over the actions by the applicant to undertake the redevelopment project, the extent to which such entity or entities have owners or board of directors (or members or partners if no board of directors) who are diverse and representative of the community in which the redevelopment project is located;

4. Economic feasibility of the redevelopment project and project viability, including level of experience and qualifications of the applicant's key personnel and strategic partners; and

5. The extent to which the remediation will reduce environmental or public health stressors in an overburdened community, as those terms are defined by section 2 at P.L. 2020, c. 92 (N.J.S.A. 13:1D-158), and how the remediation will address climate resiliency.

(c) Before the Board may consider for approval a developer's application for tax credits:

1. The Authority will confirm with the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Environmental Protection, and the Department of the Treasury that the developer is in compliance by being in substantial good standing with the statutes, rules, and other enforceable standards of the respective department, or, if a compliance issue exists, the developer has entered into a corrective action plan or other agreement with the respective department in order to regain good standing with the above mentioned departments, as applicable.

2. Substantial good standing shall be determined by each department and mean, at a minimum, that the developer:

i. As to the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, Department of Environmental Protection, and Department of the Treasury:

(1) Is in substantial compliance with all material statutes, rules, and other enforceable standards of the respective departments that apply to the developer; and

(2) Has no material violations of those statutes, rules, or other enforceable standards that remain substantially unresolved through entry into a corrective action plan, or other agreement with the department, with respect thereto;

ii. As to all other departments, has no unpaid liability in excess of any threshold dollar amount(s) that may be established by each respective department; and

iii. If the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, the Department of Environmental Protection, or the Department of the Treasury promulgate or issue, their own more stringent rule or standard defining the term "substantial good standing," the respective department shall use such rule or standard to determine whether an entity is in substantial good standing.

3. The Authority may contract with an independent third party to perform a background check on the developer.

4. The Authority will confirm with the Department of Environmental Protection that the developer has:

i. Entered into a memorandum of agreement or other oversight document with the Commissioner of the Department of Environmental Protection in accordance with the provisions of section 37 at P.L. 1997, c. 278 (N.J.S.A. 58:10B-29); or

ii. Complied with the requirements set forth in subsection b. of section 30 at P.L. 2009, c. 60 (N.J.S.A. 58:10B-1.3) for the remediation of the site of the redevelopment project.

(d) The developer shall certify that any contractors or subcontractors that will perform work at the site of the redevelopment project are registered as required by the Public Works Contractor Registration Act, P.L. 1999, c. 238 (N.J.S.A. 34:11-56.48 et seq.), have not been debarred by the Department of Labor and Workforce Development from engaging in or bidding on public works contracts in the State, and possess a tax clearance certificate issued by the Division of Taxation in the Department of the Treasury.

N.J. Admin. Code § 19:31Z-1.6

Recodified from 19:31-27.6 56 N.J.R. 807(a), effective 5/6/2024