Zimmer to Assembly: Rethink 'Extraordinarily Ill-Advised' Zoning Exemption for Private Colleges

UPDATE: Assembly Bill No. 2586 has been tabled, according to a report by Princeton Patch.

Mayor Dawn Zimmer, who last year opposed passage of a state Senate bill that would exempt private non-profit colleges from local zoning laws, is asking members of the Assembly to vote down the legislation when it comes up for consideration by the Budget Commitee Monday.

The bill (A-2586/S-1534), which passed 26-8 in the Senate last summer, would free private education institutions, like Stevens Institute of Technology, from having to follow local zoning regulations that, according to the bill, "result in the delay of important educational programs and facilities for students attending the institutions." The exemption would apply not only to future on-campus developments, but also to any property a private college seeks to acquire in the future.

“It is absolutely critical that this legislation not move forward in its current form,” Zimmer wrote in a letter sent Monday to the bill's sponsors and members of the Budget Committee. “As we move forward, the legislature should consult with the elected representatives of the affected communities and schedule public hearings in each of those communities. I invite them to come to Hoboken so they can explain the rationale behind this transfer of authority from government to the private sector and to hear first-hand the perspective and concerns of the city’s residents.”  

While Zimmer doesn't believe the current leadership of Stevens would abuse its authority and build anything it wished without consideration of the city's residents, she said that is beside the point.

"For government to hand over decision-making authority on important public issues to private entities based on the hope that they will act responsibly is completely and totally irresponsible," Zimmer said, adding that she was "extremely disappointed" that the legislation had moved ahead without coordination from municipal officials that would be affected.

"There appears to have been coordination only with the educational institutions that have lobbied for this drastic and unprecedented delegation of government authority to their privately-held unaccountable institutions," Zimmer wrote in her letter to the Assembly. "The potential for 'unanticipated consequences' in this legislation is so blatantly obvious that a strong argument could be made that they are not unintended at all. I urge you to rethink this extraordinarily ill-advised piece of legislation and vote 'no'."

If approved, the bill would give private non-profit colleges the same exemption from local zoning jurisdiction as state colleges currently receive. That exemption, according to the bill, is not unlimited and requires public colleges and universities to consult with municipal authorities about their plans so as not to override legitimate local interests.