Good morning Chairman Singleton, Vice Chair Rice and members of the Committee.

My name is Zoe Baldwin and I am the NJ Director for the Regional Plan Association, the nation’s oldest independent metropolitan research, planning, and advocacy organization.

Thank you so much for the opportunity to speak this morning, and for posting S345. Today’s hearing is great start to an important conversation. But before I begin in earnest, I would like to make an important clarification – while RPA strongly supports the intent and spirit of s345, it is our opinion that the bill needs revision in order to achieve its goal.

We have been working with stakeholders from the business and civic sectors on amendments submitted to the sponsor, and look forward to continuing our work together as the measure advances. The majority of our comments are technical, but one that I would like to state for the record is that the opt-out clause as drafted undermines the efficacy of the bill. Allowing municipalities to easily opt-out means the measure is less likely to achieve the intended results of ensuring more housing, creating more affordable and equitable housing options, and expanding homeowners’ property rights.

With that said, S345 is still an important step forward. It’s safe to say that there is universal recognition that we have an affordability crisis in New Jersey. Constrained supply driven by resistance to creating more homes has made housing more expensive for everyone and unattainable for far too many.

Uniformly legalizing the creation of accessory dwelling units will create more housing simply by allowing greater flexibility within the context of existing neighborhoods.

Expanded housing options allow younger and older people to live in smaller homes that meet their space and budget needs, they enable families at a range of incomes to afford homes closer to their jobs; and they enable homeowners to generate passive income to help pay the bills.

And it’s worth noting that not all of these new homes necessarily mean new people. ADUs allow extended families to have separate units for grandparents, older children or others currently living together in a single-family house.

Or – on a personal note – families like mine. My father has MS. Allowing ADUs would allow me to have my parents live independently but within help’s reach or allow my parents to remain in their current home but create living arrangements for the inevitable home healthcare to come.

“We’re all in this together,” has been a repeated refrain throughout the pandemic. But it’s really just an empty phrase when the grocery store workers, teachers, home health aides, and others essential to the wellbeing of all of our towns do not have access to housing in or even near the communities they serve.

Again, we are very excited to see this much-needed conversation begin, and look forward to working on the details of this much-needed policy. Thank you for allowing us this time.