Senate Republicans provide the votes to pass Woke ESG agenda.
/By Rubashov
S-3605 passed the Senate yesterday, even though the bill has not been certified by OLS for a fiscal note. In other words, we don’t know what it will cost.
This bill “requires the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt regulations implementing certain reductions in required on- and off-street parking spaces in the Statewide site improvement standards by 20, 30, and 50 percent, depending on a residential development’s proximity to certain public transportation services.”
The prime sponsors of the bill are Senators Paul Sarlo and Troy Singleton. As legislation goes, S-3605 has led a charmed life. It was introduced on February 16, 2023; referred to the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee, from where it was reported on May 8th. It passed the Senate on Monday, by a vote of 21 yeas, 12 nays, and 7 not voting.
Democrats Beach, Cruz-Perez, Gopal, Greenstein, Johnson, Lagana, Madden, Pou, Sarlo, Scutari, Singleton, Smith, Thompson, Vitale, and Zwicker voted “Yes”.
Republicans Bramnick, Connors, Holzapfel, Oroho, Polistina, and Stanfield put them over the top with their “Yes” votes.
Republicans Bucco, Corrado, Durr, Pennacchio, Schepisi, Singer, Steinhardt, and Testa voted “No”. Along with Democrats Cryan, Diegnan, Sacco, and Stack.
Democrats Burgess, Codey, Cunningham, Gill, Ruiz, and Turner were “Not Voting”; along with Republican O'Scanlon.
Legislation like S-3605 is a major goal of groups like the U.S. Green Building Council. They rate buildings that incorporate a “reduced parking footprint”, claiming that they “save money, improve efficiency, lower carbon emissions and create healthier places for people” and “are critical to addressing the climate crisis, meeting ESG goals, enhancing resilience, and supporting more equitable communities.”
ESG points are given “to minimize the environmental harms associated with parking facilities, including automobile dependence, land consumption, and rainwater runoff.”
No Parking or Reduce Parking (1 point)
Do not exceed the minimum local code requirements for parking capacity. Provide parking capacity that is a 30% reduction below the base ratios for parking spaces.
Carshare (1 point)
Provide dedicated parking for carshare vehicles. Provide carshare vehicle parking space(s) for at least 1% of total parking spaces, rounded up. If the project has fewer than 100 parking spaces, provide one carshare vehicle parking space. Establish an agreement between the project and carshare company guaranteeing that new and existing carshare vehicle space(s) will be dedicated for a minimum of two years from the certificate of building occupancy. Existing carshare vehicles located in nearby on- or off-street parking areas do not contribute to credit achievement.
Unbundling Parking (1 point)
Sell parking separately from all property sales or leases. For owner-occupied projects, do not provide free or subsidized parking for employees. Implement a daily parking fee at a cost equal to or greater than the daily roundtrip cost of municipal public transit.
Advocates of legislation like S-3605 point to the “Seattle Model” where transportation options are being determined by parking availability instead of personal choice.
Most U.S. cities require residential developers to provide one or more parking spaces with each housing unit they build. An oversupply of parking can lead directly to… more vehicle ownership and driving. As such, oversupplying parking harms the environment, reduces housing affordability, and thwarts efforts to improve social equity.
Realizing these downsides, a growing number of cities are reforming their parking policies to let developers provide fewer parking spaces… in Seattle, after the city reduced its off-street parking minimums… developers built less parking… this allowed Seattle to increase its housing production and discourage reliance on automobiles.
In addition to pushing the Green agenda, less parking means more profit for developers. Unfortunately for those who must inhabit such places, human activities -- like family gatherings at Thanksgiving or birthday parties -- will need to be curtailed. No parking, you see.
The Heritage Foundation has a new video on the threat of ESG:
“Voters can’t make informed decisions unless they’re informed. If you asked any self-respecting constituent of George Santos, they’d tell you they wish they knew then what they know now.”
Micah Rasmussen
Director of the Rebovich Institute of New Jersey Politics at Rider University
"If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell people what they do not want to hear."
George Orwell
