Construction Slump Sidelines Planning Board

There was no Planning Board meeting on Monday. It was canceled. But that’s no big surprise to anyone paying attention to such things.

The Planning Board, responsible for ensuring that commercial construction in town is up to par and to the town’s liking, has axed more meetings than it’s held this year.

Since January, 12 meetings have been scheduled. Seven have been scuttled.

The board simply doesn’t have any work to do, Mayor Jeffrey Foster said.

“What’s happening is that there’s no commercial building going on,’’ he said. “The agenda has been very, very weak.’’

Wall may be feeling the effects of a national trend, according to construction industry watchers.

McGraw-Hill Construction, which monitors trends in the construction industry, predicts that 2012 will not be a banner year for new construction projects.

The construction industry has struggled since plunging 24 percent in 2009, new construction projects leveled off in 2010 and have remained largely stagnant since then, according to Robert Murray, a McGraw-Hill executive.

“The backdrop for the construction industry is the fragile U.S. economy, which continues to see slow employment growth, diminished funding from federal and state governments, and pervasive uncertainty,” Murray said in a release.

Foster, who also sits on the Planning Board, echoed that sentiment.

 “It’s the economy,’’ he said. “People just don’t know what’s going to happen.”

In its annual Dodge Construction Outlook report – a mainstay in construction industry forecasts — McGraw-Hill predicts that 2012 construction projects nationwide will remain essentially flat over 2011 levels.

In a state where the unemployment rate outpaces an already high national rate —New Jersey's is 9.2 percent, while the national jobless rate is 8.2 percent — the leading indicators don't point toward a rosie outlook in the Garden State.

That’s not good news for Wall.

“I’ve never seen it this bad,’’ Foster, who owns a Belmar Boulevard repair shop. “I’ve seen it in my business. I’m off by probably 35 percent this year. I don’t know how other people are getting by. It’s rough for businesses out there.’’

Timothy B. Middleton, a Manasquan-based attorney who frequently represents construction companies and developers before Wall's Planning Board and boards throughout the Shore area, also said he's seen a drop in the number of companies vying for municipal approvals.

"I think in some towns they're routinely canceling (Planning Board) meetings,'' Middleton said. "People are reluctant to do anything. It's scary out there.''

Howell Councilman Robert Nicastro said Wall's western neighbor is suffering from the same problem. There have been no new Planning Board applications, commercial or residential, Nicastro said.

"I just think it is the economy that applicants are just taking a wait and see,'' said Nicastro, who also sits on that town's Planning Board. "We are down to one meeting a month."

The Township Committee, Foster said, recently has taken a step to make at least some part of starting up a business in town a little easier.

At its June 13 meeting, the committee unanimously voted to introduce an ordinance that raises the threshold for a full Planning Board application for some businesses.

The ordinance, up for public hearing on July 11, proposes to change the township’s zoning code and raise the threshold triggering a Planning Board hearing for a minor site plan, according to the measure.

Currently, any business that is renovating an existing building of more than 5,000 square feet for a new, conforming business would have to come before the board for a full hearing, Foster said.

That could cost the business owner upwards of $30,000, Foster said.

“We thought that was very unfair,’’ he said.

The new measure would raise the square footage to 10,000, effectively keeping smaller businesses from a full hearing. They would be subject, however, to an internal review of the planning department, but that would cost far less, Foster said.

“We’re trying to do whatever we can to help out businesses,’’ Foster said.

Has the economy kept you from opening a business, expanding a business, or kept you from making a big-ticket purchase, either for business or home? Discuss in the comments below.