Katie Razin’s article on the impact of dwindling print publications is featured in NJ Municipalities Magazine.
Balance. That is what is needed to address the public notice issue that faces municipalities, developers and the public alike in the coming months. With the upcoming termination of major daily print publications in the State of New Jersey in early 2025, including The Star Ledger, The Times of Trenton, and South Jersey Times, there is an undeniable impact as to how and where certain municipalities and applicants for development will be able to publish certain statutorily required public notices. In effect, without these papers in circulation, it will become increasingly difficult for parties to comply with the notice requirements proscribed by the Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) and otherwise, including the advising of meeting schedules, ordinance adoptions, development application hearings, and zoning changes.
While many municipalities and developer applicants alike have long felt that that print publication is out-of-date, costly, and time consuming, the upcoming elimination of these daily papers in print form has reignited and further fueled discussion about whether these notice statutes should be amended–and more importantly, how.
Potential options include allowance for electronic publication of legal notices on a newspaper’s website, through digital publication on a centralized database site, or by posting on a local municipality or government’s website. There are, in fact, several bills, including A-4231 (2024), seeking for the DCA to establish a Statewide database of notices, and A-4759 (2024), seeking to expand the definition and qualification of online newspapers for public advertisements, that have been introduced and these, or other similar options likely could move forward in an effort to provide a solution.
Whatever is ultimately enacted and whatever methodology is pursued in the long term, however, should be comprehensive in addressing the issue for all parties–municipalities and government stakeholders, as well as developers and applicants, who all must provide notice under the MLUL and Local Redevelopment and Housing Law. If there is a centralized location for publication, it should cover all entities which are required to publish. Allowance for electronic publication (in whatever form and on whatever database/search engine) would provide counties, municipalities, and other agencies with the opportunity to comply with the notice requirements set forth in the MLUL and related laws in a timely, cost-effective, and efficient manner. In addition, it would and should allow for developers and redevelopers to be able to meet their publication notice requirements in a similarly streamlined fashion. Uniformity in the process would serve as a benefit to all those involved.
Members of the public, however, must also be considered in this shift. Indeed, as much as digitalized publication would seemingly be welcomed and beneficial to municipalities and developers, the underlying purpose behind public notice must continue to resonate–that is to ensure that members of the public who may be affected by the nature of a matter are fairly apprised thereof so that they may make an informed determination as to whether they should participate in the process and/or become more informed about it. A centralized publication system must allow for ease of public use, search and availability of information in a user-friendly manner.
The bottom line: some change is patently necessary, and likely overdue. The proposed modification should provide balance, to allow the public to remain informed and to alleviate the heavy burdens of expense, time, and now, feasibility of finding print publications.
But this change may not happen quick enough. With the impending expiration of these print publications occurring in the early part of 2025, there is a push for a temporary fix. S-3957/A-5151 have been approved by the Senate Judiciary committee and Assembly Appropriations Commit and are anticipated to move forward. They would allow any newspaper used by a public body as the official newspaper to meet the definition of a newspaper under the law regardless of the format of the newspaper’s publication through March 1, 2025. In addition, Warren County petitioned the court seeing a declaratory judgement that would allow the county to designate the Star-Ledger as its official newspaper regardless of format. A hearing is scheduled for January 6, possibly too late to provide guidance for others.
Comprehensive legislation should rapidly move forward to ensure an appropriate process to follow. In the meantime, if no action is taken or not taken expediently, it is unclear how some municipalities and developer applicants will meet their notice obligations considering the changes to come with print papers in the state. Work towards a solution, a solution of balance, must start now.
