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By Joshua Burd
The next chapter of affordable housing in New Jersey is now in Gov. Phil Murphy’s hands, following the state Senate’s passage of a bill to revamp how officials calculate and enforce each town’s obligations under the landmark Mount Laurel doctrine.
The vote on Monday comes a month after passage by the Assembly and as part of a legislative package sponsored by Democrats. Proponents noted that the measure would create a new framework ahead of July 1, 2025, when the next round of state-mandated affordable housing requirements for municipalities begins, seeking to streamline a process that has stoked controversy while proceeding in fits and starts over the last several decades.
Among other steps, lawmakers say it would codify the methodology adopted by state courts, which took over enforcement in 2015 from the now-defunct Council on Affordable Housing and have shepherded the creation of some 21,000 deed-restricted affordable homes in New Jersey.
“In spite of the fact that New Jersey has doubled its supply of affordable housing since 2015, we still remain well over 200,000 affordable units short, making housing and homeownership unreasonably expensive for many New Jersey families,” said Sen. Troy Singleton of Burlington County, who chairs the Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee. “This package of legislation will streamline the process and build on the progress that we have made over the past eight years, allowing affordable housing to be constructed faster and more efficiently over the coming round of affordable housing obligations. Expanding the supply of affordable housing must remain a priority, as it is needed now more than ever.”
The main bill, which passed as A4 in the Assembly and S50 in the Senate, has support from key stakeholders such as the Fair Share Housing Center and the New Jersey Builders Association. Aside from formally abolishing the Council on Affordable Housing, or COAH, the law would draw from the most successful elements of the last several years of court-led enforcement, while reducing the legal costs often borne by developers, advocacy groups and municipalities and creating a system meant to give local governments greater flexibility and input.
To that end, the bill requires the state Department of Community Affairs to calculate municipal obligations and publish them by Dec. 1, 2024. It also allows a municipality to diverge from DCA’s findings as long as it adheres to the methodology established by the bill, while requiring that a town adopts its obligation by a binding resolution on or before Jan. 31, 2025, in order to shield itself from so-called builder’s remedy lawsuits that developers have long used to secure approvals for projects that included affordable housing.
Interested parties may challenge a municipality’s calculations and subsequent plans for meeting its obligations, according to the measure, giving way to a new dispute resolution program.
“Affordability has been the cornerstone of the efforts we have taken in the Legislature to address the challenges our residents face every day,” Senate President Nicholas Scutari said. “This initiative will allow us to develop additional affordable housing in New Jersey and make the system more workable. The bill package makes real progress in making housing more accessible and affordable for residents in communities throughout the state.”
Assembly passes bill to disband COAH, recast blueprint for affordable housing obligations
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