
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Montvale NJ, Fair Share Housing in New Jersey refers to the legal and policy framework that ensures municipalities provide their fair share of affordable housing. This concept emerged from the landmark Mount Laurel decisions by the New Jersey Supreme Court, which ruled that municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing for low- and moderate-income residents.
According to Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, all towns, except for 62 qualified Urban Aid Municipalities, will receive their affordable housing obligations numbers in October. These 62 municipalities have been recipients of tax funding for over 30 years, our money. What are the results of these investments? When we ask these questions, we are called racists.
Our expanding coalition of towns will ask these questions, among other matters, in a court of law.
Key Components of Fair Share Housing:
- Mount Laurel Doctrine:
- Stemming from two key cases in the 1970s and 1980s (Mount Laurel I and II), the New Jersey Supreme Court held that municipalities cannot use zoning laws to exclude low- and moderate-income families and must plan and zone for affordable housing.
- Council on Affordable Housing (COAH):
- Created in 1985, COAH was responsible for determining the “fair share” of affordable housing each municipality was required to provide. This was part of the New Jersey Fair Housing Act.
- COAH set quotas and guidelines for municipalities, ensuring that they met their affordable housing obligations.
- Affordable Housing Quotas:
- Fair Share Obligation: Each municipality is assigned a number of affordable housing units it must plan and zone for. This number is calculated based on factors such as population growth, job creation, and the need for low- and moderate-income housing.
- Inclusionary Zoning: Municipalities may require developers to include a certain percentage of affordable units in new housing developments or provide alternative means to meet these obligations, such as contributing to a housing trust fund.
- Third Round Obligations:
- After COAH became defunct in the early 2010s, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that affordable housing obligations would be handled by the courts. Municipalities were required to submit plans for meeting their obligations, leading to ongoing legal and policy battles over the appropriate number of units and methods of compliance.
Affordable Housing Quotas in New Jersey
Affordable housing quotas refer to the specific number of affordable housing units that each municipality in New Jersey is required to provide based on its fair share obligation. These quotas are part of the broader effort to ensure that all residents, regardless of income, have access to decent housing.
How Quotas Are Determined:
- Fair Share Plan:
- Municipalities develop a Fair Share Plan that outlines how they will meet their affordable housing obligation. This plan includes zoning changes, development approvals, and other measures to encourage the construction of affordable units.
- Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs):
- Historically, municipalities could transfer a portion of their affordable housing obligations to another municipality through an RCA. This practice was abolished in 2008, making each municipality fully responsible for its own obligations.
- Compliance Mechanisms:
- Municipalities can fulfill their quotas through various means, including:
- Inclusionary Zoning: Requiring developers to include affordable units in new residential developments.
- Rehabilitation Programs: Renovating existing housing to make it affordable.
- Municipal Housing Trust Funds: Using funds to create or preserve affordable housing.
- Municipalities can fulfill their quotas through various means, including:
- Enforcement and Legal Challenges:
- If a municipality fails to meet its obligations, developers or housing advocates can challenge its compliance in court. The courts have the authority to impose a “builder’s remedy,” allowing developers to build more units, including affordable ones, than local zoning laws might normally allow.
Urban Aid Municipalities and Accountability
Urban Aid Municipalities are those that have been designated as economically distressed and thus receive additional state aid, often for more than 30 years. There are 62 such municipalities in New Jersey that have been recipients of tax funding to help with their economic revitalization, including efforts to meet affordable housing needs.
Questions of Accountability:
The debate around these municipalities often revolves around the effectiveness and results of the long-term investments they have received. Critics question whether the tax funds have been used effectively to improve housing and economic conditions, while supporters argue that these investments are necessary to address systemic inequalities.
Summary
- Fair Share Housing in New Jersey ensures that municipalities provide a portion of affordable housing to low- and moderate-income residents, stemming from the Mount Laurel Doctrine.
- Affordable Housing Quotas are the specific obligations municipalities must meet, determined by factors like population growth and job creation.
- Urban Aid Municipalities have received tax funding to help meet these obligations and improve economic conditions, but the effectiveness of these investments is often debated.
These topics are highly complex and often lead to legal battles, as municipalities and advocacy groups navigate the state’s affordable housing laws and policies.
It’s about time.
Hell yeah. Make American Unaffordable Again!
fair share housing is a development scam nothing more
Oh, it’s a little more than that.
no. not really
Welfare for builders
This is the result of a left wing liberal Democrat State supreme court.
On the one hand, and on the other, the result of upper middle class wannabe conservatives and libertarians who thought they could social climb their way out of their myopic political decisions.
“But, but, I don’t pay all these taxes just so I can live down the road to the guy that cleans my gutters!” That borrowed time clock is running down and you don’t have the discipline to do anything about it.
any evidence that fare share housing has worked or made things more affordable, my bet is it made things less affordable
For whom?
That fact only indicates that MORE effort and money is needed.
the very definition of “stuck on stupid”
I always hide my classism in plain sight, behind economic arguments.
Too late and largely symbolic. The avalanche of urbanization cannot be stopped. Big, big $ in play which along with spineless VCs and supporting courts are the perfect storm. Local governments have no power on this except to manage what they are ordered to do. I bet as we speak, this VC is negotiating deals for the next waves of developments in RW. Look at Paramus, HoHoKus, Oradell and many many other towns in BC and other counties.
Yup.
Ridgewood has been in a downward spiral for AT LEAST 2 DECADES