
Its Over Folks ………………….
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
Westwood NJ, New Jersey moves toward socialism and elimination of private property advaning a legislative proposal that could revolutionize how mandatory affordable housing units (socialism) are determined for municipalities, with the Senate passing the bill on Monday along party lines. Governor Phil Murphy is anticipated to sign the bill into law, heralded as a pivotal reform for one of the nation’s most expensive states.
The legislation, known as A4/S50, seeks to transfer the oversight of municipal affordable housing quotas for low- and moderate-income families from court settlements to the Department of Community Affairs. Under the bill’s provisions, the department will establish mandatory affordable housing unit allocations based on a formula outlined in a 2018 state Supreme Court decision.
Westwood Mayor Ray Arroyo critiques new, “Affordable Housing ” bill and catastrophic consequences for Bergen Towns and New Jersey taxpayers.
While you were enjoying the early spring weather and St. Patrick’s Day, tricks were being played in Trenton:
Amendments to the Affordable Housing Act and the new “Round 4” affordable housing obligations (A4/S50) are set to be voted on in Trenton tomorrow – MONDAY. These fundamentally change how towns must “provide a reasonable opportunity for affordable housing” to be built.
When passed, the bill will advance to the Governor’s desk where he has already promised he will sign this disaster into law.
What’s really special about these transformational bills is their equity: they will hurt working middle class Republicans, Democrats and Independents in Pascack Valley towns – equally.
The Pascack Valley Mayors Association and the Bergen County League of Municipalities have written to every member of the Assembly and Senate to state their united and unequivocal opposition to A4/S50. Now, state representatives need to hear your concerns.
Read on for details on this proposed legislation and how to make your voice heard.
A4/S50 redefines the rules for calculating affordable housing obligations. This argument is not one against affordable housing, but one against the parameters of this new legislation and these summarized shortcomings:
1. The fair share numbers are grossly excessive and unachievable, especially in towns that have no vacant land, and are already fully developed.
2. Imposing excessive fair share obligations will force taxes to go up as municipalities will have to pursue 100 percent affordable projects, in order to avoid the cost burdens that are inevitable, when 80 percent of a high density “inclusive “ redevelopment are luxury units. There is not enough state money to fund all those purely affordable projects.
3. Excessive fair share obligations will force town-wide zoning for high-density 20 percent affordable projects. These projects will generate enormous costs that cannot be passed onto developers, like the cost of educating children.
4. These legislative mandates will force overdevelopment that will cause more traffic and more burden on sewer and water infrastructure.
5. These amendments will supersede local planning and zoning and assert the centralized preferences of remote decision makers immune from the adverse consequences of their decisions.
6. The Bill exposes municipalities that seek to comply voluntarily to the risk of litigation at every turn since the deadlines in the bill are unrealistic and expose municipalities that fail to meet them to litigation
7. Even towns that secure approval of their affordable housing plans face the prospect of more litigation by overly zealous nonprofits and avaricious developers
8. A bill that claims it will reduce litigation and costs to the community will have the exact opposite effect. This bill will make the Garden State the Garden Apartment State.
9. This bill will hasten the exodus of families leaving the state to states that more carefully consider adopting legislation before they know the impact.
The Borough of Westwood has met its Round 3 affordable housing “Reasonable Development Potential” (RDP). As a fully developed community, that RDP was 1.
That’s right: the NJ Superior Court certified that as a fully developed community, in Westwood, realistically only one unit of affordable house could be built. And it was. A single family home was built for a military veteran, by Habitat for Humanity, on Sand Road.
Nevertheless, the court further certified that the Borough’s 3rd Round obligation of what should be built as redevelopment occurs was 381 affordable units. Under the parameters of the 3rd round formula, for every 5 units of market rate units in a development, one must be “affordable.” That is, 20%. If every single one of the 381 obligated units were built as 20% of a luxury market rate development, Westwood would have to amend its zoning to enable the construction of a total 1900 units!
The Round 4 obligations will likely be worse as the guardrails that have enabled thoughtful local planning and zoning will be removed, enabling careless and thoughtless overdevelopment that taxes our infrastructure, schools, services – and ultimately our residents.
Again, Westwood, under the 3rd round rules, had a realistic development potential of 1 unit. which we’ve satisfied and surpassed by realizing 7 affordable units per the terms of our court sanctioned settlement. We added six more affordable units than the RDP through careful planning and working to integrate our obligation within the context of our master plan. (For the record, these likely won’t count toward fulfilling a new obligation under Round 4…)
And since we cannot create new land, the new rules and unobtainable quotas will put all parts of town in play and eviscerate the zoning and planning that has made our town a successful and desirable alternative to city life for generations.
Central planning – that is, remote decision makers picking winners and losers in the housing market – doesn’t work. Urban renewal didn’t solve anything in the 70’s. It put some people in rent controlled Soviet-Style apartment blocks, that the NYC Housing Authority proceeded to run into disrepair with neglect. And it displaced many others who were not accommodated after the bulldozers were done.
It didn’t work in 2008 when the foreseeable consequences of no-income-verification mortgages and the inevitable foreclosures and bank bailouts came home to roost.
And it won’t work now in NJ.
Reworking the numbers in Round 4 so that the 20 units in an 80/20 split becomes 60/40 while simultaneously castrating local zoning controls – will incentivize developers to seek ever more massive luxury developments to offset the larger number of affordable units, increasing the cost of living – schools, police, fire and ambulance, sanitation, engineering, equipment and infrastructure – for everyone who does not qualify for subsidized housing or who cannot afford luxury rents.
And once again – how does it all get crammed into a fully developed municipality like Westwood with no vacant land? And what does our town look like, how does it function, and why would we wish to transform it – when the transformation won’t solve the problem of affordability; but will actually add to it for the hollowed-out working middle class.
As A4/S50 rewrites the rules of development in the face of Round 4, there are two additional, interrelated pieces of legislation emerging from Trenton that share something rarely seen in state politics. One reduces parking requirements at residential developments based on proximity to public transportation (see the link to PP). And the other, the Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) initiative (A2792/S1106) turns every single family home in the state into a two-family home by allowing accessory dwellings (tiny homes) on every lot, thereby doubling the residential density as of right. The latter is in Governor Murphy’s budget as a pilot program.
Together, all three pieces of legislation are irrationally antithetical to local control of planning and zoning , premised upon false assumptions, will produce easily foreseeable adverse consequences and will actually produce the opposite effects of their stated goals.
Call the legislator at the numbers listed in the comments. Tell them you know they are not representing your best interests, and let them know you will hold them accountable.
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Totally agree with Mayor Arroyo. Unfortunately, the clowns in Trenton just don’t care. When every square inch of land is developed what do they plan to do next? Everyone who voted for this bill should be ousted from office when they come up for re-election. Quality of life in NJ has just continued to go down hill and the politicians in Trenton could care less. How many of them have been lobbied by developers? Makes you wonder.
People need to start waking up and realize what is truly happening. NYC is gone and is never coming back. Solidified by the National Guard now patrolling the subways. Crime is out of control and it is no longer safe to walk anywhere in NYC at any given time. At least back in the 70’s you knew the culprits – today, you haven’t a clue who might attack you from behind or any other direction. Who might carjack you while waiting at a simple traffic light or in a parking garage. They are begging people to go to theater!
IMHO this was all deliberate and they have sold us out to China which is now the largest group of illegals entering this Country. How else can you explain the massive, massive overdevelopment – everywhere! These people are accustomed to living in cramped quarters and on top of each other. LOOK AT THE TRAFFIC SITUATION and tell me again how this is NOT intentional? There are OVER 1 million people in Bergen County alone (over 11 million in NJ) and now, they’re building over 300 units on A & S Drive that is already massively congested with the mall – Stew Leonard’s and cars enroute to the GSP South. That’s not even taking into consideration the massive traffic the new Valley Hospital will also create. How could you possibly, possibly build 300+ units in this area if it were not in anticipation of who will eventually be occupying these residences? They know! No one in their right mind is moving into NJ but rather leaving – and in droves. We are now quickly becoming a third world Country! The infrastructure and crime – the massive unmitigated corruption and malfeasance and now the millions upon millions of illegals that have entered the Country. That’s why they keep developing! They know exactly who’s coming!
I do love New Jersey’s special brand of covert racism. This post is a master class. Your “brothers” must be so proud of you. Plausible deniability, indeed. I am sorry if the sarcasm was too thick.
NB: this commentator said the above was racist … but they didn’t say that they were wrong.
It’s not Racist.
It’s only racist TO YOU since YOU are Racist and see the world through a Racist Lens.
This warps your view of the world …
By now, folks should have learned that NO Goldman Sachs alumnus should ever be allowed to take elected office.
Kalifornia here come…………………………….
So much for the “Garden State”
its the garbage state
This is exactly what we are getting for voting Democrats in charge
Look at what’s been happening in our own village over the years. There is no more space and we are not the cozy town it once was. So very sad. We are all being driven out
Wait till Valley moves to Paramus. That’s the perfect location for low income housing. Multi use living, 55 and older, a senior wing, so on.
Would be a fantastic location for a new sports complex. No flooding, no Rt. 17 /Schedler accidents, etc. Ummm. Eminent domain?
that would be better than condos
Too far from the high school
Coming to downtown Ridgewood, “The Warner” a mid-rise elevator serviced affordable housing asset on the site of the storied former Warner Theater.