photo by Dana Glazer
August 31,2017
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
River Vale NJ, In this interview the founder of Fair Share Housing stares that municipalities aren’t being forced to allow builders to build 5 market rate units for an affordable unit and that the narrative is “totally false.” For my friends around the State facing lawsuits from builders and Fair Share, are his claims accurate?
“Municipalities that don’t want to do their fair share claim that they’ll have to do five units for every affordable unit,” said Fair Share Housing Center Founder Peter O’Connor. “So, if their fair share were 200, they’d have to do 1,000 units. If it were 500, they have to do 2,500 units. That is totally false. The Supreme Court has given great deference to municipal decision making. And towns have a laundry list of 10 categories they can choose from to implement fair share. Only one is the development of market rate housing.”
NJ’s affordable housing crisis: how are towns meeting demand?
BY Briana Vannozzi, Correspondent | August 30, 2017, 3PM EST
The State Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel decision on affordable housing has confounded municipalities and complicated urban planning since it was handed down. There is still widespread dispute over the number of homes each municipality is required to provide. In the meantime, towns are finding creative solutions for those still Chasing the Dream. In the final part of our series, Correspondent Briana Vannozzi went to Mount Laurel where it all began.
Fair Share Housing Center’s Rev. Eric Dobson showed NJTV News cameras a newly constructed road to see the latest housing development inside the original Ethel Lawrence neighborhood of Mount Laurel. The affordable units of single family and town homes will be ready within a year.
“Many aren’t aware this affordable housing facility exists. So it seamlessly integrated into the town,” said Dobson.
NJ’s affordable housing crisis: how are towns meeting demand?
