A group of New Jersey towns fighting the state’s new affordable housing policy is hoping a court will block the initiative before a key milestone is reached at the end of January.
The number of towns that have signed on to a lawsuit against the state of New Jersey swelled to 26 in early December from nine in September, representing about 5% of the Garden State’s 564 local governments. The towns say the state wants to force them to build affordable residences without proper planning; the state says towns are skirting their obligations to provide their fair share of housing.
The dispute reflects the tensions playing out across parts of the United States as housing costs rise and state officials attempt to increase the supply of residential property. In California, as one example, a state law has been invoked by some developers that helps get housing proposals approved over local officials' objections when they have not done enough to allow more affordable housing projects.
New Jersey needs to build more than 85,000 affordable homes and renovate 65,000 existing homes, according to guidelines published by the state’s Department of Community Affairs in October. By affordable, the state means the housing should be priced for households earning 80% or less of their area median income.
The state legislature approved a housing policy this year that requires towns to plan how and where they will build affordable houses over the next decade. The policy called for the Department of Community Affairs to calculate the number of affordable houses required in each town based on recent population data. If a town disagrees with the number, it can take its argument to a dispute resolution board that meets in a state court.
The towns say in their lawsuit that the new housing policy will encourage “bad planning” and “development merely for development’s sake."
Resolution deadline looms
Looming at the end of January is a deadline for towns and cities across the state to pass resolutions agreeing to provide their portion of what’s needed. As an example, the town of Montvale, which had a population in 2023 of about 9,400 and is the lawsuit’s lead plaintiff, would need to build 348 new homes within a decade.
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If towns meet the January deadline, the affordable housing policy will give them temporary immunity from developers’ lawsuits while they prepare detailed plans for addressing their housing obligations. Those plans have to be adopted by the end of June 2025.
“This is an opportunity for municipalities to prioritize sensible and equitable growth, redevelopment, and infrastructure investments that will benefit their communities for generations to come,” Adam Gordon, executive director of Fair Share Housing Center, a statewide advocacy group, said in a statement this month. “We look forward to working with towns and community leaders to implement the new law and create much-needed affordable homes.”
The state attorney general’s office declined to comment beyond what’s in its request to dismiss the lawsuit that it filed in New Jersey Superior Court on Dec. 6.
“While plaintiffs are free to disagree with the legislature’s policy choices, their legal claims are fatally flawed,” the state said in its dismissal request.
Michael Collins, an attorney with the law firm King Moench & Collins who represents the 26 towns, said in an email that they would make the case in court on Dec. 20 that the affordable housing policy should be put on hold until the lawsuit is resolved.