Bill > A2057

Introduced Session

This bill reforms this States affordable housing laws. If enacted, this legislation would abolish the Council on Affordable Housing established pursuant to the "Fair Housing Act," N.J.S.A.52:27D-301 et al., and would allow municipalities to administer their own affordable housing obligations. The bill would do away with State-imposed calculations of affordable housing need and would permit local governments to take charge of planning for opportunities for affordable housing. This bill charges the State Planning Commission with assisting municipalities in facilitating opportunities for affordable housing. If enacted, this legislation would abolish the Council on Affordable Housing, and transfer any remaining authority of the council to the State Planning Commission. This bill amends the findings and declarations sections of the "Fair Housing Act" to eliminate references to the Council on Affordable Housing. In addition, this bill repeals the sections of law establishing the council. To transfer responsibility for affordable housing planning to municipalities, this legislation would amend the "Municipal Land Use Law," N.J.S.A.40:55D-1 et seq. to make a housing element a mandatory part of a municipal master plan. In addition, to promote stability and predictability for municipal planning purposes, this bill amends the State Planning Act to provide that the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, like a municipal master plan, is readopted only every six years. In order to ease the pressure for municipalities to meet affordable housing goals, this bill would permit certain regional contribution agreements ("RCAs") formed before the effective date of P.L.2008, c.46 to be reviewed and approved through the end of 2011. These incomplete RCAs would be reviewed and governed by the rules of the council in effect at the time the agreements were entered into. Completion of these RCAs could allow the production of opportunities for as many as 5,000 units and the transfer of up $116 million to urban municipalities for rehabilitation and redevelopment. The State Planning Commission would be required, by December 31, 2011, to review agreements between municipalities that took steps to enter into RCAs before July 17, 2008. The department would be required to approve or disapprove agreements where municipalities had adopted resolutions of intent to execute an agreement. Municipalities, following a general reexamination of their master plan and housing element, would be required to adopt an ordinance providing that have determined that they have provided an opportunity for an appropriate variety and choice of housing and have complied with their obligations under the "Fair Housing Act." This bill would require those municipalities that do not adopt an ordinance determining compliance, to adopt a specific inclusionary zoning ordinance. Inclusionary zoning is a technique that insures that low and moderate income, and workforce housing is built whenever market rate units are developed. Under this legislation, a specific municipal inclusionary zoning ordinance would require developers to set aside 20 percent of the proposed units in a residential development for low- and moderate-income households and for workforce housing. Although inclusionary zoning ordinances can be cumbersome, this legislation requires the ordinance to provide for indirect economic incentives to a developer. These incentives include payments in lieu of construction, off-site construction, and alternate design standards for residential development projects that include affordable units. This legislation permits municipalities to tailor the incentives to their specific needs for encouraging development. In addition to authorizing municipalities to grant economic incentives to developers, this legislation would add additional language to section 11 of the "Fair Housing Act," N.J.S.A.52:27D-311, to emphasize that the rehabilitation of existing dwelling units and the employment of surplus State property are techniques which provide a realist opportunity for the provision of low income, moderate income and workforce housing. If a municipality does not comply with the ordinance procedure and does not adopt a specific inclusionary zoning ordinance, the bill makes available an alternate variance procedure to ensure provision of opportunities for affordable units. Under the provisions of the bill, a proposed inclusionary development seeking a variance is deemed to be inherently beneficial, and thus to have satisfied the "positive" criteria for a d. variance pursuant to section 70 of the "Municipal Land Use Law." The alternate variance procedure would not be available in a municipality that has adopted an ordinance determining compliance or has adopted a specific inclusionary zoning ordinance. Because of the current economic situation, this legislation also provides that developers can seek site-specific adjustments of set-asides based on economic feasibility. Jointly with a municipality, a developer would apply to the New Jersey Economic Development Authority for a review of the pro forma and other documentation. In no event would less than 10 percent of the units in an inclusionary development be moderate income, low income or workforce housing under the adjustment. This bill also amends the Fair Housing Act to prevent the State from calculating prospective need, in line with the original Mt. Laurel decision, which held that projected affordable housing "need" numbers were not specifically required. This bill also forgives unmet housing need from prior rounds or periods in time before the effective date of the act.

AI Summary

Committee Categories

Vincent Prieto (D)*,  David Rible (R), 

Introduced, Referred to Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee (on 02/08/2010)