Nine New Jersey towns are suing to overturn a landmark affordable housing overhaul six months after it was signed into law.
The municipalities filed their lawsuit against the state on Monday, the New Jersey Monitor reported. The lawsuit claims the March legislation is unconstitutional; the lead attorney warned the law could allow the state legislature to “continue to take unbridled action in the affordable housing space under the guise of implementing the Mount Laurel doctrine,” referring to constitutional case law that dictates the state’s historic affordable housing rules.
The municipalities suing include Montvale, Florham Park, Millburn and Totowa.
The bill’s sponsor, Sen. Troy Singleton, railed against the lawsuit, saying it was “simply shameful” to be playing politics and for the plaintiffs to attempt to dodge “their long overdue affordable housing obligations.”
The bill, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in the spring, codified a formula to help towns determine the number of affordable housing units they need to account for a “fair share” in the state, as required by the state’s Mount Laurel doctrine.
The Department of Community Affairs set out to publish obligation numbers for towns based on a formula used in a 2018 decision, considering the amount of developable land, growth in household numbers and change in non-residential property values.
At that point, towns will need to create plans and resolutions demonstrating where such affordable housing can be zoned and what type of housing would be permitted. Those plans would protect municipalities from zoning litigation, which could allow developers to bypass local approval as long as their project has at least 20 percent of units set aside for affordable housing.
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Adam Gordon, the Fair Share Housing Center executive director, said the lawsuit could delay implementation of the legislation for years, hurting those who can’t afford housing in the state. Gordon estimates an affordable housing shortage of more than 200,000 units in New Jersey.
The governor’s office declined to comment on the lawsuit, but state attorney general Matt Platkin said the lawsuit’s claims were “baseless” and vowed to defend the legislation in court.