Dozens of New Jersey towns this week had their hopes of stalling the state’s affordable housing law dashed.
Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy on Thursday denied a request from 26 towns to pause the affordable housing development process, Gothamist reported. The judge determined public interest in affordable housing supersedes towns’ arguments about being overburdened.
A lawsuit from the towns dates back to the fall. They’ve been looking to invalidate the state law passed last year that included guidelines on calculating the amount of affordable housing each town needs to add in the next decade. The towns argue the law doesn’t account for how much development towns can withstand, particularly in regards to infrastructure.
The towns plan to appeal the judge’s decision.
“All we’re asking is to put the law on hold so that we can get into court and have a discussion on these issues,” Michael Collins, an attorney for the towns, said at a recent hearing.
Those issues include the dispute process when municipalities disagree with how much affordable housing they’re required to build. Last year’s legislation designates a panel of state judges and legal experts to examine disputes. The towns argue the process violates the separation of power between the judiciary and executive branches, an argument New Jersey Attorney General Matthew Platkin’s office rejects.
New Jersey is in the midst of a fourth round of state-mandated affordable housing development. All municipalities in the state are required to contribute their “fair share” of affordable housing under the Mount Laurel doctrine.
The state is looking to add more than 84,000 affordable housing units to the state’s suburbs by 2035. Each town would be required to contribute an average of 150 homes beginning in June 2025 to hit that target.
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Adam Gordon, director of the Fair Share Housing Center, celebrated the judge’s ruling on Thursday and attempted to turn the focus toward development.
“I would hope that this decision is a wake-up call to some towns to stop spending money on litigation and instead actually figure out how to comply with the law,” Gordon said.