Housing plan nixed

The state Supreme Court has invalidated the most recent housing plan crafted by the state Council on Affordable Housing, saying the new “rules frustrate rather than further, a realistic opportunity for the production of affordable housing.”

Responding to an appeal brought by the Fair Share Housing Center and three other organizations, the court found the state Council on Affordable Housing in 2004 had watered down the towns’ housing obligations through bogus calculations, arbitrary rules and unconstitutional changes. Overall, the court found COAH eliminated 100,000 affordable housing units without adequate reasoning.

This should not have been a surprise to anyone. The state’s approach to the third round — letting towns come up with their own numbers — was rife with conflicts, giving suburban municipalities too much leeway to underestimate their need.

The court’s ruling opens the way for the state Legislature to come up with a more sensible approach, including the elimination of so-called regional contribution agreements that allow towns to pawn off their own obligations on needy urban centers.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

Author: hankkalet

Hank Kalet is a poet and freelance journalist. He is the economic needs reporter for NJ Spotlight, teaches journalism at Rutgers University and writing at Middlesex County College and Brookdale Community College. He writes a semi-monthly column for the Progressive Populist. He is a lifelong fan of the New York Mets and New York Knicks, drinks too much coffee and attends as many Bruce Springsteen concerts as his meager finances will allow. He lives in South Brunswick with his wife Annie. View all posts by hankkalet