The lawsuit contends that fourth-round affordable housing law has imposed "fair share" housing obligations beyond what's required.
Sara Winick, Patch Staff
HOLMDEL, NJ — Holmdel Township has joined a lawsuit against the state’s fourth round affordable housing mandates, Mayor Rocco Impreveduto said.
The challenge was initiated by the recently formed Local Leaders for Responsible Planning (LLRP) coalition, which seeks to ensure that municipalities can responsibly plan for future growth and development within their borders.
Holmdel’s present housing need (existing housing units deemed substandard/deficient and in need of repair) is 129 units, with a prospective need (the number of new units needed based on population trends) of 133 units, according to the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA).
New Jersey’s affordable housing mandates are calculations that determine the number of low- and moderate-incoming housing units communities must build or renovate. Under the Mount Laurel Doctrine, all towns are constitutionally mandated to provide their “fair share” of affordable housing for the region.
For the state’s new fourth-round obligations, local governments have until Jan. 31, 2025, to either approve their numbers or provide their own calculations consistent with state law.
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Using a traditional 20% set-aside approach, Impreveduto said the state’s calculations would require Holmdel to zone for 665 new units to meet 2025-2034 obligations.
Patch has requested further information on these calculations. As of Friday morning, Impreveduto has not responded.
31 NJ municipalities have joined the LLRP’s lawsuit as of Friday morning, which challenges the law and contends that it imposes “fair share” housing obligations that go beyond what is constitutionally required.
The lawsuit also contests the new dispute resolution program, which Impreveduto said removes elected officials from the decision-making process and instead entrusts it to judges and professionals, appointed outside the advice and consent of the NJ Senate.
LLRP is asking the Court to pause the fourth-round mandate because of “constitutional issues contained within it.”
“Although the original Mount Laurel Doctrine was based on a noble premise, and the people who are intended to be helped are good, hardworking people, somewhere along the way the affordable housing process has become perverted,” Impreveduto said.
Though Holmdel has complied with the last three rounds of mandates under the Mount Laurel Doctrine, Impreveduto said imposing new obligations of this magnitude each decade is unsustainable.
“Holmdel is committed to protecting its residents from mandated high-density development and preserving open space and local resources,” Impreveduto said. “By joining the LLRP coalition in their lawsuit, we are taking proactive steps to address the unfairness presented by the Fourth Round affordable housing mandate.”
Additionally, LLRP is raising concerns about the DCA’s recent release of mapping that calculated vacant and developable land for NJ’s municipalities.
The coalition contends that the mapping is “wildly inaccurate,” and said that the map claims affordable housing could be placed at the PNC Bank Arts Center commuter lot and the Holmdel Swim Club — two community resources not suited for housing development.
“Designating the PNC Bank Arts Center commuter lot and Holmdel’s municipal swim club as viable locations for affordable housing defies any logic,” Impreveduto said. “This illustrates why Holmdel joined the LLRP and its lawsuit against the Fourth Round mandates and seeks fairness when it comes to affordable housing.”
Holmdel and Wall are two Monmouth County towns of 31 total municipalities challenging the fourth-round affordable housing mandates.
On Dec. 20, Judge Robert Lougy will hear oral arguments on the LLRP municipalities’ application for a stay of the fourth round affordable housing law.
“We are hopeful that the Court places the Fourth Round law on hold so that these substantial legal issues can be addressed,” Coalition Attorney Michael L. Collins said.
To learn more about the Local Leaders for Responsible Planning, you can visit their Facebook page.
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