Tuesday’s court case with Local Leaders for Responsible Planning was astounding with respect to the depth and span of items covered.
This was not the municipalities vs Affordable Housing. Those cases have all lost in NJ courts. This was instead, people who have been irreparably harmed due to the timelines and content of the 4th round of Affordable Housing Mandates.
Who has been harmed? Two groups.
- Democrat and Republican Town Council members who have had to vote against their conscience and against the town’s wishes just to save the town from an even worse fate. Many have been smeared across social media, lost business and most lost seats, all due to Affordable housing and angry towns people who are sure they are in “it” just to make money.
- The town and its people. You can never undo high density housing in towns that cannot afford to “just build” their Fair Share. Towns people whose homes are now worth less because of the plots of land they are on which are adjacent to High Density areas.
The second main point of today’s case was the formula and timelines.
Formula: the numbers are based on the 1970’s census data and migration patterns. Simply, there has been a 50% change in where people are moving from the 70’s till now yet the formula is based on old data. Our numbers, along with many other towns, would have reduced numbers using current migration patterns. Add in, units that were countable in Round 3 are no longer countable in round 4 and the guidelines are not even clear.
Timeline: The timeline is so quick, that towns are making fast, not always best, decisions.
Overall, the goal is for the judge to hit pause, give town’s a true chance to fight, make different decisions or prep the town for the changes coming (road, utilities, school etc.). The Judge realizes that it would be best, for the towns involved, if his decision is made prior to February 1.
We will do our best to keep our town abreast of any new information. See the story on Facebook Facebook Affordable Housing Court Case
Warm regards,
Mayor Mike and Deputy Mayor Michelle