Affordable Housing Update from Randolph Township Mayor

From Mayor Joseph Hathaway,

In March 2024, Governor Murphy signed new affordable housing laws in New Jersey. One of these laws changed how affordable housing works. Randolph asked for changes to the law out of concern about how the state figured out how much housing was needed, where it could go, and how it would affect the environment. While some of the changes made it into the law, the framework remained the same.

Now, the state government (through the Department of Community Affairs, or DCA) has calculated how much affordable housing each town is required to provide. Randolph Township must fix up 84 homes that already exist (that's called "rehabilitation") and also needs to plan for 355 new affordable homes over the next ten years.

Each town can either agree with the state's numbers or come up with their own by January 31, 2025. If anyone disagrees with a town's decision, they have until February 28, 2025, to file a complaint.

Randolph is double-checking the state's numbers to make sure they’ve been calculated correctly. We’re doing this by checking the three main factors the state used to come up with the numbers: 1) income capacity, 2) equalized non-residential valuation, and 3) land capacity. If Randolph finds mistakes, it can use its own corrected numbers.

It's important to know that whatever number Randolph determines, doesn't mean the construction of that many homes. If there isn't enough land, or if there are problems with things like water and sewer, that will be addressed as part of the on-going process. More studies could be performed to see how much land is available and if their water and sewer systems can handle more houses.

We will continue to provide you with more updates as they become available.

~ Mayor Joe Hathaway ~

Affordable Housing Update (04/03/24)

New Jersey is approaching the 4th round of affordable housing obligations in 2025.

The outcome of this new round of numbers will have a major impact on the planning, zoning, environmental, and budgetary decisions of municipalities for years to come.

On March 20, as expected, Governor Murphy signed a package of affordable housing bills including A-4/S-50, which overhauls the Fair Housing Act including the elimination of the Council on Affordable Housing. This is a complex issue with a big impact on local communities.

Here's a breakdown:

• New Jersey is close to setting goals for affordable housing for the 4th round. These goals will affect towns' budgets and planning for years to come.
• New legislation changes how these goals are implemented. The Department of Community Affairs will calculate how many affordable homes each town needs by October 2024. Towns can accept this number or come up with their own plan (based upon new state regulations) by January 2025.
• In Randolph Township, two projects with affordable housing units are already under construction. These include Canoe Brook with 40 affordable units and Toll Brothers with 28 affordable units.

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On March 18, 2024 the State Senate approved A-4/S-50, regarding affordable housing by a vote of 22-14.

The NJLM was in contact with sponsors over the weekend seeking additional amendments to address municipal concerns, such as the methodology, i.e. the determination of housing needs, vacant land, and environmental issues, among others.

The League’s statement to the Senate on Monday acknowledged the active engagement of the sponsors and staff to advance the previous positive amendments but also stated that the League could not support the bill in its current form and asked that the bill be held to address the remaining concerns.

The Assembly later concurred, and the bill now heads to the Governor.

Randolph remains committed to ensuring we are taking the right steps to proper legislation.