The Forum at Madison is Accepting Application for Affordable Housing

The Forum at Madison will feature 1-, 2- and 3-bedroom moderate-income units for rent to income-qualified households.

A random selection will be held for all preliminary applications received on or before 11:00 P.M. on April 30, 2025, after which time the waiting list may be closed.

To submit a preliminary application, please visit https://www.liveattheforum.com/

• The Forum at Madison Flyer (English)
• The Forum at Madison Flyer (Spanish)
• The Forum at Madison Advertisement (English)
• The Forum at Madison Advertisement (Spanish)

In 1975, the N.J. Supreme Court held that municipalities may not pass zoning ordinances that exclude low and moderate-income families. Since that decision, every municipality in New Jersey has had to provide a number of 'affordable housing' units. There have been several attempts to refine the process of determining the number of affordable housing units each municipality must provide.

The obligation to provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing stems all the way back to the Mt. Laurel decisions of 1975 and 1983. Those decisions declare that municipal land use regulations that prevent affordable housing opportunities for lower and middle-income families are unconstitutional and ordered all New Jersey municipalities to plan, zone for, and take affirmative actions to provide realistic opportunities for their “fair share” of the region’s need for affordable housing for low and moderate-income people. The decision to transfer the authority to the courts enabled many developers throughout the State to file for intervenor status, effectively giving the developer a “seat at the table” with the municipality in court. The premise of the intervenor is that as a developer, they have the land and resources to provide the municipality with an opportunity to meet its affordable housing obligation.

As one of only three (3) municipalities in Morris County with a Public Housing Authority, the Borough of Madison has always considered Affordable Housing as a moral, not just a legal obligation.

Fourth Round Affordable Housing Compliance:

In March 2024, the NJ Legislature passed and Governor Murphy signed law A4/S50, which amended the Fair Housing Act (FHA). It established new procedures, standards, and mechanisms for the continued implementation of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, New Jersey’s constitutional requirement that all municipalities must provide their fair share of needed affordable housing. The new law governs how the Fourth Round (2025-2035) and future rounds of municipal fair share housing obligations are established and satisfied, through changes in master plans, zoning, and other initiatives in a municipal Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HEFSP) certified by the state.

Resolution 54-2025

On January 27, 2025, the Borough Council unanimously adopted Resolution 54-2025, Committing to Complying with Round 4 (7/25-7/35) Affordable Housing Obligations. View the presentation from this Council Meeting here.

On January 28, 2025, the legal council for the borough filed our 4th round declaratory judgment complaint with the Superior Court of New Jersey in Morris County, as well as filing it with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA).

Third Round Affordable Housing Compliance:

Fully executed Settlement Agreement

View the August 10, 2020, Madison and Fair Share Housing Center Settlement Agreement here.

Midpoint Review

Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 52:270-313, please find the midpoint realistic opportunity review here.

Any interested party may submit comments to the municipality with a copy to Fair Share Housing Center (510 Park Boulevard Cherry Hill, NJ 08002), regarding whether any sites addressed in the Midpoint Review no longer present a realistic opportunity and should be replaced and whether the mechanisms to meet the unmet need should be revised or supplemented. Any interested party may by motion request a hearing before Superior Court, the Hon. Stephan Hansbury, J.S.C., regarding these issues.

Affordable Housing Plan and Supporting Documents:

The Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL), N.J.S.A. 40:55D-62a, requires every municipality with a zoning ordinance to adopt a master plan containing at least a land use plan element and housing plan element. N.J.S.A. 40:55D-28 b (3) requires that the housing plan element include residential standards and proposals for the construction and improvement of housing in accordance with the New Jersey Fair Housing Act (FHA), specifically, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-310. This required plan is commonly referred to as the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HE&FSP) and must contain certain sub-elements that, at minimum, include the following:

• An inventory of the municipality's housing stock by age, condition, purchase or rental value, occupancy characteristics, and type, including the number of units affordable to low and moderate-income households and substandard housing capable of being rehabilitated, and in conducting this inventory, the municipality shall have access, on a confidential basis for the sole purpose of conducting the inventory, to all necessary property tax assessment records and information in the assessor's office, including but not limited to the property record cards.
• A projection of the municipality's housing stock, including the probable future construction of low and moderate-income housing, for the next ten years, taking into account, but not necessarily limited to, construction permits issued, approvals of applications for development and probable residential development of lands;
• An analysis of the municipality's demographic characteristics, including but not necessarily limited to household size, income level, and age;
• An analysis of the existing and probable future employment characteristics of the municipality;
• A determination of the municipality's present and prospective fair share for low and moderate-income housing and its capacity to accommodate its present and prospective housing needs, including its fair share for low and moderate-income housing;
• A consideration of the lands that are most appropriate for the construction of low and moderate-income housing and of the existing structures most appropriate for conversion to, or rehabilitation for, low and moderate-income housing, including consideration of lands of developers who have expressed a commitment to provide low and moderate-income housing.

2021 Third Round Housing Element & Fair Share Plan

The HEFSP, which was adopted by the planning board and endorsed by the Mayor & Council on May 26, 2021, can be viewed here.

View the HEFSP presentation to the Planning Board on January 19, 2021, here.

Madison already has several affordable housing units that are spread out throughout the borough. Here is a list of current locations and units:

*Note that the list is subject to change, may not fully reflect all properties, and does not reflect projects under construction.