STATEWIDE – The State Assembly was expected to begin discussions today on revised affordable housing legislation that had been scrapped last summer.
Under the revised legislation, New Jersey municipalities would be able to rezone vacant land for market rate housing for residents who earn up to 150 percent of the municipality’s median income. Developers who build in these zones would have the option of either setting aside 10 percent of the units built for affordable housing, or paying a fee to the municipality. The fees paid by developers would be equal to three percent of the total cost of the project.
Municipalities would be required to use the fees collected from developers to build affordable housing. Municipalities that did not use the fees to build affordable housing would risk having this money confiscated by the state.
Other provisions in the legislation include the elimination of the state Council on Affordable Housing, and the elimination of affordable housing requirements. The bill also does not specifically require municipalities or developers to build affordable housing units.
A state Senate version of the bill, S-1, sponsored by Sen. Ray Lesniak (D-Union) and Sen. Christopher Bateman (R-Somerville), was passed over the summer.
The original Assembly version of the legislation, A-2057, was scrapped after housing advocates complained that the Lesniak-Bateman bill did too little to ensure the creation of affordable housing in New Jersey.
The new Assembly bill, known as A-3447, was sponsored by Assemblyman and Speaker Pro Tempore Jerry Green (D-Plainfield). – E. Assata Wright