COAH goes from 1/8 to 1/5 12/18/07 Star-Ledger
N.J. looks to bolster affordable housing
Rules would require more units for poor
Tuesday, December 18, 2007
BY STEVE CHAMBERS
Star-Ledger Staff
The state council overseeing affordable housing proposed new rules yesterday that will greatly increase the amount of housing built for poor and middle-income families but may drive prices up for others.
The rules would require the construction of one unit of affordable housing for every five market-rate units built or 16 jobs created through commercial construction.
The new rules replace ones that would have required one unit of affordable housing built for every eight market-rate units or 25 jobs created by commercial construction. Those rules were deemed unconstitutional in January by a state appellate court that ruled they underestimated housing needs.
The Council on Affordable Housing's new rules were praised by housing advocates who had been highly critical of the earlier version, but some questioned who would pay for the increased number of affordable units.
"On face value, it appears as if the affordable housing obligation has doubled, while the methods of municipal compliance have been narrowed," said Bill Dressel, executive director of the state League of Municipalities. "Meanwhile, we are unsure how this will be funded, and are very concerned that taxpayers, and not developers, will be asked to pay more."
Paul Chrystie, executive director of the Coalition for Affordable Housing and Environment, said the new rules were a vast improvement over the previous ones. And he said he was pleased COAH worked more closely in recent months with advocates.
"It's clearly an enormous step in the right direction," Chrystie said. "From both the perspective of providing housing and combating sprawl, one in five is significantly better than one in nine."
Department of Community Affairs Acting Commissioner Joseph Doria, chairman of COAH, said the new rules will play a key role in Gov. Corzine's commitment to provide 100,000 units of affordable housing over 10 years.
"Governor Corzine and I are dedicated to providing quality affordable housing for New Jersey residents," Doria said.
Before they were invalidated by the courts, towns were implementing the 1-in-8 rule by requiring builders to pay fees in the tens of thousands of dollars for every house they built. Presumably, those fees could rise, although the new rules placed some caps on the amount an affordable unit can cost to build at about $250,000.
The units are sold at greatly subsidized prices to buyers meeting lower-income guidelines. In the past, they have generally been sold to working poor or struggling middle-class families.
When it invalidated the previous rules, the court gave the administration a deadline of December 31, 2007, for adopting new rules. COAH has asked for an extension through June 2008 to allow time for public comment.
The request is pending, but COAH tentatively plans five public hearings in January and February. For more information on the regulations, how to comment in writing or how to attend public hearings, go to www.state.nj.us/dca/coah/.
