BRIELLE — Following an executive session on the same topic, the Brielle Planning Board was provided with a presentation by a consulting firm to address the need for affordable housing in the borough, during the Planning Board meeting held on Tuesday evening.
The presentation comes as the result of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which is a constitutional obligation of all New Jersey municipalities to provide affordable housing needs for low- and moderate-income households.
Planning Board Chairperson Corinne Trainor said that the borough sought the advice of H2M Architects, a professional consulting firm based in the Northeast that focuses on the planning and design of municipal infrastructure projects, to provide “legal advice” pertaining to steps the borough needs to take to supply affordable housing.
“This discussion is spurred by recent development that occurred in neighboring towns. We’ve seen affordable housing disputes occur and we are acting on the advice of the counsel to proactively review that issue as it applies to our town,” Ms. Trainor said.
The presentation provided by H2M cited the need of municipalities to act within affordable housing regulations imposed by the state, and according to the presentation, Brielle borough will need to install approximately fourteen affordable housing units to be up to standard with state regulations.
The presentation recognized the limited space for development in the borough, and noted that affordable housing units can be developed as additions on existing sites.
The pressure for municipalities to provide affordable housing dates back to 1985, when the Council on Affordable Housing [COAH] was formed to ensure that municipalities across the state fulfill their affordable housing requirements according to a collection of factors, including population density, available land and income in the area.
In 2015, the State Supreme Court disbanded COAH, citing inability by the agency to set clear rules and regulations for municipalities to follow when providing affordable housing.
Currently, state Superior Courts review and approve municipalities’ affordable housing plans.
If a municipality fails to meet its court-mandated affordable-housing obligation, developers would have the power to file suit against that municipality. These suits can result in developers building housing units without municipal approval, as long as at least 20 percent of the developed units are deemed affordable.
At the end of the presentation, the board made a motion to reserve their comments until the next meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, March 14.
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