LAKE COMO — The Lake Como mayor and council met Tuesday, endorsing the fourth round of the Mount Laurel doctrine affordable housing plans and discussing a small amendment to the 2025 budget prior to adopting it at the next meeting on July 1.
The Lake Como Planning Board voted to approve plans for the fourth round of affordable housing requirements for 2025 to 2035 on Monday, and passed it to the council on Tuesday, which unanimously endorsed the plans. (The plan is detailed in a story on page 19 of this edition of The Coast Star.)
The realistic development potential (RDP) for the town is zero units for the fourth round, with ordinances drafted to help the town meet 25% of the initial prospective need of 19 affordable units determined by the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) before a vacant land adjustment knocked the number down to 0. The state-required ordinances for towns with 0 RDP, which are drafted in the plan, allow for five affordable units to be created through redevelopment of existing buildings in the future, which helps the town meet its unmet need by the state and the required 25% of the initially called-for 19 units.
Mayor Kevin Higgins spoke on the affordable housing plan, prior to a unanimous vote by the council to endorse the plans.
“I think it’s a pretty comprehensive plan,” the mayor said.
The landmark Mount Laurel I New Jersey Supreme Court ruling in 1975 declared that all municipalities in New Jersey must provide their fair share of affordable housing.
Budget amendment
A small amendment to the budget regarding funds being reappropriated from in and out of the budget cap was discussed and passed through a resolution, which the council and chief financial officer Samantha Waters says will not affect the budget.
Council President Douglas Witte introduced the resolution to amend the budget, saying, “It has no bearing whatsoever on changing the budget. We are just moving one line item to another line item.”
Waters explained the amendment to the budget, saying it just involves moving certain appropriations in and out of the cap relating to old water and sewer charges.
“That has no effect on the overall amount in the budget or the tax rate,” Waters said. “That is just moving from in and out of cap. However, with the water and sewer utility, we’re paying off the complete of an old deferred charge that was found in the 2022 audit. So, I had to decrease an appropriation for our purchase of water to cover that whole expense, that way the water sewer budget total is still the same, but I had to reappropriate those funds and that is what caused the amendment.”
This is an excerpt of the print article. For more on this story, read The Coast Star—on newsstands Thursday or online in our e-Edition.
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