POINT PLEASANT — The mayor, council and planning board of Point Pleasant Borough have unanimously adopted the borough’s fourth round Affordable Housing and Fair Share Plan.
At the planning board meeting on June 26, the borough adopted the plan, solidifying the numbers needed for both present and prospective need in Point Pleasant. The borough council adopted this plan at the June 9 meeting, according to Mayor Robert Sabosik.
Mayor Sabosik told The Ocean Star, “All the towns had to come up with a new master plan to comply with the fourth phase of affordable housing. Point Pleasant has done that…We have negotiated with the state of New Jersey for a lower amount of housing because Point Pleasant is densely populated and (one of) the most developed towns in Ocean County.”
“Present need” refers to the number of affordable housing units already available in Point Pleasant that are either deficient in certain aspects or are in need of repair. “Prospective need” refers to an estimated number of new units that will need to be available based on New Jersey and area population statistics.
At the Jan. 27 council meeting, when the present and prospective affordable housing obligation numbers were released by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA), Borough Administrator Frank Pannucci said, “For Point Pleasant, this is actually a good thing. Unlike other towns, the DCA through the Fair Share Housing Act enacted by Gov. (Phil) Murphy in October, sent every town in New Jersey their present need numbers and their prospective need numbers based on their own calculations.”
The numbers that were initially sent to Point Pleasant Borough were a present need of 41 with a prospective need of 93, between 2025 and 2035.
Despite these numbers, the Borough of Point Pleasant then did a vacant land analysis, as the DCA does not account for open space such as parks. Pannucci said that the town planner then worked with the mayor and council to complete this analysis, showing the actual numbers for present and prospective need in Point Pleasant, which are zero.
The mayor said this was accomplished due to the amount of affordable housing the borough offers and “what is in the works,” referring to various apartment complexes that are currently being constructed that will offer affordable housing. Any housing structure, such as an apartment complex, that has five and over units must make 20% of the structure affordable, meaning if a complex has five units, then one unit must be designated as affordable.
A real example of this in Point Pleasant is the 15 apartments being constructed at 629 and 631 Ocean Road or Block 133, Lots 50 and 51, next to the OB Diner. Of these 15, three will be designated as affordable housing, in accordance with the zoning regulations set by Point Pleasant. The other 12 will be set at market rates.
Mayor Sabosik said, “This gives everybody of every economic value a fair chance to live in our great town of Point Pleasant while at the same time protecting the interests of everyone in town. It is a very logical plan; unfortunately the math can be convoluted, but that is why we hire experts to do this for the town, complete the application and come to a negotiated settlement that is better for the state and the town of Point Pleasant Borough.”
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