Affordable housing in NJ

A new law signed by Gov. Phil Murphy will revamp how the number of fair share affordable housing units will be determined and administered in New Jersey. The state is reportedly in need of 200,000 such units.

The issue of how to provide for the establishment of affordable housing is, to say the least, a complex one with many facets.

As noble an endeavor as it is to establish the housing in each community, it seems that a good portion of what will be constructed is government-subsidized high-density buildings or complexes.

Regardless of how they may look or be designed, it is understandable how some folks would perceive the government-built complexes as project housing. That is largely because the 100% affordable housing developments, whether by government or privately underwritten, are to some degree exclusionary and discriminatory. In many cases, such developments will serve to segregate those of a lower socioeconomic standing to a particular area in a town or city instead of being integrated, interspersed and made to feel part of the community at large.

One of the best ways to prevent this is by strictly holding private developers to the ratio of affordable to market-rate units that exists in present local zoning laws. The “in lieu of” option found in some local ordinances should be prohibited.

That option, which resembles the banned regional contribution agreements, allows builders of high-density developments to avoid including affordable units in their luxury and market-rate projects by making a payment to towns that would use the funds to build the government-subsidized affordable units elsewhere in the community.

Joseph Cofone

Paramus