Judge Again Denies Effort to Halt NJ Affordability Law

It’s deja vu all over again for the towns opposing New Jersey’s affordable housing law, who are suddenly up against a tight clock to meet deadlines.

For the second time this month, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy denied a request to stop implementation of the affordable housing mandate, NorthJersey.com reported. In his latest opinion, the judge said the plaintiffs “have failed at every turn to get injunctive relief on the claims properly pleaded and seek relief here on claims not properly before the Court.”

While the decision at the beginning of the month was likely frustrating for the plaintiffs, it didn’t carry the same immediate impact this week’s ruling does. All of the state’s municipalities are running out of time to either accept affordable housing obligation numbers or present alternate calculations: the deadline is Friday.

At least two dozen towns have been fighting the state’s affordable housing mandate in the courts since the fall. Last year’s state law featured guidelines on calculating the amount of affordable housing each town needs to add over a decade. The plaintiffs claim the law doesn’t account for how much development towns can handle, especially regarding infrastructure.

New Jersey is conducting its fourth round of state-mandated affordable housing development. All municipalities are required to contribute a “fair share” of affordable housing under the Mount Laurel doctrine.

The state aims to add more than 84,000 affordable housing units to its suburbs by 2035. Each town would need to contribute an average of 150 homes beginning in June 2025 — the deadline for plan adoption — to hit that target.

Adam Gordon, executive director of the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center, said that more than 200 towns have already agreed to participate in the development process with the figures calculated by the Department of Community Affairs.

— Holden Walter-Warner