Jan. 2, 2024

Judge Rejects Attempt to Delay NJ’s Affordable Housing Law

Today, Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert T. Lougy rejected in its entirety a request for a motion to stay that would have paused implementation of New Jersey’s landmark new affordable housing law.

The request for a motion to stay was brought by two dozen historically exclusionary municipalities that filed a lawsuit in September to undermine New Jersey’s affordable housing policy framework, which requires each municipality to allow for its fair share of affordable housing. A hearing is scheduled for January 31 for Judge Lougy to consider whether to grant a motion to dismiss the lawsuit altogether.

“The Court cannot lightly enjoin a legislative enactment where Plaintiffs fail to meet their burden,” wrote Judge Lougy. “The Court finds it incongruous with all principles of equity to leave the State’s low- and moderate-income households in worse shape than before the Legislature’s comprehensive reshaping of the field.”

“We’re thankful Judge Lougy recognized there’s clearly not enough evidence to put New Jersey’s landmark new affordable housing law on hold,” said Adam Gordon, Executive Director of the Fair Share Housing Center, who presented arguments to Judge Lougy at a hearing on Dec. 20. “A delay in building affordable housing, as the lawsuit seeks, would be devastating for working families, people with disabilities, and seniors struggling with record-high housing costs.”

“For decades, New Jersey’s Judiciary has been asking the Legislative and Executive branches to institutionalize the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which they finally did in 2024,” added Gordon. “This lawsuit is a thinly-veiled political statement attempting to revisit arguments that failed in the legislative process.”

In New Jersey, the constitutional obligation for each municipality to allow its fair share of affordable homes, known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, is recalculated every 10 years in cycles known as Rounds. Each municipality’s obligations are calculated by looking at factors in various regions of the state — such as job growth, existing affordability, and the growth of low- and moderate-income households — which determines an individualized requirement for affordable housing.

Ahead of the 4th Round of Obligations starting in 2025, Governor Murphy signed landmark legislation (S50/A4) in March 2024 that streamlines the affordable housing development process and codifies the methodology used to determine each municipality’s obligations over the next decade. The legislation’s primary sponsors were Senate President Nicholas Scutari, Senate Majority Leader Teresa Ruiz, State Senator Troy Singleton, Assembly Speaker Craig Coughlin, and State Assemblymembers Yvonne Lopez, Benjie Wimberly, and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.

In October, the NJ Dept. of Community Affairs (DCA) released calculations on the number of affordable homes each municipality is required to allow over the next decade. Municipalities have until Jan. 31, 2025 to adopt DCA’s guidance or provide their own calculation consistent with New Jersey law, and until June 30, 2025 to adopt specific plans for how to address that number.

“The municipalities that have signed on to this lawsuit are deeply unrepresentative of New Jersey’s diverse population,” added Gordon. “This lawsuit is nothing new — it’s a smokescreen supported by many of the same wealthy towns who have fought affordable housing for decades, every step of the way.”

“On the other hand, many municipal leaders are utilizing our state’s law to help working families address the dire housing crisis — instead of wasting taxpayer dollars with lawsuit after lawsuit,” said Gordon. “New Jersey’s law gives towns a wide variety of tools to create affordable housing in the way they prefer. Most towns do cooperate with the process — and they get to decide on the housing plan that works best for their communities.”

Last month, Fair Share Housing Center and the Housing and Community Development Network of NJ co-published a new report to help local officials, planners, developers, advocates, and residents understand and participate in New Jersey’s affordable housing development process.