Marlboro Mayor Responds To Affordable Housing Challenge
MARLBORO, NJ — Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik blasted the NJ Builders Association after they filed suit against 159 NJ municipalities (including Marlboro) looking to reduce their affordable housing obligations. The lawsuit, filed on Feb. 27, raises questions concerning the municipalities’ responses to the state’s calculation of affordable housing units that each municipality must build between 2025 and 2035.Requirements for affordable housing in Marlboro (and other NJ municipalities) are generated from calculations by the Department of Community Affairs. Under the Mount Laurel Doctrine, all municipalities are constitutionally mandated to provide their “fair share” of affordable housing for the region.In Marlboro, the present housing need (existing housing units deemed substandard/deficient and in need of repair) is 5 units, and the prospective housing need (the number of new units that need to be built based on population trends) is 579 units, according to calculations from the DCA. After the calculations were released, township professionals reviewed the report and said there were “significant errors” in the state DCA’s calculation of vacant land, according to Hornik's statement.From there, the town approved Resolution 2025-076 to reflect its own calculations, which would reduce the number of new affordable housing units from 579 to 279. “The builders don’t care about the need for housing – they just want to build more – on every ounce of land – and with the taxpayers on the hook for the infrastructure to support it,” Hornik said. “Developers get rich and generations of taxpayers foot the bill. This is outrageous.”Hornik went on to say that the town’s position on affordable housing “has been and remains clear,” and that Marlboro understands the need for what they call “generational housing.” “The returning children of Marlboro parents and young entry level professionals such as police officers and teachers deserve to have a home here. Empty-nesters and seniors on a fixed income who wish to remain in Marlboro need a place to live,” Hornik said. “And we have a duty to those who have sacrificed on behalf of our country – veterans – to have the opportunity to call Marlboro their home.”“All that being the case, builders have no place at the table when deciding how many affordable units should be constructed or where those units should be located,” Hornik continued. The mayor also cited calculations from the Affordable Housing Professionals of NJ's 2024 Affordable Housing Regional Income Limits by Household Size. According to the calculations, the moderate income limit for a 3-person household in Monmouth County is $93,639.“The sad irony of the history of affordable housing in New Jersey is that developers have and continue to drive the affordable housing agenda," Hornik said. "They are the proverbial wolves disguised as sheep."“What we have known for years is no less true today – the builders have their hands all over this, under the guise of creating a public good," Hornik continued. "This is outrageous and unacceptable, and we will fight this.”In a statement sent to Patch, the NJ Builders Association (NJBA) said the municipalities included in their challenge had the ability to produce their own fair share allocation model, but instead chose to ignore the requirements of 2024 amendments to the Fair Housing Act and “cherry pick data with a singular focus of reducing their fair share obligations.”The association went on to say that they felt compelled to respond in order to preserve the nearly 14,000 low- and moderate-income units that the 159 municipalities would seek to eliminate.“NJBA has long had a strong interest in standing to advance sound affordable housing policy and toward that end, has decided to pursue this course of action to counter a concerted effort by these 159 municipalities to skirt the law,” the statement said. “And it comes on the heels of other litigation brought by 28 towns who have amassed a legal war chest to challenge every aspect of the 2024 revisions to the Fair Housing Act despite the fact that the process they are challenging is purely a voluntary one," the statement continued.According to the NJBA, the association has taken “no action” to impede or challenge the 250+ municipalities that demonstrated good faith compliance with the recent amendment to the Fair Housing Act by accepting their fair share allocation.NJBA said their goal is not to cause municipalities unnecessary legal expenses, but rather to ensure that the law is followed and an equitable, uniform approach is adopted for all NJ municipalities.“NJBA’s position is not one of rigidity either and we recognize that towns may eventually seek adjustments to their obligations after looking more comprehensively at their land and housing opportunities as they prepare updated compliance plans later this year,” the statement said. “However, what these 159 towns have attempted is to reduce the established need for affordable housing in this state,” the statement continued. “We believe such an outcome would be unacceptable and only undermine our ability to meet the constitutional obligation to ensure reasonable opportunities for affordable housing throughout all of New Jersey.”"We look forward to continuing to work to address our housing underproduction, undersupply and affordability problem through the creation of a healthy supply of diverse housing types," the statement said.To see the full statement from Mayor Hornik, you can click here.The article Marlboro Mayor Responds To Affordable Housing Challenge appeared first on Marlboro-Coltsneck, NJ Patch.
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