Dive Brief:
- A federal judge ruled Monday that 27 New Jersey localities “lack standing” to halt a state law requiring municipalities to meet affordable housing obligations.
- It’s the latest in a string of legal losses for the towns, which formed the group Local Leaders for Responsible Planning to fight the mandate. Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali said in a Facebook post that the court claimed the law does not harm taxpayers and elected officials. “We look forward to bringing this to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals,” he said.
- Housing advocates lauded the court’s decision as a win for affordability in the state. “Now that the federal court has rejected these claims in full, it’s time to move forward — as the overwhelming majority of municipalities already are — by producing the affordable homes New Jersey desperately needs,” Fair Share Housing Center Executive Director Adam Gordon said in a statement.
Dive Insight:
In 2024, New Jersey passed a law to enforce its Mount Laurel Doctrine, a longstanding state constitutional requirement for municipalities to provide their “fair share” of affordable housing in the state.
The law establishes deadlines and quotas for affordable housing that are recalculated every decade based on population. Renewed enforcement of the doctrine comes as the state faces a housing shortfall of around 200,000 units.
As of Dec. 31, roughly 380 New Jersey localities have developed compliant affordable housing plans, according to the Fair Share Housing Center, which called the participation “unprecedented.”
“The vast majority of municipalities are embracing New Jersey’s affordable housing law and utilizing it to build homes in ways that work best for their communities,” Gordon added.
Local Leaders for Responsible Planning said on its website that the state’s current system “favors wealthy developers, and overdevelops our communities with high density housing.”
