The New Jersey Supreme Court said the state’s affordable housing agency had failed to do its job, and effectively transferred the agency's regulatory authority to lower courts, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The ruling comes after a decade of litigation over the agency's proposed rules to determine municipalities' housing obligations for low- and moderate-income residents. The court’s unanimous decision came in response to a lawsuit by affordable-housing advocates alleging that Gov. Chris Christie’s administration had failed to meet a court-ordered deadline to issue regulations that require towns to provide for the realistic construction of affordable housing.
The court said the administrative process by which municipalities submit housing plans to the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) "has been rendered futile." Therefore, courts must step in, the justices said. The ruling may prompt extensive litigation against local communities alleged to have failed to provide their fair share of affordable housing
A Christie spokesman said the ruling was "a call to action to finally finish the job of reforming our affordable housing system so that it is no longer a costly burden to the people of New Jersey and actually encourages sound development."
Related Stories
MFPRO+ News | Jan 8, 2024
Canada turns to 1940s strategy to speed up housing construction
To address a severe housing shortage, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s administration has begun a housing construction strategy pioneered in the years after World War 2. The government aims to use a catalog of pre-approved home designs to reduce the cost and time to construct homes.
MFPRO+ News | Jan 4, 2024
Bjarke Ingels's curved residential high-rise will anchor a massive urban regeneration project in Greece
In Athens, Greece, Lamda Development has launched Little Athens, the newest residential neighborhood at the Ellinikon, a multiuse development billed as a smart city. Bjarke Ingels Group's 50-meter Park Rise building will serve as Little Athens’ centerpiece.
MFPRO+ News | Jan 2, 2024
New York City will slash regulations on housing projects
New York City Mayor Eric Adams is expected to cut red tape to make it easier and less costly to build housing projects in the city. Adams would exempt projects with fewer than 175 units in low-density residential areas and those with fewer than 250 units in commercial, manufacturing, and medium- and high-density residential areas from environmental review.
MFPRO+ News | Dec 22, 2023
Document offers guidance on heat pump deployment for multifamily housing
ICAST (International Center for Appropriate and Sustainable Technology) has released a resource guide to help multifamily owners and managers, policymakers, utilities, energy efficiency program implementers, and others advance the deployment of VHE heat pump HVAC and water heaters in multifamily housing.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 100 Apartment and Condominium Construction Firms for 2023
Clark Group, Suffolk Construction, Summit Contracting Group, and McShane Companies top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest apartment building and condominium general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 70 Apartment and Condominium Engineering Firms for 2023
Kimley-Horn, WSP, Tetra Tech, and Thornton Tomasetti head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest apartment building and condominium engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 160 Apartment and Condominium Architecture Firms for 2023
Gensler, Humphreys and Partners, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, and AO top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest apartment building and condominium architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 40 Student Housing Construction Firms for 2023
Findorff, Juneau Construction, JE Dunn Construction, and Weitz Company top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest student housing facility general contractors and construction management (CM) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 30 Student Housing Engineering Firms for 2023
Kimley-Horn, Wiss, Janney, Elstner Associates, KPFF Consulting Engineers, and Olsson head BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest student housing facility engineering and engineering/architecture (EA) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
Giants 400 | Dec 20, 2023
Top 90 Student Housing Architecture Firms for 2023
Niles Bolton Associates, Solomon Cordwell Buenz, BKV Group, and Humphreys and Partners Architects top BD+C's ranking of the nation's largest student housing facility architecture and architecture/engineering (AE) firms for 2023, as reported in Building Design+Construction's 2023 Giants 400 Report.
