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
Multifamily Housing | Aug 24, 2020
Texaco’s century-old headquarters is now a luxury apartment community
After sitting vacant for nearly three decades, the former home of Texaco, Inc. has been converted into a 17-story, 286-unit apartment building in the heart of downtown Houston.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 23, 2020
Designing affordable housing on odd urban lots in LA
"Misfit parcels" could be the key to providing more affordable housing in Los Angeles, say two experienced multifamily housing designers.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 16, 2020
TCA Architects specifies Engineered Floors products for 304-unit apartment complex in Tracy, Calif.
TCA Architects specified Lewis Rigid Stone Polymer floating plank and Lewis Gold 100% Solution-Dyed high-performance fiber carpet for Harvest in Tracy, Calif.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 3, 2020
71-unit 100% affordable housing development breaks ground in Mountain View, Calif.
Van Meter Williams Pollack is designing the project.
Multifamily Housing | Aug 2, 2020
Stantec-designed 17 West mixed-use development completed in Miami Beach
Stantec-designed 17 West mixed-use development completed, with first Trader Joe's in Miami Beach.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 31, 2020
Railings manufacturer VistaPro launches its new website
VistaPro Architectural Railing Solutions launches new website.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 29, 2020
Multifamily construction proposal activity sees modest rebound in Q2 2020
Among the firms that work in the multifamily sector, 31% said that proposal activity increased in the second quarter, while 24% said it decreased.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 29, 2020
San Francisco’s Millennium Tower fix approved, moving forward
Simpson Gumpertz & Heger will be the engineer-of-record for the fix.
Multifamily Housing | Jul 27, 2020
Putting 'home' at the heart of affordable housing
Home is a powerful thing. It’s the place that forms you, a guiding set of relationships, memories, and experiences that, for better or worse, make you who you are.
