Fed up with new, court-enforced state mandates to facilitate the construction of more affordable housing, nine municipalities have joined forces to sue New Jersey, seeking to halt a dramatic wave of new residential complexes rising above the landscape in recent years.
“This is about standing up for all New Jersey communities,” read a statement from Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali on Monday announcing the lawsuit. “We all want safe, welcoming, and vibrant neighborhoods, but the new Fourth Round mandates from Trenton go too far and will place unnecessary strain on our towns without providing any resources to make it work."
Ghassali referred to the latest developments regarding the landmark 1975 Mount Laurel Doctrine, which directed municipalities to zone for and provide a “fair share” of affordable housing for low- and moderate-income families. The fourth “round” of negotiations for new construction is scheduled to start in July 2025.
Over the decades, enforcement of the doctrine was light, allowing municipalities to fall behind in their affordable housing obligations and leading to a 2015 state Supreme Court decision to disband the oversight body known as the Council on Affordable Housing and place enforcement in the hands of municipal courts.
Earlier this year, the state Legislature passed a bill to accelerate and streamline the process of determining how municipalities fulfill a constitutional mandate to provide their “fair share” of homes that low- and moderate-income families can afford.
“We face a somewhat perfect storm of low housing inventory and escalating pricing, which leaves thousands of working families all across our state with no viable options,” said Sen. Troy Singleton, D-Burlington, a sponsor of the bill. “Without securing the most basic human needs — a place to live — the other policies we pass cannot be as effective.”
Leveraging this legal advantage, developers in many cases have gained permission to build large residential and mixed-use facilities, promising to designate 20% of the units for affordable housing programs. Many towns, fearing that the courts could permit even larger construction, have reluctantly approved projects that residents fear will add to traffic, flooding and school enrollment.
Ghassali is leading a bipartisan coalition of mayors who have banded together as "Local Leaders for Responsible Planning." Members and co-plaintiffs in the lawsuit with Montvale are Hillsdale and Old Tappan in Bergen County, Denville, Florham Park and Montville in Morris County, Totowa in Passaic County, Millburn in Essex County, and Mannington in Salem County.
“This isn’t about politics — it’s about fairness,” Ghassali wrote. “Whether Republican or Democrat, we all believe that communities should have a say in how they grow. Our communities lose the ability to plan for their future when they are mandated by Trenton to support the housing needs of other municipalities, often significantly larger in size, on top of our existing obligations.”
The lawsuit was filed in the state Superior Court Law Division in Mercer County. Attorney Michael Collins, representing the plaintiffs, said this is the first lawsuit of its kind challenging the looming fourth-round mandates.
Kiran Sheth, a spokesperson for Gov. Phil Murphy, declined to comment on the pending litigation.
Is affordable housing altering the landscape of NJ towns?
In some towns, the new construction is altering the landscape. In Parsippany, three multistory residential complexes currently under construction represent more than 1,400 new units. Next door in Denville, a forested mountainside off Route 10 has been cleared for the construction of 120 townhomes.
"The courts are forcing us to negotiate," Denville Mayor Tom Andes said. "We had some hard decisions to make. We have had to pick and choose our spots."
"This doctrine was commandeered by developers and special-interest groups," East Hanover Mayor Joseph Pannullo said at a mayor's roundtable focused on the issue in June. "They only care about more development and more profit. And housing advocates are unrealistic, single-minded, and care little about the real ramifications that come about by overdeveloping an area."
Sixteen municipalities in all have adopted resolutions supporting the coalition's efforts, and they "are anticipatedto join as named plaintiffs," the coalition statement announced. Those additional towns include Allendale, Oradell, River Vale, Washington Township (Bergen), Westwood, Wharton and Wyckoff.
The plaintiffs are demanding a declaratory judgment to invalidate the law and to receive injunctive relief barring enforcement of the law.
“Local leaders are the ones who know their communities best,” Ghassali said. “Handing our future over to a panel of unvetted ‘experts' with no connection to our towns is a disservice to our residents."
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Nine towns sue New Jersey to stop next round of affordable housing mandates
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