Totowa Joins Legal Challenge Against New Jersey’s Affordable Housing Mandates

TOTOWA, NJ - The Mayor and Council of Totowa have decided to join a legal effort challenging New Jersey’s affordable housing rules. This initiative, led by the Borough of Montvale in Bergen County, aims to address the state-imposed requirements for municipal affordable housing.

The resolution emphasizes that while affordable housing benefits all municipalities, the responsibility should be distributed fairly. Montvale is organizing the lawsuit and inviting other municipalities to join to make the legal challenge more effective and efficient.

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By participating, each municipality could benefit from favorable court decisions. The estimated cost for the litigation is $10,000 per year for 2024 and 2025, totaling $20,000 for each participating municipality.

New Jersey’s affordable housing regulations stem from the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Mount Laurel decisions. The FHA established the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) to ensure municipalities provide affordable housing options. The Mount Laurel doctrine requires towns to include realistic opportunities for such housing in their zoning plans. Municipalities must submit plans showing how they will meet these obligations, often through zoning changes and partnerships with developers. Since COAH’s inactivity, trial courts have overseen compliance since 2015. Affordable housing must cater to households earning 80% or less of the median income, with provisions for very low, low, and moderate-income groups. Towns that do not meet these requirements may face "builder’s remedy" lawsuits. Ongoing litigation and updates continually shape how municipalities address these needs.

"The recent overhaul of affordable housing legislation mandates that towns must build or provide affordable housing units," Mayor John Coiro said. "For smaller towns like ours, which have limited open space, these new requirements are particularly burdensome. While some larger cities are exempt, towns with high-rise developments like Jersey City and Hoboken are not. The mayor of Montvale has started a coalition to challenge this law, seeking to address what we believe is an unfair mandate. Our goal is to ensure that all municipalities are treated fairly, and that local infrastructure needs are considered before imposing such requirements."

The resolution notes that participating in this litigation serves the public interest by promoting a fair distribution of affordable housing obligations.

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The resolution also clarifies that joining the litigation does not mean rejecting any current affordable housing obligations while the case is ongoing.

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