A4767

An Act requiring affordable housing obligations of municipalities to be based on a Statewide need and amending P.L.1985, c.222 and P.L.2024, c.2.

Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:

1. Section 4 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-304) is amended to read as follows:

4. As used in P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.):

a. "Council" means the Council on Affordable Housing established in P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.), abolished pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1).

b. "Housing region" means [a] the geographic area of the State as a whole, as established pursuant to subsection b. of section 6 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2).

c. "Low-income housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to 50 percent or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the housing is located.

d. "Moderate-income housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to more than 50 percent but less than 80 percent of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the housing is located.

e. (Deleted by amendment, P.L.2024, c.2)

f. "Inclusionary development" means a residential housing development in which a substantial percentage of the housing units are provided for a reasonable income range of low- and moderate-income households.

g. "Conversion" means the conversion of existing commercial, industrial, or residential structures for low- and moderate-income housing purposes where a substantial percentage of the housing units are provided for a reasonable income range of low- and moderate-income households.

h. "Development" means any development for which permission may be required pursuant to the "Municipal Land Use Law," P.L.1975, c.291 (C.40:55D-1 et seq.).

i. "Agency" means the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency established by P.L.1983, c.530 (C.55:14K-1 et seq.).

j. "Prospective need" means a projection of housing needs based on development and growth which is reasonably likely to occur in a region or a municipality, as the case may be, as a result of actual determination of public and private entities. Prospective need shall be determined by the methodology set forth pursuant to sections 6 and 7 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2 and C.52:27D-304.3) for the fourth round and all future rounds of housing obligations.

k. "Person with a disability" means a person with a physical disability, infirmity, malformation, or disfigurement which is caused by bodily injury, birth defect, aging, or illness including epilepsy and other seizure disorders, and which shall include, but not be limited to, any degree of paralysis, amputation, lack of physical coordination, blindness or visual impairment, deafness or hearing impairment, the inability to speak or a speech impairment, or physical reliance on a service animal, wheelchair, or other remedial appliance or device.

l. "Adaptable" means constructed in compliance with the technical design standards of the barrier free subcode adopted by the Commissioner of Community Affairs pursuant to the "State Uniform Construction Code Act," P.L.1975, c.217 (C.52:27D-119 et seq.) and in accordance with the provisions of section 5 of P.L.2005, c.350 (C.52:27D-123.15).

m. "Very low-income housing" means housing affordable according to federal Department of Housing and Urban Development or other recognized standards for home ownership and rental costs and occupied or reserved for occupancy by households with a gross household income equal to 30 percent or less of the median gross household income for households of the same size within the housing region in which the housing is located.

n. "Accessory dwelling unit" means a residential dwelling unit that provides complete independent living facilities with a private entrance for one or more persons, consisting of provisions for living, sleeping, eating, sanitation, and cooking, including a stove and refrigerator, and is located within a proposed or existing primary dwelling, within an existing or proposed structure that is accessory to a dwelling on the same lot, constructed in whole or part as an extension to a proposed or existing primary dwelling, or constructed as a separate detached structure on the same lot as the existing or proposed primary dwelling.

o. "Builder's remedy" means court-imposed, site-specific relief for a litigant who seeks to build affordable housing for which the court requires a municipality to utilize zoning techniques, such as mandatory set-asides or density bonuses, including techniques which provide for the economic viability of a residential development by including housing that is not for low- and moderate-income households.

p. "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Community Affairs.

q. "Compliance certification" means the certification obtained by a municipality pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1), that protects the municipality from exclusionary zoning litigation during the current round of present and prospective need and through July 1 of the year the next round begins, which is also known as a "judgment of compliance" or "judgment of repose." The term "compliance certification" shall include a judgment of repose granted in an action filed pursuant to section 13 of P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-313).

r. "County-level housing judge" means a judge appointed pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-313.2), to resolve disputes over the compliance of municipal fair share affordable housing obligations and municipal fair share plans and housing elements, with the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.).

s. "Deficient housing unit" means housing that: (1) is over fifty years old and overcrowded; (2) lacks complete plumbing; or (3) lacks complete kitchen facilities.

t. "Department" means the Department of Community Affairs.

u. "Exclusionary zoning litigation" means litigation to challenge the fair share plan, housing element, or ordinances or resolutions implementing the fair share plan or housing element of a municipality based on alleged noncompliance with the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.) or the Mount Laurel doctrine, which litigation shall include, but shall not be limited to, litigation seeking a builder's remedy.

v. "Fair share plan" means the plan or proposal that is in a form which may readily be adopted, with accompanying ordinances and resolutions, pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1), by which a municipality proposes to satisfy its obligation to create a realistic opportunity to meet its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing needs of its region and which details the affirmative measures the municipality proposes to undertake to achieve its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing, as provided in the municipal housing element, and addresses the development regulations necessary to implement the housing element, including, but not limited to, inclusionary requirements and development fees, and the elimination of unnecessary housing cost-generating features from the municipal land use ordinances and regulations.

w. "Highlands-conforming municipality" means a municipality that has adopted a land development ordinance implementing the municipality's plan conformance petition and which land development ordinance has been certified by the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Council as consistent with the "Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act," P.L.2004, c.120 (C.13:20-1 et seq.), the Highlands regional master plan, and the municipality's plan conformance approval. The term "land development ordinance" shall be inclusive of any amendment to the municipality's land development ordinances that is adopted to further the municipality's petition of plan conformance.

x. "Housing element" means that portion of a municipality's master plan consisting of reports, statements, proposals, maps, diagrams, and text designed to meet the municipality's fair share of its region's present and prospective housing needs, particularly with regard to low- and moderate-income housing, and which shall contain the municipal present and prospective obligation for affordable housing, determined pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1).

y. "Program" means the Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program, established pursuant to section 5 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-313.2).

z. "State Development and Redevelopment Plan" or "State Plan" means the plan prepared pursuant to sections 1 through 12 of the "State Planning Act," P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-196 et al.), designed to represent a balance of development and conservation objectives best suited to meet the needs of the State, and for the purpose of coordinating planning activities and establishing Statewide planning objectives in the areas of land use, housing, economic development, transportation, natural resource conservation, agriculture and farmland retention, recreation, urban and suburban redevelopment, historic preservation, public facilities and services, and intergovernmental coordination pursuant to subsection f. of section 5 of P.L.1985, c.398 (C.52:18A-200).

aa. "Transitional housing" means temporary housing that:

includes, but is not limited to, single-room occupancy housing or shared living and supportive living arrangements;

provides access to on-site or off-site supportive services for very low-income households who have recently been homeless or lack stable housing;

is licensed by the department; and

allows households to remain for a minimum of six months.

(cf: P.L.2024, c.2, s.2)

2. Section 6 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.2) is amended to read as follows:

6. a. Municipal present need for each 10-year round of affordable housing obligations shall be determined by estimating the deficient housing units occupied by low- and moderate-income households in the region, following a methodology similar to the methodology used to determine third round municipal present need, through the use of most recent datasets made available through the federal decennial census and the American Community Survey, including the Comprehensive Housing Affordability Strategy dataset thereof.

b. For the purpose of determining regional need for the 10-year round of low- and moderate-income housing obligations, running from July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2035, and each 10-year round thereafter:

(1) The [regions of the] State shall [be comprised as follows:] consist of one single region.

(a) [Region 1 shall consist of the counties of Bergen, Hudson, Passaic, and Sussex;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(b) [Region 2 shall consist of the counties of Essex, Morris, Union, and Warren;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(c) [Region 3 shall consist of the counties of Hunterdon, Middlesex, and Somerset;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(d) [Region 4 shall consist of the counties of Mercer, Monmouth, and Ocean;] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(e) [ Region 5 shall consist of the counties of Burlington, Camden, and Gloucester; and] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(f) [Region 6 shall consist of the counties of Atlantic, Cape May, Cumberland, and Salem.] (Deleted by amendment, P.L. , c. ) (pending before the Legislature as this bill)

(2) Regional prospective need for a 10-year round of low- and moderate-income housing obligations shall be determined through the calculation provided in this subsection. Projected household change for a 10-year round in a region shall be estimated by establishing the household change experienced in the region between the most recent federal decennial census, and the second-most recent federal decennial census. This household change, if positive, shall be divided by 2.5 to estimate the number of low- and moderate-income homes needed to address low- and moderate-income household change in the region and to determine the regional prospective need for a 10-year round of low- and moderate-income housing obligations. If household change is zero or negative, the number of low- and moderate-income homes needed to address low- and moderate-income household change in the region and the regional prospective need shall be zero.

(P.L.2024, c.2, s.6)

3. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall adopt rules and regulations necessary, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), to effectuate the purposes of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill), including, but not limited to, rules and regulations to adjust the timeline established pursuant to subsection f. of section 3 of P.L.2024, c.2 (C.52:27D-304.1), to ensure that the provisions of P.L. , c. (pending before the Legislature as this bill) are implemented as promptly as possible.

4. This act shall take effect immediately.

STATEMENT

This bill would require that affordable housing need be calculated on a Statewide basis.

Affordable housing is an issue of Statewide concern and importance. Currently, affordable housing need is calculated at the regional level. This bill redefines the "housing region" as the State as a whole, thereby requiring DCA to calculate the affordable housing need of the entire State, and municipal affordable housing obligations to then be determined based on this Statewide need.

The bill directs the Commissioner of Community Affairs to adopt the rules and regulations necessary to effectuate the purposes of the bill, including rules and regulations to adjust the existing deadlines required by the "Fair Housing Act," P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et al.), to ensure that the provisions of the bill are implemented as promptly as possible.