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COAH Updates and Information
Village Planner: Blais L. Brancheau, P.P., A.I.C.P
Introduction
The housing element is that portion of the Village Master Plan which addresses the housing needs, both present and future, of the community, and to a lesser extent, the region. The housing element has taken on special importance due to various court decisions and legislation involving the need to provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing.
In 1975, the New Jersey Supreme Court handed down its first Mount Laurel decision. In that decision, the Court imposed an obligation on "developing municipalities," through their plans and development regulations, to provide an opportunity for the provision of a share of the regional housing need for families of low and moderate income, or "affordable housing" as it has become known. In 1983, the Court handed down a second decision, which has been referred to as Mount Laurel II. In that decision, the Court no longer limited the requirement to provide for affordable housing to developing municipalities, but related the obligation to the State Development Guide Plan, which delineated the State into various planning areas. Those areas designated as "growth areas" were required to provide a plan for the provision of affordable housing for the local community and a portion of the region's population.
In January, 1985, New Jersey adopted the Fair Housing Act. This act was the Legislature's response to the Supreme Court affordable housing decisions. The act established the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), and assigned to COAH the responsibility for monitoring affordable housing activity throughout the State. Included among COAH's responsibilities are the establishment of housing regions, the determination of state and regional low and moderate income housing needs and the promulgation of guidelines and criteria for determination of municipal shares of the regional need for affordable housing. The act also strongly links municipal planning and zoning to the provision of affordable housing. Under the act, a municipal zoning ordinance is valid only if the municipality adopts a housing element as part of its master plan, and only if the zoning ordinance is substantially consistent with the housing element.
Subsequent to the adoption of the Fair Housing Act, COAH adopted procedural and substantive rules which set forth the requirements for municipalities under the Act. The rules determined the local and regional need for affordable housing units, and allocated a "fair share" of the regional need to each municipality in the region for the period of 1987 to 1993, subsequently known as the "first round."
The Village of Ridgewood received substantive certification of its first round housing element and fair share plan on May 16, 1990 and again on October 3, 1990. The Village's first round obligation was 526 units, including a new construction obligation of 497 units and a rehabilitation obligation of 29 units. Prior-cycle credits were granted for 137 newly constructed units, consisting of eight that were developed by the Bergen County Housing Authority and 129 age-restricted units constructed under the HUD Section 202 program. Twenty-four credits were also granted for units that had been rehabilitated consistent with COAH regulations in effect at
that time. The application of these credits resulted in a revised affordable housing obligation that consisted of a 360-unit new construction component and a four-unit rehabilitation component. After applying credits, a vacant land adjustment was granted by COAH, resulting in a realistic development potential of zero and a four-unit rehabilitation obligation.
In May 1994, COAH amended its substantive rules and established revised affordable housing requirements for municipalities for the period of 1987 to 1999, known as the "second round."
The Village received substantive certification of its second round housing element and fair share plan on May 5, 2004. The Village's second round obligation was 317 units, consisting of an 88-unit rehabilitation obligation and a 229-unit new construction obligation. COAH received a reduction of the rehabilitation obligation based upon a structural conditions survey that was conducted, resulting in a rehabilitation obligation of 21 units, which it proposed to address through participation in the Bergen County Home Improvement Program. Concerning the new construction obligation, the Village carried forward the 137 prior cycle credits from the first round, and received a vacant land adjustment for the remaining 92 units, again reducing the realistic development potential to zero. The Village's plan included nine alternative living arrangements, as well as overlay zoning in the central business district, to address unmet need. Finally, the plan included a mandatory development fee ordinance, with the receipts to be dedicated to addressing affordable housing efforts.
In December 2004, COAH once again amended its rules, which adjusted the prior fair share obligations and promulgated a new methodology for determining a municipality's future obligation to plan for affordable housing. These rules were challenged and in January 2007 the New Jersey Appellate Court overturned certain components of COAH's rules and methodology. Subsequently, the rules were amended on several occasions, most recently on September 22, 2008 (effective October 20, 2008). Additional amendments are now pending and other amendments, not yet promulgated, are planned. The revised rules have also been challenged, and the court case is still pending as of this writing. Nonetheless, COAH has established a deadline for the filing of third round housing plans regardless of the ongoing appeal.
The new COAH methodology updates the first and second round obligations and determines the municipal obligation for the period of 2000 through 2018 (i.e., the "third round") on the basis of development activity, or growth, in the municipality during the period from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2018, as measured by certificates of occupancy issued. The rules require that municipalities provide a plan for one new affordable housing unit for every increase of 4 market-rate housing units and for every increase of 16 jobs, with jobs estimated using various ratios of employment to floor area for different uses. This housing element is intended to satisfy the plan requirement for addressing both the prior round obligations, revised rehabilitation obligations and the new "growth share" obligation.
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