BERKELEY – The township has met the number of affordable housing units that the state requires, according to officials at a recent Planning Board meeting.
Over the last few months, every town has been going over their housing element and fair share plan. New Jersey towns are required to do this, in order to make sure that people who have low to moderate income have affordable housing available locally.
If the town doesn’t, they could be on the receiving end of builder’s remedy lawsuits. This is when a developer sues the town for zoning poor people out. If the developer wins, they have a lot of freedom with whatever they want to build.
While different versions of this have been in the works for 50 years, the current affordable housing process includes counting how many affordable housing units are currently available, counting how many are in the works, and estimating how many are needed.
Township Engineer James Oris explained that the township is in compliance for the 4th round of estimating affordable housing, which will last from 2025 until 2035.
Berkeley also met the obligation for the 3rd round, which lasted from 2015 until 2025, he said. Additionally, they earned extra credits during that 3rd round that were carried over into the 4th round.
Berkeley Township works with county officials to rehab units, which also count toward the total, he noted.
In many towns, the State Department of Community Affairs does their own calculations on how many affordable units each town needs. Town officials come up with their own figure, which is usually lower. Then, there’s negotiation until there’s a settlement somewhere in between.
That’s not what’s happening in Berkeley. The DCA said the town has an obligation of 209 units.
“We’re not contesting that,” Oris said. “We have enough credits” to reach that number and have 18 more in case the DCA has any revisions.
There have been several situations in Berkeley that provided a number of affordable housing units. Among them a Homes For All project in Manitou Park, special needs group homes, and individual houses built by Northern Ocean Habitat for Humanity.
Additionally, Berkeley collects funds on every home built. This money is pooled in an Affordable Housing Trust Fund which is used to buy or rehab property that will be used as affordable housing.
The Tunnel To Towers development, which will be 99 apartments and 25 single-family homes on Route 9, was not part of the current round. It will be part of the next round, when these affordable, veteran-only homes are completed.
