STAFFORD – The Stafford Township Council approved an affordable housing agreement at a recent meeting that significantly reduced the township’s future housing obligation following months of review and negotiations with state housing officials.
Every town in New Jersey is required to provide a certain number of affordable housing units based on a complicated calculation. They are measured in ten-year increments described as “rounds.”
The council unanimously adopted a resolution authorizing Stafford to enter into a consent order for the fourth round of affordable housing litigation. Mayor Robert Henken said the agreement represented a favorable outcome for the township.
“We accepted the township’s consent order for the fourth round of affordable housing,” Henken said. “We were able to work with the courts and Fair Share Housing and document a fourth-round number of 17, down from 420.”
Henken explained that the original figure stemmed from a broad state-level calculation. “That is what the state had wanted originally,” he said. “We were able to get it down to 17.”
Township Administrator Matt von der Hayden said the initial number did not fully reflect Stafford’s local conditions. “That 420 figure came from a statewide assessment that looks at municipalities very broadly,” von der Hayden said. “We worked through a detailed, parcel-by-parcel review to show what land was realistically available and suitable for development.”
Von der Hayden said many of the parcels initially counted were constrained by environmental factors, infrastructure limitations, or location. “Once we analyzed those properties in detail, it became clear that large-scale development simply wasn’t feasible in many cases,” he said.
Mayor Henken credited township professionals for the outcome. “I want to thank Matt, the attorneys, and everyone involved in this work,” Henken said. “It was a great job.”
Von der Hayden said the agreement places Stafford at the start of the fourth-round compliance period, which spans the next 10 years. “During that time, the township will identify appropriate locations for affordable housing, develop plans, and either begin construction or have projects actively moving forward,” he said.
He added that the reduced obligation gives Stafford flexibility while meeting its legal requirements. “This allows us to plan responsibly over the long term without creating unnecessary development pressure on the community,” von der Hayden said.
