A New Jersey township that once fought hard against state-mandated affordable housing obligations has reached a deal in court with housing advocates that could clear the way for more than 1,500 new, low-priced homes in the community over the next decade.
Last month, South Brunswick Township and the Fair Share Housing Center, a nonprofit organization that negotiates affordable housing plans with municipalities across the state, reached a settlement in a case that dragged out for nearly a decade. If the agreement is approved by a judge, it will end the protracted legal battle.
For years, advocates had argued that the Middlesex County township lacked a viable plan for developing enough affordable housing as required under state law. Instead, it argued for developing mostly smaller, less unit-dense projects than advocates wanted. Now, the township has greenlit a variety of projects as part of the settlement, including some larger apartment complexes.
The agreement comes as New Jersey state officials prepare to hand down requirements later this month for how much affordable housing communities across the state will be expected to develop over the next 10 years. These requirements are the latest round of obligations under New Jersey’s unique mandate known as the Mount Laurel doctrine, which says all municipalities must contribute their “fair share” of affordable housing. After learning their requirements, municipalities will have until June 2025 to fully adopt their development plans.
South Brunswick is the first municipality to commit to targets ahead of the state’s new mandates. The settlement puts it several steps ahead in the process. The agreement details at least 20 different sites where the township plans to build or redevelop property into new affordable housing.
The township’s decision to abandon its long standing legal fight against its affordable housing mandates is a stark contrast to other municipalities. Last month, nine New Jersey municipalities banded together and sued to overturn a law passed earlier this year that outlines the new state rules for affordable housing.
The mayor and members of the township council didn’t respond to a request to comment for this story. The five-member group unanimously approved the agreement, according to the settlement.
Francis Womack, township attorney for South Brunswick, said municipal officials “feel very good about this settlement.”
Township officials agreed to fully flesh out their development plan and submit it to the Fair Share Housing Center for review before hearings are held in superior court on the new settlement over the next two months. If both sides agree, a judge will then have to sign off on the agreement.
At least one developer is unhappy with the settlement. Attorneys for South Brunswick Center, LLC said in a court filing some of the 20 sites the township identified for development were “unrealistic.”
The company has been fighting a legal battle with local officials to build a large apartment complex with at least 200 affordable rentals. That project is not included in the settlement. In a court filing, the company said it had been “disinvited” from the process.
South Brunswick Center, LLC’s attorneys have asked the court to step in and order the township and the Fair Share Housing to revise the settlement and include its project.
What changed in South Brunswick?
Prior to reaching a settlement, South Brunswick’s persistent fight over how to fulfill its affordable housing obligation got the municipality into legal trouble over the years.
In 2016, a Middlesex County Superior Court judge stripped the township of its immunity from lawsuits filed by developers who want to build affordable housing. In New Jersey, these are known as “builder’s remedy” lawsuits.
This decision opened the door for at least a half-dozen development companies to sue the township to get their projects approved. South Brunswick is one of only three New Jersey municipalities in the last 10 years to lose immunity against such lawsuits.
Later that same year, the judge ruled that the township was required to generate about 2,200 affordable housing units, more than city officials felt they could deliver.
“One thing built upon another as more and more builder remedies came in. The council, they were very steadfast and holding firm that we could not accept that extraordinarily high number the judge had given us,” Womack said.
The appellate court later reduced South Brunswick’s requirements after legislators capped each municipality’s mandate to 1,000 units of housing for each 10-year round of affordable housing mandates.
Womack said this decision by the court “opened the door for us to make a proposal” to the housing advocates from the Fair Share Housing Center that wouldn’t “overwhelm” the township.
South Brunswick would be responsible for 1,000 units for the current round that ends in June of next year, according to the settlement, as well as 1,000 for the upcoming round that will run from July 2025 until the summer of 2035.
But hundreds of those units won’t actually have to be built. The agreement provides bonus credits for constructing supportive housing for people with special needs, which means the township can build fewer than 1,000 units and still meet its affordable housing mandate.
South Brunswick officials agreed to no longer fight projects tied to several of the lawsuits brought by developers over the past nine years.
For example, housing developer K. Hovnanian Homes has been fighting in court for over more than years to build 99 townhomes, including 30 affordable rental units, in South Brunswick. According to the settlement, the township agreed to “withdraw all objections” to the zoning, site plan approval and development plan, which will allow the project to finally be built.
Embracing new legislation
Fair Share Housing Center’s Josh Bauers said he’s pleased with the “variety” of affordable housing South Brunswick is planning.
In addition to new developments, the township plans to redevelop and repurpose existing properties. For example, a former Sonesta hotel will be refurbished into 200 apartments, 40 of which will be affordably priced, according to the settlement. The township has also agreed to extend expiring affordability controls on 90 homes in town, which will mandate that these apartments stay affordable for at least the next 40 years.
Democratic Assemblywoman Yvonne Lopez, who was one of the architects of an affordable housing bill signed into law in the spring by Gov. Phil Murphy, said in a statement she was encouraged to see South Brunswick complying with the legislation.
“I am confident this agreement will demonstrate to municipalities the utility of the new law in meeting fair share obligations and protecting hard-working families in search of a safe and affordable place to call home,” Lopez said.
The bill’s co-author, Sen. Troy Singleton, a Democrat from South Jersey, said he was “especially glad to see a town that struggled with its housing obligations” embrace the elements of the bill to “proactively reach an agreement” for future development.