In a vote essentially along party lines, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts’s affordable housing reform bill was passed 45-33. The only “no” vote among the Democratic members of the Assembly was Linda Stender (D-Union), who is running for an open seat in the Republican-leaning 7th Congressional District against State Senator Leonard Lance (R-Hunterdon). One of the major overhalls to the Fair Housing Act in this bill is the elimination of Regional Contribution Agreements, or RCAs, which allow suburban and rural towns to transfer their affordable housing obligations to older suburban and urban areas in exchange for a calculated payment. As a result, all communities, with the exception of five regional planning areas, must provide for their fair share of affordable housing within their municipal boundaries.

According to the Star Ledger:

While ending the RCAs, the bill would raise new funds for construction or rehabilitation of affordable homes by charging developers a 2.5 percent fee on the value of commercial buildings they erect. Of the $163 million the state hopes to raise through the levy, $20 million would be set aside annually to replace the money that was provided by the affluent towns. The remainder would go toward providing affordable housing statewide.

Another $109 million in state realty transfer fee revenue, and an estimated $190 million in development fees already raised but not yet spent by municipalities, also would go toward the housing.

The legislation also would create five areas, each with 25 towns, that would work collectively to provide affordable housing in their regions. In four of those areas — the Highlands, the Pinelands, the Meadowlands and Fort Monmouth — they would seek to place as much of 50 percent of their affordable housing near mass transportation. The fifth area, the Atlantic City region, would have no restrictions on where the housing could be placed.

The legislation also would require that 20 percent of state-assisted development projects, such as transit villages, be set aside for affordable units. It would increase the maximum income to qualify for affordable housing from $63,000 to $87,000 for a family of four, and replace every affordable unit lost through redevelopment with another.

The proposal would create a State Housing Commission to develop an annual strategic housing plan, submit annual reports to the Legislature and require regular publication of affordable housing statistics.

For the full article from the Star Ledger, click here.