Resident: Young adults can't settle in Mid'twn Blames use of RCAs for lack of affordable housing BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer Young adults are being shut out of living in the town they grew up in because Middletown sends affordable housing funds out of town, a resident told the Township Committee last week. Matthew Morehead, 27, West Front Street, told the committee's workshop meeting Feb. 4 that the lack of affordable housing in Middletown is a growing problem facing young adults and blamed the use of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) that fund affordable units in other municipalities. "Middletown has used our parents' tax dollars to build homes in places like Long Branch and Asbury Park," Morehead said. "I feel like we are becoming a town of elitists like a Rumson or Holmdel." During the public comment portion of the meeting, Morehead addressed the impact of this practice on young adults who want to live in Middletown and raise families there. The township pays other municipalities more than $12 million through RCAs to build 649 units of affordable housing. Morehead, chairman of the Monmouth County BayshoreYoungDemocrats, focused on young adults who are current residents or are the children of current residents. In an interviewFriday,Morehead reiterated his position that the use ofRCAsmakes it difficult for young adults to live in Middletown. "Younger people can't afford tomove into houses in the town where they grow up," Morehead said. "There is nowhere to move to in Middletown to start our own families without the affordable housing." Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger responded, "I remember when I was younger and I first gotmarried,mywife and Imoved into a small apartment," Scharfenberger said. "We saved our money for five or six years and held extra jobs so that we could own our house one day." An RCA is an agreement between two municipalities in which one town pays another town to assume a portion of its affordable housing obligation, which is mandated by COAH. Under an RCA, a sending community may transfer up to half of its share of affordable housing units to a receiving communitywithin the same housing region. Middletown currently has RCAs with Long Branch, Red Bank andAsbury Park. Middletown has used RCAs more than any municipality, according to Scharfenberger, sending $12.1 million to other municipalities to handle 649 of its affordable housing credits that would otherwise have been built in the township. The township's liberal use of RCAs has been criticized by affordable housing advocates, while Scharfenberger had defended it as a necessity. Scharfenberger said that he has spoken to Gov. Jon Corzine about the affordable housing obligations and asked him to rethink how the state calculates them. "For us to put more homes in Middletown that are affordable housing, it causes the property tax of other people to become more expensive," Scharfenberger said. "It's not a free program that we just signed up for. We are being forced to have these obligations and clearing acre after acre of land for housing will cost the taxpayers even more." Morehead wants to know why the township is paying other towns so that it can meet COAH requirements. "We are paying $12.1 million to other municipalities for this," Morehead said. "Our parents did not pay taxes for the development of other towns." Scharfenberger said that building more affordable housing in Middletown would cause major urbanization in the town. "Our COAH obligations are paid for by the taxpayers, and though it is a very worthy cause it comes with a cost," Scharfenberger said. "It forces us to become urbanized and it costs the townshipmillions of dollars. Plus we have property taxes to pay for." Morehead said that there are many homes for sale inMiddletown, and the township should convert those homes to affordable housing. "We would be able to meet our obligations better that way," Morehead said. "We don't need more senior housing." Morehead said last week, he was offended that Scharfenberger had cut his comments short and would not allow him to speak further on the issue at the meeting. "This just goes to show that there is no room for concerned residents to make their case to the mayor and the Republican majority if it differs from their stance on the issue," Morehead said. "It also shows that Mayor Scharfenberger has no intention of addressing the problems that face young residents of this town." Scharfenberger defended cutting off the comments and said that although he respects Morehead's opinion, he will not get into public arguments over the issue. "I let him say what he had to say and then I commented on it," Scharfenberger said. "That'swhat the public hearing is supposed to be. If we took the time to debate every issue or person who comes to attack the committee, themeetingswould go on all night and would become a circus." Morehead said that the Monmouth County BayshoreYoungDemocratswill continue to advocate for affordable housing and will circulate a petition at Brookdale Community College and throughoutMiddletown so that young adults are informed about the issue. "We do our obligations and nobody knows about it,"Morehead said. "We are extremely against this and will be fighting for young adults' rights to live where they grew up."