Mid'town plan ready for COAH deadline
Legislators ask council to extend Dec. 31 deadline
BY JAMIE ROMM Staff Writer

MIDDLETOWN — Middletown approved an affordable housing plan in time to meet a Dec. 31 state deadline, but now that deadline may be extended.

The township has been at work on the plan since October, when the N.J Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) adopted a new set of regulations requiring municipalities to have updated affordable housing plans.

After an amended master plan housing element and fair share plan was unanimously passed at a joint Township Committee and Planning Board meeting on Dec, 11, the township attorney discussed what would occur if an extension requested by a state legislator is granted.

"There has been a great deal of discussion as of late about COAH extending its deadline," Reilly said. "If the deadline is not extended, this plan will be submitted. If not, we would contact the committee members and look at our proposal during the extension and make any modifications necessary before the new deadline is given."

Mayor Gerard Scharfenberger said that he has been hearing from his peers that an extension is a possibility.

"There are some rumblings on a relief or reprieve from all of this," Scharfenberger said. "There is a possibility that we will come back to look at this at another time. Hopefully it will buy us some time to where some legislative changes will occur, or regime change, to use the fashionable phrase that has been used as of late."

The discussions stem from a letter written by state Assembly Speaker Joseph J. Roberts Jr. and Assembly Housing and Local Government Chairman Jerry Green, who on Dec. 8 sent a letter to the state Council on Affordable Housing asking the council to give municipalities more time to submit housing plans.

COAH had given municipalities until Dec. 31 to submit plans spelling out how they will meet mandated affordable housing quotas.

Roberts and Green asked for the deadline to be pushed back by at least 90 days.

In a press release, the Assembly leaders cited changing COAH regulations, the slumping economy, and new wastewater management rules expected to be adopted early next year as top reasons for their request.

"We continue to share the commitment to maximize affordable housing in New Jersey, but with many communities struggling to adapt to COAH's third-round housing rules, the state must provide more flexibility to help towns adjust," the press release states.

"Municipalities should be given the chance to apply for additional time so they can submit thoughtful and realistic housing plans that reflect the latest changes and the economic and wastewater management concerns."

According to Roberts' letter to COAH, "Extending the Dec. 31 deadline under which municipalities must submit housing plans is a top priority, especially considering how COAH proposed amendments to its rules as recently as September."

According to Planning Board attorney James H. Gorman, the elimination of Regional Contribution Agreements has forced municipalities to look within their borders as opposed to exporting affordable housing obligations to other towns.

"The prior cycle shortfall that our town is seeing is because Regional Contribution Agreements are not allowed anymore," Gorman said. "Towns cannot rely on that for the prior cycle."

An RCA is an agreement between two towns in which one town pays another town to assume a portion of its affordable housing obligation.

In June, the Assembly and Senate both passed bills to eliminate RCAs, bills that were sponsored by Roberts.

In his letter, Roberts said that the Dec. 31 deadline was not enough time for municipalities to adapt to the new rules.

"We also want to give COAH and the state Department of Environmental Protection time to work together as new wastewater management rules are developed for municipalities," Roberts wrote. "We don't want to see these two efforts collide."

According to the bills Roberts sponsored, the transfer of affordable housing units from one municipality to another is not consistent with the intent of the Mount Laurel doctrine.

The New Jersey Supreme Court, in its Mount Laurel decisions, ruled that every municipality must provide a realistic opportunity through local zoning to accommodate its fair share of low- and moderate-income housing. The state's Fair Housing Act of 1985 established the Council on Affordable Housing to calculate housing needs, assign affordable housing obligations, and make sure local governments meet those obligations.

One of the major opponents of COAH's new rules is the New Jersey League of Municipalities (NJLM), which is currently appealing the new rules in court.

The league sees a 90-day extension as a promising idea, according to a press release from the NJLM.

"We view a 90-day extension as a good beginning. But the league has called on the governor to issue an executive order allowing for a six-month (or 180-day) extension."

The release states that there are many good reasons to extend the deadline beyond 90 days.

"For instance, the league's request is supported by environmental advocates who express concerns that the deadline does not allow time for adequate planning and the conflict with the Water Quality Management Plans due by April 7, 2009," the release states. "Additionally, the league is one of the appellants challenging the validity of the regulations adopted by the Council of Affordable Housing (COAH.). The league, supported by financial pledges of approximately 250 municipalities, is preparing to file its brief in early January."

Middletown joined some 250 towns in the NJLM lawsuit in August.

"It is our opinion that the COAH methodology will continue to have a negative impact on the state's economy and will ultimately not serve the interest of affordable housing," the release states. "Our goal is a methodology that offers a framework in which towns can work to achieve COAH compliance and provide for affordable housing."

For now, Scharfenberger said, the township is prepared either way.

"We will continue to fight COAH and its rules, but we have to comply with them just in case," Scharfenberger said. "This isn't over."

Contact Jamie Romm at jromm@gmnews.com