A Trenton committee on November 8 discussed a bill that would abolish the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), according to Matt Friedman . COAH’s official website states that the council was created in 1985 with a goal “to establish a realistic opportunity for the provision of fair share low and moderate income housing obligations, generally through land use and zoning power.”  Provided as an alternative to the Fair Housing Act, the council consists of twelve (12) members who are “appointed by the Governor on the advice and consent to the Senate.”

Terry Hurlbut , however, wrote back in June that “the attempt to guarantee affordable housing everywhere has provoked dozens of lawsuits.” In addition, the COAH’s system has created “a ‘byzantine maze’ of rules that create confusion rather affordable-housing units,” according to Senator Lesniak .

According to The Star Ledger , the proposed bill would require towns in New Jersey to make ten (10) percent of their new development affordable. Friedman stated that one of these exceptions would include municipalities that had over fifty (50) percent of their students who were able to have free or reduced lunch.  

He additionally reported that developers who were not able to do this would be required to pay a 3.5 percent fee that would be used to build affordable housing in the same town. This would be an alternative to the formulas of COAH that Department of Community Affairs Commissioner Lori Grifa has called “rigid, arcane and virtually unintelligible,” according Friedman’s article.

Governor Chris Christie also believes that COAH should be abolished, cited earlier in his campaign trail last year that he planned to “gut COAH.” The Examiner , in fact, reported that all gubernatorial candidates pledged to abolish COAH, although Christie’s reason to do so is unclear. Nevertheless, Friedman wrote that the New Jersey governor plans on vetoing the bill because he disagrees with the 2.5 percent fee on commercial development, calling it “the stupidest idea [has has] heard in a week.” Assemblyman Jerry Green, however posed the question, “If we eliminate the fee, where will we find the money (to pay for housing?)”

Ultimately, the bill was passed by the committed with a vote of 4-1 and moves on to be voted in the full Assembly.

*Any information on all blog entries should not be construed as legal advice. If you have any legal issues, please consult an attorney.