COAH/Mt. Laurel Housing

Background

The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) was established in 1985 by the New Jersey State Legislature in response to a series of New Jersey Supreme Court decisions stemming from developer-initiated litigation against the municipality of Mount Laurel. COAH sets the criteria that a municipality must use in determining its “fair share” number of low and moderate income housing units (its so-called “COAH obligation” or “Mount Laurel quota”), and to review and approve the Master Plan’s Housing Element and the Fair Share Plan of each municipality.

Holmdel has met its affordable housing obligation under COAH’s First and Second Round regulations, which span the period from 1987 to 1999. Since successive rounds of COAH regulations are becoming increasingly burdensome, CILU analyzes current COAH regulations to estimate their impacts on prospective developments in Holmdel.

COAH’s Third Round regulations span the period from 1999 through 2018 and introduce a new “growth share” obligation/quota which COAH indicates “is generated by statewide residential and non-residential growth during the period from 1999 to 2018 and delivered from January 1, 2004 to December 31, 2018.” COAH’s Third Round regulations include requirements that each municipality provide:

  • One new COAH unit in every five new housing units (“one among five”); and

  • One new COAH unit for every 16 newly created jobs. COAH-specified formulas estimate the number of each municipality’s newly created jobs by job-type and square footage of new (or expanded) non-residential construction.

CILU feels it is extremely important that the Township Committee and the township residents remain vigilant about the potential impact of COAH responsibilities that occur along with development. To complicate things further, third round COAH obligations are still changing and there are many ambiguities that need clarification.

March, 2015: NJ Supreme Court Removes COAH's Jurisdiction Over Affordable Housing The New Jersey Supreme Court removed the Council on Affordable Housing as the authority on municipal obligations regarding affordable housing. Individuals, developers, and advocates will again be able to sue municipalities for their failure to provide sufficient affordable housing. This also creates some uncertainty regarding the precise nature of these obligations.

Affordable Housing Status in Holmdel, October 5, 2015

The recent passage of the Township Ordinance 2015-14 to permit an overlay zone for affordable housing on Block 52 and Lots 17 and 18 on Palmer Avenue came as a surprise to many residents. It appears that many folks were not aware that Holmdel had any affordable housing, never mind several varieties. Over the years Holmdel has provided affordable housing either as rentals or purchases. Some of the units are also limited to senior citizens. Credits for such housing to the municipality vary with the choices, with the senior affordable units providing more credit than the general population units.

Each municipality in the state has been required to provide such housing by Court mandate, although many municipalities have chosen to ignore their obligations. To date, Holmdel has complied with its obligations. At present, Holmdel's status and obligations are unclear due to the NJ Supreme Court ruling (described above) that voided COAH's authority.

At present there are occasional purchase opportunities at:

  • Fox Chase, Laurel Avenue

  • Gracewood Glen, Maria Court

  • Hidden Woods, Middle Road

  • The Orchards, Laurel Avenue

  • Palmer Square, Palmer Avenue

There are also occasional rental opportunities at:

  • Laurel Village, Banyan Blvd. (55+ Sr/ Housing only) (The Woods, off Laurel Ave.)

  • Holmdel Village (Senior Housing only), Holmdel Road, just south of Indian Hill School

  • Palmer Square, Palmer Avenue

  • Holmdel Meadows (Rt. 35, across from Lowe's)

The income limits, rents and sale prices are regulated by the State of New Jersey, The available number of units of any kind varies as residents come and go. At present there are 2 purchase opportunities and no rental opportunities in town if the state website information is correct. The issue of who is notified in case of a legal issue is based on the ownership as recorded in the local tax records, if indeed, the records are correct. Different property ownerships are recorded differently.

Jenni Blumenthal
CILU, VP for Public Affairs