Plainsboro officials are tentatively signing on to join forces with the League of Municipalities in funding litigation against the proposed third-round state Council on Affordable Housing regulations.##M:[more]##
The newly proposed regulations have been the subject of criticism from all sides of the spectrum since their release in December, said Mayor Peter Cantu during the Committee meeting on April 23. Municipalities, affordable housing advocates, and developers all have joined in the criticism for their own reasons. The rules aren’t yet official, as they are still in the review process, but appeals are expected.
Under the proposed rules, the ratio of affordable to market units would double from one affordable for every eight market units to one for every four, and the ratio of affordable units for new jobs would increase from one unit for every 25 jobs to one for every 16. The ratio of affordable units to office space, retail, restaurants, hotel, and parking space also dramatically increased.
Cantu said that the League of Municipalities had sent a letter asking if it would join in a fund for litigation against the COAH rules. Said Cantu: “I don’t think we have a problem with a modest participation.”
“We should respond and support that, and restate that we want to review the rules and see any litigation strategy,” before finalizing the participation, he suggested, saying he wanted to ensure “we don’t step on ourselves” before committing.
Administrator Bob Sheehan told the committee that “we have a plan that complied with the initial round three rules, and we are in the process of trying to comply with the new rules in the meantime.”
— Cara Latham
