COURT HOUSE – Middle Township Committee passed a resolution Jan. 19, authorizing a settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC), a nonprofit that serves as a New Jersey Supreme Court-designated interested party in state affordable housing fair share cases.
The settlement comes almost eight months after the FSHC initiated litigation in June 2021, concerning what it felt was the municipality’s lack of progress on an approved fair share housing plan designed to meet its affordable housing obligations.
In a statement, the FSHC calls the settlement “a significant step forward for affordable housing in Cape May County.”
The settlement agreement will be presented to the trial judge by the parties at what is known as a Mount Laurel Fairness Hearing, a proceeding that would result in court approval of both the agreement and Middle’s plan for implementing it.
If the agreement gains judicial approval, Middle will become the 12th municipality in the county to gain court sanction of a Fair Share Plan.
In the settlement agreement, the municipality accepts its obligations as a 48-unit rehabilitation obligation, 454-unit prior round prospective need obligation, and a 320-unit third round obligation.
The rehabilitation obligation is met through the continued implementation of the existing affordable housing rehabilitation program for both rental and for-sale units.
In terms of the prior round obligation of 454 units, the municipality and FSHC agree that existing efforts account for 354 units, including bonus credits. These include the two Conifer rental complexes, Habitat for Humanity homes, and a series of group homes for individuals with special needs.
The remaining 100-unit obligation is to be satisfied with a proposed potential Rio Grande family rental development at Block 1434 along Route 47 and Railroad Avenue, along with a 20% set-aside in specific zoning areas that will be rezoned for greater density of multi-family homes.
The third–round obligations are met through a proposed Indian Trail Road redevelopment area and a further result of the 20% set-aside.
Several of these proposed credits involve changes that the municipality must subsequently make in order to comply with the settlement agreement. These actions will include changes to zoning that permit higher-density townhomes and multifamily development, with the 20% set-aside across the town residential (TR) zoning district.
In the rezoning, the municipality is essentially creating a “realistic development potential” that offers greater opportunity for affordable housing creation.
With respect to the Indian Trail and Rio Grande proposed developments, the municipality’s obligation is to create favorable circumstances for the development of affordable housing in the designated areas through inclusionary zoning and redevelopment actions.
In its statement, the FSHC says that the agreement “sets up benchmarks for 80 family affordable homes to move forward over the next year.”
In effect, the municipality is creating specific opportunities for the development of affordable housing units. The municipality is not required to build those units. Through the zoning changes, its affirmative marketing efforts, and its affordable housing and inclusionary zoning ordinances, the municipality is agreeing to actions that may facilitate affordable housing development.
Acceptance of the municipality’s plan and the provisions of the agreement will bring the municipality a 10-year period of immunity from certain litigation, including builder’s remedy lawsuits.
As part of the settlement agreement, the municipality has also agreed to pay the FSHC legal fees up to $30,000 following a successful fairness hearing in Superior Court.
The agreement, with its various exhibits, is a complex document. The municipality states in its resolution that the settlement “avoids the expenditure of finite public resources” in a continued legal dispute and it “expedites the construction of safe, decent housing for the region’s low- and moderate-income households.”
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
