FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
September 9, 2024
Contact Jag Davies (786) 393-8100, jagdavies@fairsharehousing.org
Press Statement: Lawsuit Filed By Ultra-Wealthy, Predominantly White Towns Is Smokescreen to Block Much-Needed Affordable Housing
In response to a lawsuit filed today by Montvale’s leadership and eight other municipalities, Fair Share Housing Center’s executive director, Adam Gordon, issued the following statement:
“New Jersey has a shortage of over 200,000 affordable housing units and there are 14 prospective renters for each vacant apartment. A delay of three years or more of building affordable housing, as Mayor Ghassali has proposed, would harm families, people with disabilities, and seniors struggling with record-high rents and home prices.
“The lawsuit will inevitably get thrown out in court. It’s purely a smokescreen to undermine and delay the implementation of New Jersey’s landmark new affordable housing law (S50/A4). This lawsuit is nothing new — it’s supported by many of the same ultra-wealthy communities who have fought affordable housing for decades, every step of the way. The lawsuit also is a thinly veiled attempt to revisit through the courts arguments that failed in the political process.
“New Jersey law gives towns a wide variety of tools to create affordable housing in the way they prefer. Towns are encouraged to engage in the process and create their own housing plans that realistically zone for their fair share of affordable housing. The new law and associated bills give towns new tools like new bonuses, financing options, and credits to meet their obligation. Towns only lose their ability to be in control of the process when they refuse to find any place to create their fair share of affordable housing. Most towns do, indeed, cooperate with the process — and get to be in the driver’s seat in deciding on a housing plan that works best for their communities.
“Montvale, the town leading the lawsuit, is deeply unrepresentative of our state’s population, with less than 2 percent Black population and less than 6 percent Latino population. Not surprisingly, the small percentage of New Jersey municipalities that have signed on include many of the ultra-wealthy communities that have fought the hardest against affordable homes like Millburn.
“One of the ideas that had been purported as behind the lawsuit — that urban municipalities don’t have affordable housing obligations under New Jersey law — is simply not true. Since urban municipalities have historically produced far more affordable housing than suburban municipalities, their obligations primarily consist of rehabilitating existing housing — often running into thousands of affordable homes they have to rehabilitate. S50/A4 requires these urban municipalities to meet these rehabilitation obligations, which often far exceed suburban obligations in total. By pretending that urban municipalities don’t have obligations under the law, Mayor Ghassali is counting on the willful ignorance of residents who are already inclined to oppose affordable housing.
“We look forward to working with towns that want to implement this new law and create much-needed affordable homes.”
