Middletown to build affordable housing units for veterans on blighted Belford property

The Middletown Township Committee voted unanimously on Tuesday to acquire a blighted commercial property on Leonardville Road in Belford and to build 10-20 affordable housing units for veterans in partnership with the Middletown Housing Authority.

The property at 37-45 Leonardville Road, across the street from the Carvel Ice Cream store, was previously the home of Middletown Tool Rental and a gas station before that.  It has been vacant and overgrown for roughly 20 years. The Township acquired a certification from the NJ Department of Environmental Protection that the property is not contaminated prior to approving the acquisition.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Hazlet Mayor Takes Affordable Housing Plan Off The Agenda

Hazlet Mayor Scott Aagre and former Senator Joe Kyillos

Hazlet Mayor Scott Aagre posted the following message on the Township’s website this afternoon:

The Hazlet Township Committee has rigorously been fighting a builder’s remedy lawsuit filed by a developer and the State regarding an acceptable compliance plan to meet the township’s housing requirements. Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

TAXPAYER NIGHTMARE: N.J. High Court Paves Way for Construction of 100k+ Affordable Housing Units

The New Jersey Supreme Court has once again usurped the legislature and stepped into the realm of public policy today, Save Jerseyans, creating a mandate that will mean big tax increases for many N.J. towns. At issue was whether New Jersey municipalities have an obligation to construct houses not built during the so-called “gap period,” a… Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

O’SCANLON INTRODUCES SANDY HOUSING LEGISLATION

New bill reauthorizes regional contribution agreements for Sandy affected counties

Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon will introduce new legislation tomorrow that reauthorizes regional contribution agreements (RCAs) between towns in the nine most Superstorm Sandy-impacted counties. These agreements will permit the transfer of housing units to count towards a recipient municipality’s fair share obligation. These types of agreements were originally permitted under the Coalition On Affordable Housing where one town could transfer a portion of its affordable housing obligation to another. RCAs were banned in 2008.

“I’ve always said that the law banning RCAs was shortsighted,” explained O’Scanlon.  “I want to go on record saying I disagree with this far reaching court-mandated housing scheme.  But if we have to have it, there should be a mix of options for municipalities to deal with it.  “Mayor John Hornik of Marlboro recently revived the discussion of RCAs in relation to those areas affected by Sandy. We have seized on that common ground and developed legislation reauthorizing RCAs to help facilitate the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of housing in areas hardest hit by Sandy.  We can finally put these funds to work creating affordable housing and helping towns recover from the storm at the same time.  I look forward to working with Mayor Hornik on this as we work to persuade the legislative leadership to join the effort.”

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

Middletown Calls On Christie, Legislature To Allow Affordable Housing Funds To Assist Sandy Impacted Homeowners

Citing the shortage of federal and state funds available to assist Superstorm Sandy impacted homeowners in rebuilding their homes, the Middletown Township Committtee this week joined Marlboro Mayor Jonathan Hornik and Assemblyman Declan O’Scanlon in calling on the state legislature and Governor Chris Christie to put the more than $100 million in Affordable Housing Funds that are sitting dormant to work.

With a unanimous 5-0 vote, the committee passed a resolution on Monday, April 21, calling for legislation that would reinstate Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs) “for the limited purpose of getting victims of Superstorm Sandy back in their homes during this time of need.”

RCAs were created in the original 1985 Fair Housing Act whereby towns with funds raised from developer fees or through bonding could transfer up to half of those funds to another community for the purpose of building affordable housing as required by the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mt. Laurel decision.

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet

N.J. Supreme Court to issue major affordable housing decision

N.J. Supreme Court to issue major affordable housing decision (via NJ.com)

Keith A. Muccilli/For The Star-Ledger TRENTON — The state Supreme Court will hand down a long-awaited decision today on how many affordable-housing units New Jersey’s towns must provide for their lowest-income residents. At issue, again, is the…

Read the rest of this entry »

• Tweet