RIO GRANDE – A one-bedroom apartment in a newly-constructed senior complex with new appliances, wall-to-wall carpeting and access to a clubhouse, fitness room and computer lab for $689 a month, less a utility allowance.
This is a potential scenario for a qualifying low-income individual at Conifer Village apartments in North Cape May. Similar opportunities exist at other low and moderate-income rental properties throughout the county, but the demand is greater than the supply.
Municipalities in Cape May County could be required to provide thousands of similar affordable housing units if state courts continue to support the need estimates from the Fair Share Housing Center, a non-profit advocacy group. In a South Brunswick case last year, a Middlesex County Superior Court judge did just that.
Similar cases involving county municipalities are pending in the courts.
The municipal responses to affordable housing regulations have the potential to significantly impact the entire county.
The public should have an understanding of the issues involved in the matter. The Herald will explain this process in a series of future articles. As it does so, support material will be posted on the website for those who want to access greater detail. As always, reader feedback is solicited.
The Context
The New Jersey courts say that Cape May County is deficient in low to moderate-income housing. Advocacy groups, such as the Fair Housing Center, say that the county municipalities need to provide as many as 8,000 more units to meet the projected need to 2025.
Each municipality is being charged with meeting a goal of a specific number of units with little agreement on how and where those mostly rental units would be located and funded.
Conifer’s Units
The property at Conifer Village in North Cape May contains 90 units and cost more than $17 million to construct. A variety of what is ultimately taxpayer dollars funded the project with $12 million in federal tax credits, $3.6 million in Superstorm Sandy recovery funds and over $1 million in capital financing from the state.
When the property had its grand opening in 2011, the final cost per unit was near $190,000, a price greater than many single family homes in the area.
Others Like It
Similar properties have been developed in Rio Grande and Court House. They joined an existing body of older low-income housing often managed by municipal housing authorities dependent on federally subsidized rental income.
The issue of affordable housing, its myriad forms, and its complex financing is at the heart of some land use decisions that are and will continue to confront county municipal planning boards and governing bodies.
Housing Obligation
In what has become known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, the New Jersey Supreme Court ruled in 1975 that municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide their fair share of the present and future regional needs for housing affordable to low and moderate-income households.
Cape May County is part of what has been termed Region 6 which includes the counties of Cape May, Atlantic, Salem, and Cumberland.
The Definition
Affordable housing is defined as housing meeting appropriate quality guidelines that do not require the property owners or renters to spend more than 30 percent of their monthly income to put a roof over their head.
The calculation is complex involving an area’s median monthly income, family size, and definitions of low and moderate incomes or designated disabilities or special needs.
The process also takes into account a community’s economic trends including real estate development, job creation or loss, population projections, along with other factors.
The complexities abound and special planners are often needed to help municipalities develop plans that will meet state requirements.
Cape May County Today
In Cape May County today, the issues of affordable housing and municipal fair share obligations to provide such housing have spawned litigation as some communities try to clarify their obligations.
Advocates for higher levels of affordable housing units have instituted their own litigation employing land use planners who argue that municipalities have low-balled their obligations.
Governing bodies across the county have wrestled with uncertainty, expensive professional services contracts, and public concern about the impact of affordable housing on taxes, schools, municipal services, and property values.
Near Me?
Most members of the public only become aware of the controversies surrounding affordable housing when a specific project is proposed for a location near them.
All of the complexities surrounding the affordable housing process hamper public involvement in the larger policy development that must be part of municipal plans for meeting obligations.
The high number of units required often means high-density, multi-family developments that are new to areas previously dominated by single-family homes.
P.I.L.O.T. Sharing
Municipal tax arrangements known as Payments in Lieu of Taxes (PILOTS) can lead to controversy over how these dollars are shared between local governments and school boards.
Environmental concerns, potentially higher demands for municipal services, school enrollments which can impact capital as well as operating dollars, and the convoluted financing ramifications of adding low-income housing to island communities with high land values are just a few of the public policy issues that will require resolution.
In 2015, the New Jersey Supreme Court declared the state affordable housing process “non-functioning” and seized power to set obligations and enforce compliances away from the executive agency the state had established for that purpose.
Assuming that the courts intend to more speedily move the issue forward, understanding how county municipalities will respond to state obligations has never been more important.
To contact Vince Conti, email vconti@cmcherald.com.
Dennisville – As a parent of a Tech student it would be great if the school would update their staff directory. So many old staff still listed and no new teachers listed. What gives?
