Tracts targeted for affordable housing
Units will be built for veterans, disabled, seniors
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
Monroe officials have chosen two sites where they plan to fulfill the township's state affordable housing obligation.

In time for the year-end New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) deadline, the tracts were designated for developments that will include municipally sponsored affordable housing elements.

"The solutions that were proposed fit nicely with Monroe," Township Planner Mark Remsa said.

One site, located on Route 33 between Perrineville Road and the Twin Rivers development, is set to include retail space along with market-rate and affordable housing units. Though the approximately 450-acre property is in the township's highway development zone, a zoning overlay will allow the mixed use, according to Jerome Convery, Monroe's affordable housing attorney.

The chosen developer for the site would be required to give the township 10 acres for affordable housing. Convery said that site would house a residential building that would likely include units for disabled veterans and/or developmentally disabled individuals.

Officials considered Route 33 a good choice for the affordable housing units due to its accessibility to public transportation, among other reasons.

Remsa said the mixed-use plan there would allow the township to benefit while fulfilling its obligations.

"This has, in my opinion, positive fiscal aspects," Remsa said.

The other designated site, off Spotswood-Englishtown Road and across the street from the Reserve at Monroe development, consists of about 300 buildable acres. It will make up the age-restricted portion of the township's COAH plan, augmenting a planned retirement community with 5 acres set aside for affordable units.

Of the township's total obligation of 1,178 affordable housing units, 293 will be designated for individuals age 55 and up, according to Remsa.

"We would maximize the number of units for seniors that we can build, because Monroe is a senior-oriented town," Convery said.

Under new, third-round regulations, towns no longer get extra credits for building age-restricted units, but COAH does give two-for-one credits for units built for families and the disabled.

At both sites, the township will partner with a nonprofit developer in order to get the affordable units built, Remsa said.

Another way in which the township will meet its obligation is through rehabilitation projects. Through a COAH program that is similar to the federal Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program, homeowners who qualify can have their houses brought up to code through a grant.

"It has been a really successful program," Convery said.

The program entails a lien being placed on a given home for 10 years in exchange for work done there. After 10 years, if the homeowner has retained the property, the money invested in the rehabilitation work counts as a grant.

"The people can't just turn around and sell the property and make a windfall," Convery said.

According to Convery, the program not only helps the township meet its affordable housing obligation, but also promotes health and safety for residents.

The rehabilitation projects are slated to comprise 61 of Monroe's required units.

COAH had to readopt amended rules based on a January 2004 decision by the Appellate Division of New Jersey Superior Court. While some rules held, others were invalidated by the court, and still others were remanded to COAH for revisions.

The Roberts Bill (A-500), signed into law by Gov. Jon Corzine in July, made further changes to COAH regulations, and perhaps presented the largest challenge for the township. The bill eliminated all regional contribution agreements (RCAs), which allowed municipalities to pay other towns to take on a given number of affordable housing units.

Monroe had struck an RCA arrangement with Perth Amboy about two years ago that would have seen the township paying Perth Amboy $35,000 per unit for 200 affordable housing units, totaling $7 million. The money would not have impacted taxpayers, since the township has an affordable housing trust fund totaling between $11 and 12 million, according to Township Engineer Ernie Feist. Since the RCA has been deemed void, the 200 units have been worked into the two chosen sites, Remsa said.

Other changes brought on by the new COAH regulations impose a 2.5 percent developer's fee on nonresidential development, the proceeds of which are to be placed into a fund to help towns pay for meeting affordable housing obligations. In addition, a new formula is used to determine the number of affordable housing units required on the part of each town.

These round-three obligations apply to the time period from 2004 to 2018.

A number of towns throughout the state initiated litigation to circumvent the new rules.

Convery pointed out that while some view affordable housing as a blight upon their town that will bring individuals who depend on social services and do not work, that line of thought is a misconception. According to Convery, the income limitations to qualify for affordable housing in the area are one of the highest in the state.

"A person that just got hired as a police officer or a nurse or a secretary for the municipality — they would all qualify for affordable housing or for a rehab," Convery said.