Bill Text: NJ S159 | 2016-2017 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Establishes defense against exclusionary zoning litigation seeking builder's remedy.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2016-01-12 - Introduced in the Senate, Referred to Senate Community and Urban Affairs Committee [S159 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2016-S159-Introduced.html
STATE OF NEW JERSEY
217th LEGISLATURE
PRE-FILED FOR INTRODUCTION IN THE 2016 SESSION
Sponsored by:
Senator CHRISTOPHER "KIP" BATEMAN
District 16 (Hunterdon, Mercer, Middlesex and Somerset)
Senator LINDA R. GREENSTEIN
District 14 (Mercer and Middlesex)
Co-Sponsored by:
Senator Singer
SYNOPSIS
Establishes defense against exclusionary zoning litigation seeking builder's remedy.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
Introduced Pending Technical Review by Legislative Counsel.
An Act concerning municipal defense against affordable housing litigation and supplementing P.L.1985, c.222 (C.52:27D-301 et seq.).
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. a. Notwithstanding any law, rule, or regulation to the contrary, in any exclusionary zoning case filed against a municipality, it shall be an affirmative defense that a municipality has not discriminated against low- and moderate-income residents within the housing region through exclusionary zoning practices. A municipality may establish this affirmative defense by demonstrating any of the following:
(1) according to the most recent decennial census, at least 20 percent of existing households of the municipality meet the latest valid definition of low or moderate income as determined by the council;
(2) the average rental price for a two bedroom residence in the municipality is 1.85 percent, or less, of the median annual income of an individual in the housing region in which the municipality is located and rental units comprise at least 25 percent of all available housing units in the municipality;
(3) the average market rate for residences on sale in the municipality is $240,000 or less;
(4) at least seven and one-half percent of the municipality's total present housing stock is price restricted units;
(5) at least 33 percent of the housing stock in the municipality is not luxury units and is comprised of single-family attached housing, mobile home units, and multiple-dwelling units, at least half of which are rental housing; or
(6) at least 40 percent of the employed residents of the municipality commute at least 30 minutes to their place of employment.
b. The Commissioner of Community Affairs shall annually promulgate updated rental price and market rate amounts listed in paragraphs (2) and (4) of this section, as adjusted for increases in the index, as defined in subsection c. of this section.
c. For the purposes of this section:
"Builder's remedy" means a court imposed remedy for a litigant who is an individual or a profit-making entity in which the court requires a municipality to utilize zoning techniques, such as mandatory set-asides or density bonuses, which provide for the economic viability of a residential development by including housing which is not for low and moderate income households.
"Exclusionary zoning litigation" means lawsuits filed in courts of competent jurisdiction in this State challenging a municipality's zoning and land use regulations on the basis that the regulations do not make realistically possible the opportunity for an appropriate variety and choice of housing for all categories of people living within the municipality's housing region, including those of low and moderate income, who may desire to live in the municipality.
"Index" means the annual average over a 12-month period beginning September 1 and ending August 31 of the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W), All Items Series A, of the United States Department of Labor (1957-1959 = 100), for either the New York, NY-Northeastern New Jersey or the Philadelphia, PA-New Jersey region, according as either shall have been determined by the commissioner to be applicable in the applicable municipality.
"Multiple dwelling" means any building or structure of one or more stories and any land appurtenant thereto, and any portion thereof, in which three or more units of dwelling space are occupied, or are intended to be occupied by three or more persons who live independently of each other.
"Price restricted unit" means a residential dwelling unit that is price restricted, including: units that are deed restricted for occupancy by residents of low or moderate income; price restricted pursuant to covenants established for units financed by federal Low Income Housing Tax Credits; price restricted pursuant to covenants established for units developed pursuant to the "Neighborhood Revitalization State Tax Credit Act," P.L.2001, c.415 (C.52:27D-490 et seq.); units rehabilitated as either a sending or receiving municipality under a regional contribution agreement, and subject to price controls; units built or rehabilitated as part of a Community Development Block Grant, and subject to price controls; housing units operated by a Public Housing Authority; units constructed, rehabilitated, or receiving project-based assistance under the program authorized pursuant to section 8 of the United States Housing Act of 1937 as added by the Housing and Community Development Act of 1974, Pub.L.93-383 (42 U.S.C. s.1437f).
2. This act shall take effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This legislation establishes an affirmative defense to exclusionary zoning litigation seeking a builder's remedy. Municipalities in this State could face an increase in this type of litigation due to the ongoing inaction and failures of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). The use of the builder's remedy as a method of achieving fair share housing is not desirable. A municipality may establish an affirmative defense against this legal action by demonstrating any of the following:
-at least 20 percent of existing households of the municipality meet the latest valid definition of low or moderate income as determined by the Council;
-the average rental price for a two bedroom residence in the municipality is 1.85 percent, or less, of the median annual income of an individual in the housing region in which the municipality is located and rental units comprise at least 25 percent of all available housing units in the municipality;
-the average market rate for residences on sale in the municipality is $240,000 or less;
-at least 33 percent of the housing stock in the municipality is comprised of single-family attached housing, mobile home units, and multiple-dwelling units, half of which are rental housing, and are not luxury units;
-at least seven and one-half percent of the municipality's total percent housing stock is price restricted units; or
-at least 40 percent of residents of the municipality commute at least 30 minutes to their place of employment.
