Affordable Housing Numbers Approved In Lacey

LACEY, NJ — Township officials approved the affordable housing numbers proposed by the state Department of Community Affairs, saying it would avoid potential legal battles.

Gov. Phil Murphy signed a law last March that was meant to change the way the number of mandatory affordable units are decided for municipalities, under the state Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel doctrine and the New Jersey Fair Housing Act. The state Department of Community Affairs released its first set of affordable housing obligations in October, setting out how many low- or moderate-income units that represents each town's "fair share."

In Lacey, the present need is 52 units, and the prospective need is 172 housing units. "Present need" refers to existing housing units deemed substandard/deficient and in need of repair; and "prospective need" estimates the number of new units that will be needed based on population trends.

"We cut the best deal that we could" in a limited time frame, said Deputy Mayor Steven Kennis, who himself is a developer. "We think that we can live with the number of proposed units, and we'll do what we can."

Committeeman Bob Laureigh noted that other towns wanted Lacey to join in a lawsuit to fight the affordable housing numbers, but Lacey's numbers "worked out good" for the town.

"The numbers compared to almost all the towns around us and around the state, our numbers were pretty light," Laureigh said. "So we said, you know what, let's not get on this fight against them and have them tweak our numbers, because they're workable the way they are."

Some towns, like in Toms River, have proposed their own calculations.

"I think we've managed our numbers well," Mayor Peter Curatolo said. He thanked Kennis and Gary Quinn, former Lacey mayor and former county commissioner, for their work on community development over the years.

"We didn't kick the can down the road," Curatolo said. "We managed it the right way."

This article contains additional reporting by Michelle Rotuno-Johnson.