West Orange Says ‘OK’ To Latest NJ Affordable Housing Quota

WEST ORANGE, NJ — West Orange won’t be challenging the state’s latest round of affordable housing quotas after all, it seems.

During their Jan. 28 meeting, the West Orange Town Council voted to approve a resolution involving its Fourth Round affordable housing obligation. The town will now be responsible for adding or rehabbing more than 1,000 housing units between 2025 and 2035 (see the totals below).

In October, state officials released a new round of quotas that New Jersey towns and cities will have to meet over the next 10 years, including West Orange.

The calculations include numbers for “present need” (existing housing units deemed substandard/deficient and in need of repair), and “prospective need” (the number of new units that will be needed based on population trends).

The totals for West Orange were:

• Present Need – 409
• Prospective Need – 660

Municipalities were required to come up with a plan to meet their quotas and get it approved by state officials by February – unless they planned to challenge the numbers.

During the council’s Jan. 6 meeting, the town’s assistant business administrator said West Orange was looking into the possibility of challenging the state’s quotas, adding that the decision wasn’t made yet – and ambiguity with the state’s procedures was complicating the matter. Read More: West Orange May Push Back Against NJ’s Affordable Housing Quota

The council took up the issue again at their Jan. 28 meeting, voting 4-1 for a resolution that approves the state’s calculations. Michelle Casalino was the sole “no” vote.

According to the resolution, the town “continues to lack sufficient resources” to address the 660 prospective need figure. But some West Orange officials say they might be able to lessen some of that burden by the time that shovels actually hit the ground.

Council President Joe Krakoviak told Patch that the town will now move ahead on compliance and fulfillment of its state-mandated affordable housing obligations.

“These efforts will include a request for consideration of what is called a ‘vacant land adjustment,’ which lowered our Third Round ‘unmet need’ amount and may lower our Fourth Round ‘prospective need,’” Krakoviak said.

“This adjustment seeks a unit credit because of limits on available vacant land that could be developed in the municipality,” he added.

Towns and cities don’t have to create the housing themselves, but must ensure that the threshold is met, often by requiring affordable housing units as part of local real estate development projects.

This has caused some bad blood between the state and some municipalities, including Millburn and Cedar Grove, which joined a lawsuit with several other New Jersey towns seeking to overturn the law. The suit has since faced multiple defeats in court.

Advocates have pointed out that there are other ways to meet the threshold without allowing huge apartment buildings to spring up around town. Some acceptable ways include rehabbing old housing, creating “100 percent affordable” projects, or allowing property owners to create “accessory dwelling units.”

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