'It stinks,'says Mayor John Hipp of Rutherford, New Jersey, as his town struggles to fulfill its requirements for affordable housing. The planning board has reluctantly agreed to require affordable units in a previously planned redevelopment site.
"Both time and land are running out for Rutherford when it comes to meeting the state's Council on Affordable Housing guidelines. A zoning plan that provides for 114 additional affordable units is due at the COAH office by Dec. 31. And, only about five acres of possibly suitable land remains in Rutherford, west of Route 17.
The requirements are a serious issue, because the state Supreme Court has ruled that municipalities have a constitutional obligation to provide affordable housing opportunities in their zoning plans. The series of rulings, know as the Mount Laurel decisions, were initiated in 1975. COAH was created in 1985 to help municipalities meet the court-established obligation.
If Rutherford doesn't receive COAH approval for its affordable housing plan, it faces a gamut of legal consequences.
'The affordable housing card is often one that's played by developers who are disgruntled,' said Fred Heyer from Heyer, Gruel & Associates, the borough's planning firm. 'Even really terrible things get approved by the courts as a result of non-compliance.'"
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