West Windsor Lays Out Affordable Housing Agreement

WEST WINDSOR TOWNSHIP, NJ —West Windsor has laid out how it intends to fulfill its Affordable Housing Obligation in an agreement with the Fair Share Housing Authority that has been posted on the township’s website.

In March, Mercer County Assignment Judge Mary C. Jacobson ruled that West Windsor must build 1,500 new affordable housing units by 2025. In the letter posted on Tuesday, officials said they intend to rehabilitate 30 existing very low, low or moderate income owner-occupied or renter occupied housing units in the township.

“This is sufficient to satisfy the Township’s rehabilitation obligation of 30 units,” according to township officials.

To satisfy the 1,500 new homes, West Windsor intends to add 155 units through developments, including:
75 affordable units on the South portion of the Mack-Cali development. The township doesn’t need to begin this work until Jan. 1, 2025;
32 special needs bedrooms or market to affordable units. The township doesn’t need to begin this work until July 1, 2021; and
48 affordable units from the re-occupancy of the existing occupied Princeton Theological Seminary apartments.

“If the 48 Princeton Theological Seminary Phase 2 units are not provided by January 1, 2025, the township will find another mechanism to address any shortfall,” the township said.

To develop affordable housing, the township will implement the adoption of inclusionary zoning for American Properties/Heritage Village, Garden Homes, Roseland/Mack-Cali and Bear Creek Senior Living. It will also implement an existing redevelopment plan redeveloper agreement adopted on June 11, 2018, for AvalonBay.

It will implement an existing inclusionary redevelopment plan through a redevelopment agreement adopted on December 18, 2017, for 400 Steps. It will use means other than inclusionary zoning to develop 32 special needs bedrooms or market to affordable units on the Community Options and Project Freedom developments.

Thirteen percent of all affordable units created through the agreement except for any that were approved before July 1, 2008, will be very low income units, with at least half of the very low income units being available to families.

At least 50 percent of the 1,500 homes to be developed shall be affordable to very-low-income and low-income households with the remainder affordable to moderate-income households. At least 25 percent will be rentals, with 50 percent of the rentals being made available to families.

The township can’t claim credit toward its fair share obligation for age-restricted units that exceed 25 percent of all units developed or planned to meet its obligation. Its plans provide for only 252 age-restricted units, which is well below the cumulative age-restricted cap of 25 percent, according to officials.

To read the full agreement,click here.

The number of required affordable housing units in municipalities statewide has been in dispute, and often in litigation, since 1999. In 2015, authority concerning setting affordable housing requirements for municipalities throughout the state fell on the courts.

This is the third round of affordable housing requirements that have been issued since two court decisions in the 1970s established that municipalities must have an affordable housing aspect to their master plans.

In the prior round, West Windsor's obligation was set at 899 homes. The judge determined that the current need is 132. The prospective need is 707, and the gap need is 693, for a final number of 1,500.

Image via Shutterstock