New Jersey’s often-contentious affordable housing development process was thrown into further upheaval this week.
The New Jersey Builders Association, a trade organization representing housing developers around the Garden State, filed lawsuits on Thursday against every town seeking to reduce the number of affordable homes it’s required to build under a state law passed last year.
According to the builders, 159 towns have asked state mediators to reduce their obligations by “nearly 14,000” homes collectively. The builders association is asking a newly established state panel of retired judges, known as the Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution program, to reject the requests and instruct the towns that their original requirements still stand.
In October 2024, the Department of Community Affairs sent every municipality in the state the number of affordable homes it is required to either build or restore over the next decade. A series of court rulings in the 1970s known as the Mount Laurel doctrine mandates that each town in New Jersey build its fair share of low-priced homes. The state’s goal is to construct about 84,000 new homes and repair another 65,000 by 2035.
Earlier this month, Gothamist reported that more than a quarter of the 400-plus cities and towns around the state that committed to participate in the state’s affordable housing process requested reductions in their quotas based on a lack of developable land.
The builders association’s lawsuit claims that towns seeking to reduce their obligations due to a lack of land must seek what’s known as a vacant land adjustment when they file their affordable housing plans, which are due at the end of June.
“What these 159 towns have attempted is to reduce the established need for affordable housing in this state,” New Jersey Builders Association CEO Jeff Kolakowski said in a statement. “This is an issue of statewide importance. It’s imperative that we continue to oppose this municipal playbook of obfuscation and delay.”
Mike Cerra, director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, an association representing mayors and other elected officials in the state, called the builders’ lawsuits “reckless” and said it was made clear to towns that the numbers provided by the Department of Community Affairs were subject to change.
”Many accepted the number, but some found errors or wanted to modify appropriately and did so,” he said.
East Brunswick is one of the New Jersey municipalities being sued. In January, Mayor Brad Cohen told Gothamist that the Department of Community Affairs miscalculated the township’s available land for development. The state estimated 175 acres. East Brunswick township planners said the actual amount is about 44 acres.
Cohen said state officials mistakenly included protected wetlands and farmland, land that was already being developed and about 15 acres set aside as open space. East Brunswick officials asked the state for their target to be reduced from 314 to 265 homes.
According to the complaint filed against the township on Thursday, the builders are asking the state’s dispute resolution program to reject East Brunswick’s request.
“ I frankly could care less what the builders association wants to do,” Cohen told Gothamist in response to the lawsuit on Thursday, adding that a “special-interest group” like the builders association shouldn’t dissuade towns from trying to reduce their affordable housing obligations to a number that are “reasonable and appropriate.”
Adam Gordon, director of the Fair Share Housing Center, which advocates for more affordable housing in the state, said his organization is also filing challenges against some of the same towns over their reduction requests.
“Most towns have taken a reasonable approach. There certainly are some bad actors,” Gordon said.