Council OKs housing plan

Affordable housing to be constructed

By: Stephanie Brown
   MONROE — The Township Council approved a resolution Wednesday authorizing payment of a total of $11.35 million to Perth Amboy and New Brunswick so that the cities can build 325 affordable housing units that had been assigned by the state to Monroe.
   The transfer of half of the township’s 650 state-mandated housing units to the Middlesex County cities is allowed under state rules.
   The transfer, known as a regional contribution agreement, is expected to be funded by an affordable housing surcharge.
   The township charges developers 1 percent of the equalized assessed valuation of each residential unit built by the developer and 2 percent of the equalized assessed valuation of each commercial or industrial unit built.
   The township’s projected obligation for the third round is 650 units affordable to those with incomes in the low to moderate range as defined by Council on Affordable Housing.
   The obligation covers a 10-year period ending in 2013.
   COAH’s rules base a municipality’s affordable housing requirements on commercial and residential growth, requiring one affordable unit to be built for every eight market-value units and one affordable unit for every 25 new jobs created in a municipality.
   The township’s plan to satisfy COAH obligations was approved by the council in December 2005.