By Greg Forester, Staff Writer
MONTGOMERY — Montgomery residents could see their township listed as a plaintiff in two separate lawsuits filed against what township officials see as draconian Council on Affordable Housing rules, set to be adopted Monday.
”This is just bad public policy,” said Louise Wilson, a Township Committee member.
The regulations themselves are extremely complicated, but the overall impact about doubles the affordable housing obligation associated with development, as COAH seeks to increase the number of affordable housing units across the state.
In Montgomery’s case, the township would be required to build approximately 500 additional affordable units under the new regulations, known as the COAH third-round rules. That implication — plus numerous other issues — provided the impetus to get involved in legal challenges, according to township officials.
Montgomery officials have pledged $500 to help fund a New Jersey State League of Municipalities lawsuit. The League of Municipalities lawsuit has not yet been formulated, and will include towns from all over the state and with different makeups.
They have also agreed to get involved in what is known as the Seven Town Coalition, originally made up of some Hunterdon and Somerset County towns.
The Seven Town challenge involves a group of towns that have all followed past COAH rules and tried to fulfill their obligations, but now find the proposed rules abhorrent, Mayor Cecilia Birge said.
”The lawsuit seems to be more focused on towns that share our philosophy and characteristics,” said Mayor Birge. “The goal is to point out the absurdity of the regulations.”
One perceived absurdity pointed out by both Mayor Birge and Ms. Wilson during an interview this week was that way COAH rules seem to contradict policies and objectives promulgated by other state agencies and departments.
COAH rules seek to find developable land for housing in many areas that the state Office of Smart Growth seeks to retard development, especially in undeveloped areas without infrastructure, both officials said.
”We’re supposed to make decisions on where infrastructure exists,” Ms. Wilson said.
Ms. Wilson also pointed out what she said were flaws in the way COAH assessed the amount of developable land that could support additional housing units within the township’s borders.
COAH’s analysis concluded that there are 4,434 acres of land ripe for development, while utilizing township data, Montgomery officials came up with only 2,774 acres of developable land, a 37 percent decrease.
The township has convened a COAH work group periodically to discuss issues stemming from COAH and its regulations.
