MANVILLE: Boro has until 2010 to prepare affordable housing plan

By Audrey Levine Staff Writer
   MANVILLE — Borough Attorney Frank Linnus announced Nov. 10 that, while most municipalities are completing plans to comply with third round regulations for the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), Manville is immune from builder’s remedy lawsuits until June 23, 2010.
   Builder’s remedy lawsuits can be filed by developers who are looking to build affordable housing units where zoning regulations do not allow for residential properties.
   ”We are OK for the third round regulations right now,” Mr. Linnus said. “We have until June 23, 2010, to address the issue.”
   The borough’s immunity from the current regulations comes from prior court decisions that found the borough has already satisfied its COAH requirements, Mr. Linnus said in a separate interview.
   In addition, Mr. Linnus announced, there have been state changes in the amount the borough can charge for developer’s fees. Currently, he said, the borough’s ordinance states that developers must pay 1.5 percent of the value of the construction of the property for residential buildings.
   In addition, Mr. Linnus said, state law mandates that municipalities can collect 2.5 percent for nonresidential properties.
   Under new state regulations, Mr. Linnus said, the borough can collect up to 6 percent from developers looking to build more residential properties than is zoned in areas in Manville. In order to move forward with this, the borough must pass an ordinance to allow for the change – this will be discussed, he said, at the Nov. 24 meeting.
   Mr. Linnus said that, if approved, he will present the ordinance to the borough’s COAH attorney before turning it over for approval from the courts.
   In preparation for this, the Borough Council unanimously approved a resolution Monday to establish a special trust fund, labeled the “COAH Development Fees Trust Fund,” to account for these payments, and permitted it to be included as anticipated revenue in the borough’s budget.
   ”These (developer fees) are to be placed in the housing trust fund,” Mr. Linnus said.
   For collecting the developer’s fees, Mr. Linnus said, the borough can choose to collect 100 percent of the payment when the developer receives a certificate of occupancy, or to break it into two payments, as it does now. Currently, he said, the borough accepts 50 percent of the payment when collecting building permit fees, and the other 50 percent before the certificate is issued.
   The presentation before the public, Mr. Linnus said, was just a way to keep the Borough Council and residents informed about the progress on affordable housing before the actual discussion of an ordinance at the Nov. 24 meeting.
   ”Our attorney says we are protected right now since we have a valid development fee ordinance,” he said. “But we have to keep it current.”