Court ruling puts Fort Monmouth housing plan in limbo

By Andrew Davison

A decision of the Appellate Division of the Superior Court of New Jersey dated Oct. 27 will force the current Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Authority (FMERA) to reconsider its affordable housing plan.

The court ruled that the affordable housing aspect of the Fort Monmouth Reuse and Redevelopment Plan failed to satisfy several state statutes.

Fort Monmouth, Eatontown, is being closed by the federal government and its operations are being transferred to a facility in Maryland.

According to the court’s decision, “[The legislation creating] the Fort Monmouth Economic Revitalization Planning Authority (FMERPA) required that authority to establish a housing advisory committee.”

The court ruled that FMERPA did not create such a committee and “accordingly, contrary to the statute’s requirement, the authority never considered a report of the housing advisory committee in preparing the (redevelopment) plan.”

The court also cited FMERPA for not coordinating regional housing opportunities as required under the Fair Housing Act.

Finally, the court’s decision said the redevelopment plan did not address the need for affordable housing created by non-residential development and instead designated responsibility of future obligations to the host municipality.

“Merely stating that it will be the municipality’s obligation to meet affordable housing requirements does not satisfy the coordination requirements” of the Fair Housing Act, the court said.

“Further, the authority’s bare assertion that it intends to ensure additional growth share obligations does not satisfy its … responsibility to provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing.”

Under the state Council on Affordable Housing third round rules that were in place during the plan’s adoption, FMERPA needed to provide one affordable housing unit for every four new market-rate residential unit and one affordable housing unit for every 16 new jobs, the decision said.

Although the redevelopment plan was adopted and approved by FMERPA, the court’s decision said these responsibilities now fall to FMERA as a succeeding entity.

The appeal was originally submitted on May 11, 2010 by the nonprofit organization Fair Share Housing Center of Cherry Hill.