JUST THE FACTS PLEASE: NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAW HELPS NEW JERSEY FAMILIES

JUST THE FACTS PLEASE: NEW AFFORDABLE HOUSING LAW HELPS NEW JERSEY FAMILIES

(TRENTON) – Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts Jr. today welcomed debate on New Jersey’s affordable housing crisis and landmark efforts to solve it, but emphasized he hopes people who engage in this vital debate do so responsibly.

 Roberts recently spearheaded into law A500, a landmark new affordable housing law that takes historic steps to eliminate inequitable housing practices and makes it easier for New Jersey towns to meet affordable housing obligations, at little or no cost.

 “The work to provide affordable housing in New Jersey is never done, but it’s also unfair to misstate the good work that’s already been accomplished,” said Roberts, (D-Camden. “Far from being a disaster for many communities, our new law brings new and innovative options for them to help ensure every New Jerseyan can fulfill their dream of affording a decent home. When discussing this law, let’s stick to the facts. Anything else is a disservice to working and middle class families.”

 For instance, it’s worth noting that:

 * The law already allows municipalities with little or no vacant land to ask the state Council on Affordable Housing to adjust its housing obligation.

 * Foreclosed housing can already be used to help meet affordable housing requirements.

 * Towns need not rely on new construction to create affordable housing. They can, among other things, help private developers pay for affordable housing with federal tax breaks, extend affordability controls on existing housing and get credit for a variety of housing, including previously built projects.

 * Eliminating regional contribution agreements abolished an unfair and discriminatory practice that was inequitable to working and middle class New Jersey families.

 * The new law created no unfunded housing requirement.

 * The law doesn’t require families who own homes destroyed by fire or other natural disasters to pay new fees. The only fee imposed by A500 was a 2.5 percent fee on nonresidential development that was endorsed by the New Jersey Business & Industry Association and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.

 “New Jersey’s housing laws long failed to live up to the promise of providing affordable homes residents while also concentrating poverty,” Roberts said.. “We have finally moved toward transforming that barren affordable housing landscape. Let’s do so with just the facts, please.”