[ back ]
Proposed COAH regulations under fire
(by Maggie Fazeli Fard - February 27, 2008)
Faced with proposed affordable housing regulations that local officials have called “absurd,” “onerous” and “a slap in the face,” members of the Pascack Valley Mayors Association (PVMA) recently agreed to band together and explore their options in fighting the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).
“COAH had put out regulations for Round 3 and they were rejected on a court challenge,” explained Woodcliff Lake Mayor and PVMA President Joe LaPaglia in a phone interview Monday. “They’ve come up with their revised regulations, which are even more onerous.”
COAH announced the revised Round 3 regulations in December; if approved, the new rules would significantly increase the obligation of affordable housing units relative to market rate units. This reported increase left local municipal officials confused and concerned, and prompted the PVMA to invite Donna Holmqvist of Burgis Associates in Westwood and attorney T. Thomas Van Dam to the association’s Feb. 13 meeting. That night, Holmqvist broke down the proposed regulations and their impact on the 10 Pascack Valley towns, including Old Tappan and Oradell.
“Unfortunately,” Holmqvist said in a phone interview on Tuesday, “a number of towns had commenced work, or completed work, based on these [original Round 3] rules. Every town other than Emerson and Montvale had formulated a housing plan or resolution to COAH saying that they would formulate a plan.”
Revisions to Round 3
According to COAH’s Web site, among the changes to third round regulations is an increase in the growth share obligation. The new ratios are one affordable unit among five units and one affordable unit for every 16 jobs. Previously, ratios were one affordable unit among nine units and one for every 25 jobs.
Other changes include a modified review process that would expedite the review of applications including affordable housing; an increase in the state’s affordable housing need from 52,000 units to 115,000 units; and an increase in the cost of Regional Contribution Agreements (RCAs), which allow municipalities to create affordable housing beyond their borders.
RCA units currently run approximately $35,000 each and have been paid for by collecting fees from developers. Under the proposed COAH regulations, RCA units would cost between $67,000 and $80,000 each, depending on the region. In addition to the higher cost, the regulations are retroactive to 2004. This means that municipalities have not collected fees relative to the higher costs in the past three years, “missed opportunities,” according to Holmqvist.
Additionally, new regulations would decrease the credit received for age-restricted affordable housing units; current rules count them as 50 percent of a unit, but they would only count as 25 percent under the new regulations.
“This is one of the big revisions. Municipalities will have to find a place for the additional units,” said Holmqvist.
A new aspect of the regulations is that municipalities must provide the opportunity for the construction of affordable housing through zoning regulations based on projected residential and employment growth, which are provided by COAH.
“In a nutshell,” Holmqvist said, “COAH seems to be very interested in the redevelopment potential of sites. People should avoid thinking that because their community is fully developed, or close to fully developed, they don’t need to contemplate a housing plan.”
Projected numbers for Pascack Valley towns range from 47 to 241, figures that “seem very excessive” given the history of growth in these municipalities, said Holmqvist.
“I don’t know what information went into these projections,” she admitted. “COAH has not presented the background information that went into them. Their position is the community must ask for the background information.”
Holmqvist said that she will make a formal request for the background information in coming weeks. “I think every community needs to review it,” she said.
Comment period
After hearing Holmqvist’s concerns, the PVMA unanimously agreed to engage Burgis Associates, the planner for several Pascack Valley municipalities, and Van Dam, who has worked as planning and zoning board attorney in towns such as River Vale and Montvale, to prepare a comment letter before COAH’s March 22 deadline.
“It’s not a formal objection,” explained River Vale Mayor Joseph Blundo, the vice president of the PVMA, at the Feb. 25 council meeting. “But we’re going to get on record that we disagree with the third round rules.”
The mayors agreed to ask their respective councils to allocate $1,000 apiece to fund the research and comment letter. The Westwood Council authorized the expenditure on Tuesday, Feb. 19 and the Montvale Mayor and Council was expected to vote and discuss it last night at the Feb. 26 meeting. Blundo said that he will ask the River Vale Council to allocate $1,000 from the township’s legal budget at a future meeting.
Additionally, Blundo said he wants to establish a COAH advisory committee comprised of the Planning Board Chairman Kenneth Koons, the township’s COAH Planner Michael Kauker, Township Attorney Holly Schepisi, and two council members yet to be determined. He hopes the committee can meet some time in March.
“There are certain parts of this state [for whom] these regulations are a slap in the face,” said Blundo. “It’s clearly something that has to be addressed.”
If the proposed regulations are adopted in June as scheduled, Bergen County municipalities will have to submit housing plans by Sept. 30.
Montvale Borough Planner Richard Preiss of Preiss Shapiro Associates, Inc. was less certain that Sept. 30 would be the drop-dead date for housing plan submissions.
“Third round rules are not completely clear,” Preiss said at the Feb. 5 meeting of the Montvale Planning Board. “For the first time, I’m seeing cracks in COAH’s numbers.”
He said that communities and developers are “outraged” and that there has been talk of lawsuits. If legal action moves forward, Preiss estimates that adoption of the rules could take as long as two years.
“I’m not suggesting that nothing be done,” clarified Preiss, noting that municipalities should prepare for the worst case scenario: COAH adopts rules in June and fair share plans will be due by September. “[But] I think there is great potential that the timetable will change.”
The resounding agreement among professionals and officials is that it is important to make opinions on COAH’s plan heard.
“[Residents] should try to understand the impact, form an opinion and bring that concern to elected officials including state legislators, Holmqvist stressed. “We’ll see. Nobody has a crystal ball. [But] this will impact the community.”
For more information, visit www.nj.gov/dca/coah. Written comments can be submitted to COAHmail@dca.state.nj.us through March 22.
Maggie Fazeli Fard's e-mail address is fazelifard@northjersey.com.
[ back ]
