TOMS RIVER – Township officials said they have gathered the paperwork proving that they have satisfied the obligations on the number of affordable housing units Toms River is required to have.
Decades ago, a lawsuit stated that the town of Mt. Laurel was essentially zoning poor people out. In the court decision that followed, towns were required to set aside a certain portion of homes for low-to-moderate income residents. The way this was decided has changed over the years, but every New Jersey town was impacted.
The third round of obligations for towns, which lasted from 1999 to 2025, is just finishing up. The fourth round is just beginning. The Fair Share Housing Center oversees this process.
“We have fulfilled our affordable housing numbers for round three,” Mayor Daniel Rodrick said at the most recent Township Council meeting. “We are currently working toward the fourth round.”
Essentially, the state wants a certain number of affordable housing units. The town is saying that they’ve already satisfied that number.
One way they have satisfied that is by deed restrictions, officials said. By extending deed controls another 30 years, a unit stays affordable for three more decades. If you don’t keep the unit affordable, then it becomes market rate and inaccessible to low income residents.
The money to pay for these deed extensions comes from the affordable housing trust fund. This is an account controlled by the town. Every developer pays a fee into this account. Therefore, the town can pay for affordable housing obligations with developer money instead of taxpayer money.
Another source for affordable housing numbers are developments that have set aside units for low income but the paperwork on this isn’t done. There needs to be a record of the affordable housing in order for the state to count them.
Rodrick said there was a development with 22 affordable housing units that weren’t being counted, for example.
The Township Council filed a consent order that puts this all in writing. The consent order will bring the third round to a close.
“This is to show the state we have them,” the mayor said.
During a previous meeting, officials had said that the state’s fourth round showed Toms River’s “present need” is 526 units and its “prospective need” is 670 units. However, the report also clarifies that these obligation numbers are non-binding. However, professionals hired by the township have done their own calculations, bringing that number down to 114. That debate is still ongoing.
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