By Joshua Burd
The coalition of towns seeking to undo New Jersey’s new affordable housing law is taking its case to federal court, arguing the framework violates the Constitution’s equal protection clause.
The group of 28 municipalities, known as Local Leaders for Responsible Planning, filed a lawsuit on Thursday in U.S. District Court, escalating a legal battle that began late last summer in state Superior Court. The plaintiffs are once again taking aim at the criteria used to determine affordable housing obligations for the state’s 564 local governments, arguing that suburban towns would unfairly shoulder the burden of some 60 urban and low-income communities that aren’t explicitly required to build new inventory.
At issue in the federal lawsuit is the state’s use of the so-called Urban Aid Classification, which distinguishes between more affluent towns and those that historically required greater funding from the state, as a means of calculating the housing shortfalls.
“Every community should do its part — but Trenton’s suburb-only housing plan just isn’t fair,” said Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who leads the coalition. “We are in federal court because our communities are not receiving equal protection under the law with Trenton’s housing mandates.”
The plaintiffs on Thursday said the Urban Aid Classification is based on outdated trends in population growth. While historically skewed toward suburban municipalities, the coalition said, that growth is now split evenly between urban aid and non-urban aid municipalities, “demonstrating how the classification is now arbitrary and capricious.”
In addition to the new federal complaint, the LLRP in recent months has filed three separate lawsuits that remain pending in state court.
“We are speaking out to protect the character of our neighborhoods,” Ghassali added. “We’re standing up for the moms, dads and seniors who want good schools, safe streets and open space.”
The mounting lawsuits come in response to the law signed in March 2024 by Gov. Phil Murphy and the ensuing calculations by the state Department of Community Affairs, which identified a statewide deficit of more than 150,000 low- and moderate-income homes. The agency also released obligations for each municipality, giving them until Jan. 31 to adopt those guidelines or come up with their own, which would subject them to challenges from developers, affordable housing advocates and other stakeholders through the end of February.
The coalition filed suit in early September to block the law’s implementation, specifically ahead of the Jan. 31 deadline, arguing it imposed excessive mandates without fully considering local conditions and resources. They’ve also railed against the process that the state will use to resolve disputes over a town’s obligations — in which retired judges and other experts would serve as mediators — arguing that those officials are susceptible to conflicts of interest.
Additionally, LLRP has taken issue with regulations released by the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, contending that the nearly 200 pages of rules were released in mid-December without giving municipalities an opportunity to even review or comment on them.
Towns challenging new affordable housing law detail latest strategy, eyeing Jan. 23 hearing
