Affordable Housing Settlement On Brick Council Agenda Friday

BRICK, NJ — The Brick Township Council is being asked to approve the township's fair housing settlement agreement that puts an end months of wrangling over how many more units the town must add.

The agreement, which is subject to approval by a judge, confirms that no additional affordable housing units are currently required in Brick Township, according to a news release from the township.

"We were confident that Brick Township had fulfilled our Mount Laurel obligations," Mayor John G. Ducey said. "This agreement essentially confirms that and places our number at zero."

The township filed a petition in July 2015 with New Jersey Superior Court seeking a declaration of compliance with the Mount Laurel Doctrine. The Fair Share Housing Center, a public interest organization devoted to defending housing rights through enforcement of the Mount Laurel Doctrine, joined the case as an intervenor. The township and the Center entered into mediation and have been negotiating towards a resolution ever since, the township said in a news release.

"Using data based on the available buildable land remaining in Brick Township, the township was able to
reduce its obligation to under 100 units, a number that is exceeded by the available units in the community. Thus, the township was able to prove the obligations have been met and exceeded," the release said.

"The New Jersey Supreme Court has established that municipalities 'must, by its land use regulations, make
realistically possible the opportunity for an appropriate variety and choice of housing for all categories of
people who may desire to live there, of course including those of low and moderate incomes.' "

“Our commitment to affordable housing shows in the number of scattered site housing, housing for low-income seniors, and housing for people with special needs in Brick Township,” Ducey said.

The agreement is listed on the preliminary agenda for the Township Council meeting Friday, which begins at 10 a.m. at the municipal building.

The agreement is the result of a settlement between Ocean County towns and the housing advocacy group Fair Share Housing Center reached in November. According to a report in the Asbury Park Press, the Fair Share Housing Center agreed to reduced obligations in exchange for commitments to create new homes and rentals for low-income families and people with disabilities.

The township's agreement, posted on the township website, spells out how it plans to meet the obligation, including seeking extensions on deed restrictions to protect housing already in place and help rehabilitate other homes.

The Fair Share Housing Center, a public nonprofit organization, initially estimated Brick needed to add more than 2,000 affordable units. The township joined in the lawsuit to fight a spring 2015 decision by the state Supreme Court transferring the decision-making power on affordable housing from the Council on Affordable Housing to the courts, due to months of inaction by COAH, according to NJ.com.

That number later was reduced to 1,500 units by the Fair Share Housing Center, a number the township continued to fight until the court settlement.

The Township Council meeting Friday, Jan. 30, is scheduled for 10 a.m. at the municipal building.

Karen Wall photo