Hoboken's Affordable Housing Ordinance Will Endure

Hoboken’s affordable housing law will endure.

On July 28, a New Jersey appeals court overturned a previous trial court ruling, which had struck down Hoboken’s affordable housing ordinance because it was “null, void and unenforceable.”

The municipal law – adopted in 1988 - requires real estate developers to devote 10 percent of their multi-family units to low and moderate-income housing.

The legal battle began when the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) accused the Hoboken Zoning Board of not enforcing the city’s affordable housing ordinance when it granted building approvals to the four developers: Advance at Hoboken, 1415 Park Avenue, 9th Monroe and New Jersey Casket Co.

In reply, the developers filed suit against the city, challenging that Hoboken’s ordinance had never been approved by the NJ Council on Affordable Housing (COAH).

Kevin Walsh, the FSHC’s executive director, said the ruling could lead to the construction of about 55 additional units of low- or moderate-income housing in the city of approximately 53,000 people.

See the appeal court’s full decision here.

Send Hoboken news tips to eric.kiefer@patch.com