Ocean City Takes Steps to Protect Self in Affordable Housing Debate

Ocean City has taken steps to protect itself against any unnecessary litigation relating to affordable housing after the New Jersey State Supreme Court put the regulation of the issue in the hands of judges in March.

City Council approved a resolution that allows it to enter into a Municipal Shared Service Defense Agreement with Attorney Jeffrey R. Surenian Thursday night.

The agreement calls for a team from Rutgers University to calculate a municipality’s reasonable Affordable Housing Obligation, under the supervision of Surenian.

Multiple municipalities are considering the agreement. Once each one decides whether it wants to join in the defense, the process can begin. Numbers should be calculated within 90 days of Surenian being retained, City Solicitor Dorothy McCrosson said.

The anticipated cost is about $2,000, depending on the number of municipalities that participate, McCrosson said.

The State Supreme Court made its decision in March to hand regulation over to the judges after Gov. Chris Christie’s administration failed to set a new set of guidelines, according to nj.com.

The previous set of guidelines expired in 1999, and the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) failed to create new guidelines by November’s deadline, according to the report.

In April, the Christie Administration proposed an additional 110,000 units across the state, according to nj.com. It is up to the judges to assign a number of affordable housing units required for each municipality across the state.

Public housing advocates have said the plan isn’t nearly enough, most recently during a public hearing on the issue in Trenton earlier this month.

Surenian is expected to be retained within the next few weeks.