Princeton Faces November Deadline on Affordable Housing Issue

The decision of how much affordable housing Princeton should have lies in the hands of Superior Court Judge Mary C. Jacobson, and the decision on where to put any new housing may reignite tensions over consolidation, the Princeton Packet reports.

Princeton has until the end of November to determine how it provides housing for low-to-moderate income families, according to the report. Currently, Princeton says 20 percent of all residential units built in the town must be designated for affordable housing, but Councilwoman Jenny Crumiller has suggested that percentage should be increased to 40.

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.

That number for Princeton is 1,000 new units by 2025, according to Planet Princeton.

Towns have been hiring their own experts to determine their Affordable Housing needs.

In July, Princeton Council approved the hiring of two new affordable housing consultants, but Jacobson will make the determination for Princeton and the rest of the county, in order to meet the regional needs of Mercer, Monmouth and Ocean counties.

There has also been a push to put most or all new Affordable Housing in the former borough as opposed to the former township, in an effort to put the housing in an area where people can use public transportation and walk to areas where they can shop, according to the report. However, council finds itself dealing with “competing interests,” and considering a multitude of options.

Read more at centraljersey.com.