Princeton Takes Steps to Defend Itself in Affordable Housing Debate

Princeton 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.

Princeton Council approved the hiring of two new affordable housing consultants Monday night, Planet Princeton reports.

The town hired Maser Consulting for $10,500 to evaluate vacant land for a recommendation on the amount of affordable housing units the town should have, according to the report.

It also hired Robert Burchell of Rutgers University for $231 an hour to come up with his own affordable housing number, according to the report.

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.

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.