Affordable Housing Ordinances Set For Toms River Planning Board Hearing

TOMS RIVER, NJ — As the Toms River Township Planning Board prepares for a public hearing on ordinances addressing the township's affordable housing mandates, a local Jewish organization is speaking out against them — and against political rhetoric that has been a persistent issue for years.

The Toms River Jewish Community Council issued a statement on Monday saying it opposes proposed changes to the township's land use ordinance that would allow for multifamily housing in parts of the township.

The Planning Board is set for a hearing on the ordinances, which would amend the town's land use rules to accommodate its fourth-round affordable housing agreement, at 6 p.m. Tuesday at Town Hall, 33 Washington St.

The ordinances were introduced at the Feb. 25 Toms River Township Council meeting as part of the town's settlement with the state Department of Community Affairs and the Fair Share Housing Center on meeting the fourth-round mandate.

Under the agreement, Toms River has agreed to a present need of 526 low- or moderate-income units and a prospective need of 649 units for the 2025-2035 timeframe, a slight change from the initial figures given by the state Department of Community Affairs in October 2024.

"Present need" refers to existing housing units deemed substandard/deficient and in need of repair. "Prospective need" estimates the number of new units that will be needed based on population trends.

One of the proposed ordinances adds language to the township's land use rules to address affordable housing, a change every town in the state must make, according to state law. Another ordinance creates an overlay that permits site-specific multifamily housing.

The ordinances were introduced at the Feb. 25 Township Council meeting and are scheduled for a final hearing and adoption at Wednesday's council meeting.

The Toms River Jewish Community Council statement said it opposes the multifamily housing zoning that would allow what it said are more than 1,500 housing units in the North Dover area of Toms River.

"These projects would create significant congestion and would markedly harm the character of these areas," the statement said. "It would undermine the very qualities that attracted so many families to move here from other heavily congested communities."

The statement also called on Toms River politicians to stop blaming the Orthodox Jewish community for overdevelopment, something that has been a persistent feature of the council and mayoral campaigns going back to 2017.

"Historically, it has been too convenient for politicians on both sides of the aisle to blame our community for overdevelopment that we neither asked for nor support. We therefore want to state clearly that our community does not support multifamily projects anywhere in Toms River," the statement said/

"We call on township leaders to engage broadly with residents and community members before considering approval of these proposals," the statement said. "If that engagement occurs township officials will hear clearly from residents about how they feel regarding high-density development projects like this."