Medford Joins Appeal of State COAH Regulations Today, Medford Township joined the New Jersey State League of Municipalities and dozens of individual communities in appealing the regulations adopted by the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) on June 2, 2008. The new regulations impose an arbitrary and unrealistic burden on municipalities throughout the state, and in particular communities like Medford. These new regulations impose a so-called “growth share” affordable housing obligation on Medford of 328 affordable housing units.

This unreasonable and unjustifiable burden has been placed on Medford despite the Township’s long history of good faith compliance with its COAH requirements, having fully satisfied its First and Second Round affordable housing obligations. Further, Medford has created affordable housing opportunities within the Township, as evidenced by Council’s recent support for the MEND affordable senior project, the Medford Leas Creekside project, and its commitment to renovation of the historic Singer House for use as supportive housing.

COAH’s arbitrary and poorly-considered determination that Medford has a prospective affordable housing obligation of 328 units ignores issues such as lack of sewer capacity, which has been recognized by the New Jersey Supreme Court, the restraints on development imposed by other state agencies, such as the Office of Smart Growth, DEP and the Pinelands Commission, and encourages the wasteful extension of infrastructure improvements.

It is also entirely inconsistent with, and threatens Medford’s outstanding Farmland and Open Space Program, with more than 3000 acres preserved. It is also in direct contravention of the anti-sprawl policies advocated by the State Development and Redevelopment Plan.

To make matters worse, today the Governor is signing Assembly Bill A-500, which proposes substantial amendments to the Fair Housing Act and other legislation. Despite the numerous defects set forth above, the regulations adopted by COAH on June 2 still allowed communities to pass on the affordable housing obligation generated by these developments to the developers, either through the requirement of construction of affordable housing or making a payment to the municipality that would be dedicated for affordable housing purposes. But the Bill being signed by the Governor today removes even that option! Instead, all new non-residential development will pay a flat developer’s fee of 2.5%. The Bill then tries to funnel that money to the State, and out of the hands of the municipalities. This new Act will make it virtually impossible for communities to meet the already unrealistic and burdensome affordable housing obligations imposed upon them by the new COAH rules. Unless this legislation is repealed, the Township’s taxpayers and those in the municipalities will end up footing the bill, a result never envisioned by the Supreme Court in the Mount Laurel cases and contrary to the underlying principle of the Fair Housing Act that “nothing shall require a municipality to raise or expend municipal revenues in order to provide low and moderate income housing.”

As noted by Mayor Chris Myers “The Third Round Rules and the FHA Amendments enacted today by Governor Corzine and the Trenton bureaucracy impose yet another arbitrary, unfunded mandate on municipalities. In Medford’s case, it punishes a town which has always been COAH compliant, which has actually generated COAH units, and has balanced open space and farmland preservation goals with the development pressures created by COAH. It is a slap in the face”.

While Medford has supported the underlying premise of the Mount Laurel doctrine, that municipalities should not use their zoning power to exclude the poor, and has without exception met its COAH obligations in good faith and with the approval of the Courts, the ill-considered regulations adopted by COAH, and the devastating provisions of A-500, are no way to honor this basic principle. Instead, millions of taxpayer dollars will be spent in litigation and in preparing fair share plans that will result in precious little affordable housing. Medford strongly urges Trenton and the Governor to take a more realistic, less politically motivated view of a municipality’s ability to address affordable housing and at the same time control its own land use regulations and character in a way that prohibits exclusionary zoning, but at the same time prevents sprawl and undue burden on our taxpayers.

CONTACT: MICHAEL ACHEY TOWNSHIP MANAGER 609-654-2608