Rumana Says Corzine’s Silence On Affordable Housing Will Have Loud Repercussions

Trenton, NJ – September 24, 2009 – (RealEstateRama) — Governor Jon Corzine’s silence in the aftermath of last month’s state Supreme Court ruling that would force towns to alter zoning laws to accommodate affordable housing even after they have met their quota to provide low and moderate income housing will have severe consequences throughout towns in New Jersey said Assemblyman Scott Rumana today.

“Governor Corzine has offered little, if any, response to the court’s imprudent decision regarding affordable housing,” said Rumana, R-Passaic and Essex. “Unless we act to right the court’s ruling, the impact of this misguided public policy will be felt by many taxpayers and drive more people from our state. The governor is conspicuous by his silence.”

Many towns have expressed their shock at the decision and wondered what the point is of having zoning laws if they can be trumped by an affordable housing mandate. They believe the judges failed to give due consideration to basic planning principles such as where growth should occur within the town, the transportation network, and sewer and water capacity.

“The issue of affordable housing obligations has been flawed from the outset with inaccurate land surveys and unrealistic employment projections,” said Rumana. “As currently written, the policy will devastate the environment and destroy what little is left of our precious open space.

“If that weren’t bad enough, the court is now trumping local zoning laws,” Rumana said. “Municipalities will incur greater infrastructure costs to comply with this ill-advised ruling. That will inevitably lead to higher property taxes and continue to make New Jersey unaffordable.”

Rumana reiterated his call on the Legislature to reconsider his bill, A-3522, that would suspend the affordable housing program until the problems with the formula used in determining a town’s obligation can be corrected. The legislation was tabled along a party line vote on June 25.

Rumana also indicated that the builder’s remedy solution to the housing crisis is not a viable way to fix the problem and he is working on legislation that would address the issue.

“The governor needs to tell the public how he will correct the many ill-conceived facets of affordable housing,” commented Rumana. “His silence is a tacit approval that everything is fine, and nothing could be further from the truth.”