The Mount Laurel doctrine is a significant judicial doctrine of the New Jersey State Constitution. The doctrine requires that municipalities use their zoning powers in an affirmative manner to provide a realistic opportunity for the production of housing affordable to low- and moderate-income households.
The doctrine takes its name from the lead case in which it was first pronounced by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1975: Southern Burlington County N.A.A.C.P. v. Mount Laurel Township (commonly called Mount Laurel I), in which the plaintiffs challenged the zoning ordinance of Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey, on the grounds that it operated to exclude low and moderate income persons from obtaining housing in the municipality.
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Ethel Lawrence, a sixth-generation resident of Mt. Laurel Township, was the lead plaintiff in the original Mt. Laurel case after officials in Mt. Laurel Township declared their intention of condemning and tearing down the low-income housing in her community. With no realistic alternative other than moving to the slums of Camden or Philadelphia, many residents grew increasingly concerned about the rising pressure to leave. [1] Lawrence was connected through a local minister to Carl S. Bisgaier, director of Camden Regional Legal Services who had been looking for a plaintiff for the Mt. Laurel case. Together with attorneys Kenneth E. Meiser, Thomas J. Oravetz and Peter J. O'Connor, Bisgaier filed the lawsuit commonly known as Mt. Laurel I. [1] After the decision in Mount Laurel I, suits were filed against numerous municipalities. The plaintiffs in such suits fell into three classes: lower income persons who actually sought housing and advocacy organizations on their behalf; the New Jersey Public Advocate; and builders who sought to construct developments containing affordable housing.
These early exclusionary zoning suits were beset by numerous difficulties and little, if any, affordable housing resulted. In 1983 appeals in several of these cases (of which Southern Burlington County N.A.A.C.P. v. Mount Laurel Township was again the lead case), gave the New Jersey Supreme Court the opportunity to reaffirm and tweak the Mount Laurel Doctrine and provide several mechanisms and remedies to make the doctrine more effective.
The New Jersey Supreme Court was aware that the Mount Laurel II decision would be controversial and would engender debate about the proper role of the courts. The opinion invited legislative action to implement what the court defined as the constitutional obligation.
In 1985 the New Jersey Legislature responded by passing the Fair Housing Act. Accepting the premise that there was some constitutional obligation for municipalities to foster some degree of affordable housing, this legislation created an administrative agency, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), to establish regulations whereby the obligation of each municipality in terms of the number of units and how the obligation could be satisfied.
A municipality which elected to participate in COAH's administrative process prior to being sued was provided with protection from litigation and especially the builder's remedy. As a transitional provision, the act provided that municipalities involved in litigation when the act was passed were to be able to transfer the litigation to COAH unless manifest injustice would result.
COAH developed regulations under which the specific number of affordable units that each municipality would be required to provide (its "pre-credited need") could be determined. Participating municipalities developed compliance plans to address this need by such means as the application of credits (e.g. filtering, spontaneous rehabilitation, extra credit for rental units), the use of regional contribution agreements (transferring part of the obligation to a willing municipality, usually an urban center, in the same region along with payment in an amount agreed by the municipalities) and zoning for affordable housing (usually involving increased density and mandatory set-asides). When COAH approved a municipality's compliance plan it would grant "substantive certification" which was designed to provide the municipality with protection from exclusionary zoning litigation.
From the municipal point of view, the advantages of COAH's administrative process included the use of a formula to calculate fair share that might produce a lower obligation than the court would impose, the availability of the regional contribution agreement to reduce the number of units and the ability to determine where in the municipality that affordable housing ought to be developed rather than being forced to permit a development as a reward to a successful builder-plaintiff. Those municipalities that chose not to participate in COAH's administrative process remained vulnerable to exclusionary zoning lawsuits and the prospect of the builder's remedy. The disadvantage would be that a participating municipality might be required to zone some land in a manner that extra housing would be produced. Some municipalities, believing that the likelihood of facing an actual exclusionary zoning lawsuit was low enough, took their chances in not participating.
While the Mount Laurel decision mandates a state constitutional obligation for every municipality in a "growth area" to provide a fair share of its region's present and prospective housing needs for low and moderate income families, there is no funding source specified for low or very-low income families, in a state that already has some of the nation's highest property taxes. [2] Some have accused the decision for being an example of judicial activism. [3]
The New Jersey Supreme Court welcomed the legislature's adoption of the Fair Housing Act. A number of trial court decisions had denied transfer of pending cases to COAH under the manifest injustice standard, but the Supreme Court read that term very narrowly and ordered the cases transferred. The trial courts were directed to conform their rulings with regard to calculation of each municipality's obligation and how to meet it to COAH's regulations and the statute was found facially constitutional and interpreted to grant COAH ample authority, such as restraining the use of scarce resources (sewer capacity, potable water, land) for other than providing affordable housing, to assure that affordable housing might actually be built.
COAH is a currently defunct government agency created in the 1980s to administer Mt. Laurel requirements. Some have argued it needs reinvigoration. [4]
The Fair Share Housing Center, or FSHC, is a Cherry Hill-based nonprofit organization founded in 1975 that litigates against towns in enforcement of fair housing development. [5]
A "builder's remedy lawsuit" is a New Jersey lawsuit filed by a real estate developer in an attempt to force a New Jersey town to allow the construction of a large, multi-family housing complex that includes some affordable housing alongside ordinary apartments
Usually, the developer's court papers will make specific mention of the Mt. Laurel doctrine, which holds municipalities responsible for providing affordable housing to low and moderate income households. Some have argued that developers exploit the Mount Laurel doctrine with the builder's remedy and prevent town efforts to combat overdevelopment and sprawl. [6] Some recent "builder's remedy" lawsuits or related concerns include:
In 1985, the Fair Housing Act created the now-repealed Regional Contribution Agreement system. The RCAs meant that towns could pay to get out of up to half of their affordable housing obligation by funding affordable housing elsewhere as required by the New Jersey Supreme Court's Mt. Laurel decision. [23]
In 2008, at the behest of the Fair Share Housing Center's Peter O' Connor and over the objections of some suburban Democrats, Governor Jon Corzine signed a law barring RCAs. A500. He signed A-500 into law during a ceremony at Fair Share Housing Development's Ethel R. Lawrence Homes. [24] [25] Some have demanded that RCAs be returned to cut down on sprawl. [26] [27]
In 1983, the NJ Supreme Court cautioned that, in requiring affordable housing, our State Constitution "does not require bad planning. It does not require suburban spread. It does not require rural municipalities to encourage large scale housing developments. It does not require wasteful extension of roads and needless construction of sewer and water facilities for the out-migration of people from the cities and the suburbs. There is nothing in our Constitution that says that we cannot satisfy our constitutional obligation to provide lower income housing and, at the same time, plan the future of the state intelligently." [28]
One Parsippany resident stated, "I'm very frustrated that this significant tract of undeveloped land is being razed for development when so much property in Parsippany lies vacant," said Dave Kaplan, of the Stop the Overdevelopment at Waterview opposition group. [29]
The New Jersey chapter of the Sierra Club applauded Governor Chris Christie's efforts to reform affordable housing law in 2010:
The current COAH law has had a bigger impact on land use and development than any other law in New Jersey's history. The Sierra Club strongly supports a requirement for affordable housing. As towns grow, they must provide a fair share of it. But the need for affordable housing should not undermine the environmental protections given to wetlands, flood plains, steep slopes, stream buffers that protect water supplies, ocean-fronts, and endangered species habitat. And no homes should be built where water supply is at critically low levels. Furthermore, new housing should be located where jobs are, to reduce the carbon footprints and pollution associated with automobile commuting. [30]
Some believe the NJ Supreme Court seeks legislative action to implement the Mount Laurel doctrine based on recent rulings, as of mid-2017:
In January 2017, the NJ Supreme Court issued a ruling stating that towns had to consider any historic failure to provide affordable housing. As one commentator put it,
This case resolved affordable housing regulation debates that have been ongoing since 1999. However, the Court provided no guidance on the method of implementation of affordable housing accommodations that it now requires of municipalities. This decision leaves numerous unanswered questions and it will depend heavily on the Legislature to issue reform of affordable housing requirements. This decision requires implementation of affordable housing accommodations into township plans that have not otherwise considered them since 1999. It is likely that the open spaces in towns will now be filled with affordable housing units, which will bring an influx of population to municipalities. ... We will need to watch the Legislature to see how and if it will alter the current affordable housing regulations to comply with the Court's recent ruling. [31] [32] [33] [34] [35]
In its January 2017 opinion, the NJ Supreme Court welcomed the legislature to re-approach the affordable housing issue: "We recognize, as we have before, that the Legislature is not foreclosed from considering alternative methods for calculating and assigning a municipal fair share of affordable housing, and to that end, we welcome legislative attention to this important social and economic constitutional matter," Justice LaVecchia wrote. [36] [37]
A Morris County Freeholder candidate, Harding Committeeman Nicolas Platt, proposed in May 2017 that all mayors state-wide conduct a sit-in in Trenton and refuse to leave the statehouse until legislators acted to reduce the overdevelopment impact of the builder's remedy issue. [38] [39]
Bergen and Passaic County Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi argued in a July 2017 opinion piece that reform was urgently needed: "If built, the number of new homes alone would far exceed all the homes in the entire borough of Manhattan," she stated, calling the issue one of overdevelopment "madness."
In the summer of 2017, Schepisi held the first of several planned public hearing in Paramus with various civic leaders on mandated affordable housing with local mayors and other state assembly members. [40]
"It is long past time for the Legislature to act, and block [the nonprofit group Fair Share Housing Center] from their objective of destroying our suburban communities," said one mayor at the hearing according to the press. "We really need action. Nobody has done what they need to do."
Schepisi stated she invited the Fair Share Housing Center to attend but received a letter declining an appearance. [40] [41]
In Somerset County, Montgomery Township Mayor Ed Trzaska said the influx of apartment complex development would ruin the rural character of the area, "overwhelm the township's infrastructure, greatly increase property taxes and burden the school system and negatively impact the quality of life in the township." [42]
In Union County, in the summer of 2017, the Clark town council issued a unanimous resolution demanding for the state legislature to take action to reform the affordable housing issue; the mayor stated that otherwise, "Union County will look like Queens in 25 years." [43]
In Berkeley Heights in Union County in June 2017, council president Marc Faecher said he considered the legislature's failure to act on overdevelopment to be an "abject failure by our state government." [44]
In June 2018, NJ 101.5 radio host Bill Spadea advocated for a constitutional amendment to revoke the doctrine, arguing the imposition of unnecessary development increased tax burdens unfairly. [45]
In the summer of 2017, the mayors of five Bergen County towns announced they were "teaming up to take a regional perspective on affordable housing, in an effort to find reasonable solutions that will protect the integrity of their communities." [46]
As of October 2019, no affordable housing units are listed as available in Chatham Township, NJ. [47] In Morris County as a whole, between 2010 and 2014, there were only 39 units of affordable housing for every 100 renters classified as having extremely low income (ELI). This is a 6% decrease in the number of units since 2000. [48] The suburban town has acquired COAH-certified credits associated with previous iterations of the third round of affordable housing, which reduced the town's affordable housing obligation (16). [49] To address the current lack of affordable housing, Chatham Township is in the process of building the third round of affordable housing units in compliance with the Mount Laurel Doctrine. [50] Sterling Sun Homes Developers will be constructing 25 affordable housing on the 3.6-acre site of the current skate park on Southern Boulevard. [51]
Objections:
The Chatham Township community has raised several objections to the new affordable housing units consistent historical and regional objections to the Mount Laurel Doctrine. Many citizens have raised concerns about the impact fees that will be imposed on the residents to help fund the new affordable housing units. A Chatham Township resident, speaking at the Township Committee meeting on September 12, 2019, suggested this “punitive fee...can… be passed and simply not implemented”. [52] This suggestion mirrors the open refusal to comply with the Mount Laurel Doctrine I, which requires the municipality to provide housing for people of multiple income brackets, which was common between 1975 and 1981. The Mount Laurel Doctrine requires municipalities to add fair share housing via municipal zoning. [53] Aside from the monetary cost, residents have raised concerns about the loss of open space and trees. This development will require the removal of 18 trees on the skate park property and is slated to exceed the allowed building height in the township by 2.98 feet. [54] The conflict over open space is one that is occurring in many municipalities, such as those in the "Builder’s remedy lawsuit cases". A group of teens raised concerns about the loss of the community's skate park, for which there are no current plans to rebuild. [55] As this area is suburban, a resident said “I’m not averse to affordable housing in itself,” but he is “averse to is an expanded population” as the town is characterized by low-density housing. [56] Another resident noted that the location of the development is in a high traffic area near the elementary school, and the new residents will lead to reduced parking and pedestrian safety. [52] Concerns about the changing suburban form come up frequently in "legislator outcry" in connection to concerns that New Jersey suburban communities will begin to look like cities.
New Jersey mayors have traditionally opposed affordable housing. The stance of town leadership on fair land use policies is unclear as the public has been excluded from many of these discussions surrounding inclusionary inclusionary zoning via the Open Public Records Act (N.J.S.A 10:4-12 ) are taking place in executive session, rather than the public session. [57]
Some have argued that the deluge of abandoned and vacant properties in New Jersey should be taken into account before forced building occurs in less crowded areas. They have also suggested that the state step up funding for code enforcement to reduce burdens of urban blight on attractive home development, including enforcement on absentee landlords. The City of Newark is "working with the Urban League to identify vacant or abandoned properties that can be sold to small developers to then sell at cost to residents. About 16 percent of Newark's housing is vacant and the city has a high eviction and foreclosure rate according to a Rutgers report. [58] [59] [60] [61] [62] [63] [64]
Burlington County is a county in the South Jersey region of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The county is the largest by land area in New Jersey and ranks second behind neighboring Ocean County in total area. Its county seat is Mount Holly. As of the 2020 census, the county was the state's 11th-most-populous county, with a population of 461,860, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 13,126 (+2.9%) from the 448,734 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn had reflected an increase of 25,340 (6.0%) from the 423,394 enumerated at the 2000 census. The most populous place in the county was Evesham Township with 46,826 residents as of the 2020 census. Washington Township covered 102.71 square miles (266.0 km2), the largest area of any municipality in the county.
Mount Laurel is a township in Burlington County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 44,633, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 2,769 (+6.6%) from the 2010 census count of 41,864, which in turn reflected an increase of 1,643 (+4.1%) from the 40,221 counted in the 2000 census. It is the home of NFL Films.
Southampton Township is a township in Burlington County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 10,317, a decrease of 147 (−1.4%) from the 10,464 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 76 (+0.7%) from the 10,388 counted in the 2000 census. The township, and all of Burlington County, is a part of the Philadelphia-Reading-Camden combined statistical area and the Delaware Valley.
Marlboro Township is a township in Monmouth County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The township is located within the Raritan Valley region and is a part of the New York metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 41,502, an increase of 1,311 (+3.3%) from the 2010 census count of 40,191, which in turn reflected an increase of 5,449 (+16.3%) from the 33,423 counted in the 2000 census.
Chatham Township is a suburban township located in Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 10,983, its highest decennial count ever and an increase of 531 (+5.1%) from the 10,452 recorded at the 2010 census, which in turn reflected an increase of 366 (+3.6%) from the 10,086 counted in the 2000 census. The long-established hamlet of Green Village is located in Chatham Township.
Chester Township is a township in southwestern Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the township's population was 7,713, a decrease of 125 (−1.6%) from the 2010 census count of 7,838, which in turn reflected an increase of 556 (+7.6%) from the 7,282 counted in the 2000 census. The township's name is derived from Chestershire in England.
Mount Arlington is a borough in western Morris County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. As of the 2020 United States census, the borough's population was 5,909, an increase of 859 (+17.0%) from the 2010 census count of 5,050, which in turn reflected an increase of 387 (+8.3%) from the 4,663 counted in the 2000 census.
The Supreme Court of New Jersey is the highest court in the U.S. state of New Jersey. In its current form, the Supreme Court of New Jersey is the final judicial authority on all cases in the state court system, including cases challenging the validity of state laws under the state constitution. It has the sole authority to prescribe and amend court rules and regulate the practice of law, and it is the arbiter and overseer of the decennial legislative redistricting. One of its former members, William J. Brennan Jr., became an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
Abbott districts are school districts in New Jersey that are provided remedies to ensure that their students receive public education in accordance with the state constitution. They were created in 1985 as a result of the first ruling of Abbott v. Burke, a case filed by the Education Law Center. The ruling asserted that public primary and secondary education in poor communities throughout the state was unconstitutionally substandard. The Abbott II ruling in 1990 had the most far-reaching effects, ordering the state to fund the (then) 28 Abbott districts at the average level of the state's wealthiest districts. The Abbott District system was replaced in 2007 by the New Jersey Schools Development Authority.
Paul Davidoff was an American planner, planning educator, and planning theoretician who conceptualized "advocacy planning" with his wife, Linda Stone Davidoff. In legal scholarship, he is known as the primary litigant in the Mount Laurel decision, which established a state-constitutional basis for inclusionary zoning in New Jersey, a doctrine which has been accepted in other United States jurisdictions. Davidoff founded the Suburban Action Institute and the urban planning department at Hunter College, and also taught at the University of Pennsylvania and Princeton University during his career.
William G. Spadea is an American businessman and television host from New Jersey, who was the Republican nominee for United States Congress in New Jersey's 12th congressional district in 2004. He was Chairman of the College Republican National Committee (1993–95) and was the host of Chasing News. Spadea is a former Republican congressional candidate who became a loyalist to former President Donald Trump. He has spread conspiracy theories about the 2020 election and vaccines.
Robert Nathan Wilentz was Chief Justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1979 to 1996, making him the longest-serving Chief Justice since the Supreme Court became New Jersey's highest court in 1948.
The Washington Oak is a protected ancient white oak tree in Princeton, New Jersey, USA that overlooks the Princeton Battlefield State Park. The International Society of Arboriculture and the Tree Care Industry Association jointly recognize the Washington Oak as having lived at the time of the signing of the United States Constitution in 1787.
Dawn Marie Addiego is an American politician who represented the New Jersey's 8th legislative district in the New Jersey Senate from 2010 to 2022. A member of the Democratic Party, she previously served in the General Assembly from January 8, 2008 to November 22, 2010 as a Republican. On November 15, 2010, after Phil Haines was confirmed to serve on the New Jersey Superior Court for Burlington County, that county's Republican committee nominated and appointed Addiego to fill Haines' vacant seat for the remainder of his unexpired term.
The Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) was, until its abolition in 2024, an agency of the Government of New Jersey within the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs that was responsible for ensuring that all 566 New Jersey municipalities provided their fair share of low and moderate income housing
Richard E. Constable III is an American lawyer who was the 16th Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, serving from 2012 to 2015. A former Assistant US Attorney, he was also the Deputy Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. Rich Constable currently serves as MSG Entertainment’s chief strategist overseeing legislative, community, and social impact initiatives.
Chris Christie took office as the 55th Governor of New Jersey on January 19, 2010, began his second term on January 21, 2014, and left office on January 16, 2018.
Frederick Wilson Hall was an American judge and associate justice of the New Jersey Supreme Court from 1959 to 1975.
Ethel Robinson Lawrence was a civil rights activist who was known as the "Rosa Parks of affordable housing". Lawrence was the lead plaintiff in the Mount Laurel, New Jersey litigation for affordable housing, which led to the New Jersey Fair Housing Act, the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) and the Mount Laurel doctrine. In her final years, Lawrence worked closely with attorney Peter O'Connor to start the non-profit organization Fair Share Housing Development Inc., which built over 200 units for moderate- to low-income tenants in Mount Laurel.
The builder's remedy is a legal mechanism in the United States that can be used in certain states to expedite the construction of low or middle income housing when a municipality fails to comply with laws related to housing development. Typically, where a municipality fails to comply with state laws regarding the development of new housing, the builder's remedy either allows a developer to bypass or ignore nearly all of the municipality's zoning laws and begin construction on a development in an expedited manner or provides the developer with a legal remedy that can be enforced in court or through an administrative process. Builder's remedy projects are increasingly common in California, where new state laws have been passed to force local municipalities to approve additional housing to address the ongoing California housing shortage. Massachusetts and New Jersey also employ a form of the builder's remedy as well.
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