From the Gloucester County Times:
State appeals housing decision
The state is appealing a court decision that lays out how municipalities must plan for affordable housing, claiming the ruling that struck down a housing formula followed by more than 200 towns threatens to halt progress.
Meanwhile, the fate of detailed housing plans laboriously drafted by hundreds of towns at a cost of millions in taxpayer dollars remains in limbo.
The lawsuit was brought by the New Jersey Builders Association and three other plaintiffs in 2004 who said the requirements set by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) were unconstitutional.
The Appellate Division ruled in favor of the developers, taking issue with the third-round of the COAH regulations and ruling that they were not based on solid data. The court gave the state six months to come up with a new formula.
Last week, the state announced plans to appeal the decision based on two areas of the ruling: State officials want to keep the requirement for developers to share the responsibility to provide low-cost housing, and eliminate part of the ruling which provides incentives for developers to provide affordable housing.
If I have project approved today, (post appeal decision)can the town impose these fees?