The municipality currently has 4,857 residential properties and it is estimated it may have to add 3,000 new residential units, including 1,000 affordable housing units, to comply with a state mandate.
Map of Branchburg (Google maps)BRANCHBURG -- Calling it perhaps the most important issue facing the township in its history, the Township Committee has scheduled a special public meeting to discuss the impact the state's affordable housing mandate could have on the community.
The meeting will be held 7 p.m. Thursday at the township's municipal building.
At issue is a state Supreme Court ruling in March that opened the door for municipalities to be sued for not providing a "fair share" of affordable housing units. The ruling also allows a municipality to demonstrate in court that it has met the requirement to provide affordable housing.
The ruling has put a tremendous burden on this rural municipality to develop residential properties, both affordable and "market" priced, said Township Administrator Gregory J. Bonin.
Under guidelines that expired in 1999, Branchburg would have to allow the construction of an additional 3,000 residential properties, which would include 1,000 affordable housing units, to comply with the mandate, Bonin said. The township currently has 4,857 residential properties.
"That's a 60 percent increase in our housing," Bonin said. "It would change the town completely. It's not something we planned for. We're not looking for that type of growth. I don't know where we would put the additional housing. We would have to build up."
The Council on Affordable Housing was created out of a 1983 Supreme Court ruling that all of New Jersey's municipalities needed to provide affordable housing. To help meet this obligation, the council established three rounds of mandates.
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In the first round, Branchburg was required to build 302 affordable housing units, Bonin said. In the second round, it was obligated to build 350 units. The third-round of the affordable housing mandate covers 1999 to 2025, Bonin said.
"In the past, we could manage it," Bonin said. "But when you're talking 1,000 units, this is a very large discussion that the residents should be aware of. It has the potential to change the town. We want to get the information out there.
"People move to certain areas for a reason. People didn't move here for this."
Having no clear direction, nor help from the Gov. Chris Christie, the legislature or state departments or agencies, all state municipalities must decide what course of action they should take, perhaps as early as Dec. 8, or lose protection from the courts against "builders remedy" lawsuits, Bonin said.
Compounding the matter is that there are no clear cut rules in place that municipalities must follow to comply with the Council of Affordable Housing's order because the agency embarked on a series of policy and program changes following the second round that haven't been agreed upon, Bonin said.
"We don't have a problem with affordable housing," said Bonin. "It's just how it's being administered at the state level and how it doesn't take into account housing needs and housing desires. Towns just want sensible rules to follow. The state has had a lack of action on the matter and residents are paying the cost.
"People of low and moderate income want to go where the jobs are, where there's mass transit. The millennials want to go somewhere where there are activities, where there are the amenities they're used to. Branchburg is a rural community."
Sen. Christopher "Kip" Bateman (R-16) and Assemblyman Jack Ciattarelli (R-16) have been working to past legislation to address the issue. Bateman said Branchburg isn't alone.
"I understand the frustration," said Bateman, adding he has tried to past several bills in the senate to regulate affordable housing. "The rules keep changing. First of all, I don't agree with the numbers. In Branchburg, the numbers are absurd. Jack and I are trying to make the numbers reasonable. We also want to allow townships to transfer their numbers to another municipality.
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"The problem is there aren't enough jobs and transportation in an area like Branchburg. Affordable housing should be geared toward urban areas. Building in a municipality like Branchburg doesn't make a lot of sense. We're trying to get a concrete set of rules understood by everybody. It's been a slow process."
Bateman said Hillsborough, Montgomery, South Brunswick and Princeton are among the municipalities facing a similar dilemma.
The township committee is considering a range of approaches with the two extreme positions, Bonin said. On one extreme, it could develop a "constitutionally compliant" affordable housing plan to the courts that essentially lays out a blueprint of where and how the township would build 3,000 housing units and, on the other, refuse to submit a plan.
Under that approach, the township could be the target of numerous "builders' remedy" lawsuits, which would be costly to defend, Bonin said.
"We've been wrestling with this issue for the past 10 years," Bonin said. "Building 1,000 affordable housing units is something we can't do on our own."
Dave Hutchinson may be reached at dhutchinson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @DHutch_SL. Find NJ.com on Facebook.