Monarch Housing’s Blog!

On June 23rd the New Jersey State Senate approved by a vote of 21-16 S1783, its version of the comprehensive housing reform bill, identical to A500 which passed the Assembly on June 16.

This is an important step toward meeting the affordable and supportive housing needs of individuals and families including the homeless.

According to the Star-Ledger, Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), a prime sponsor in the lower house said “I’m gratified. We have taken a giant step toward making the dream of affordable housing a reality in New Jersey.”

Roberts said Gov. Jon Corzine has assured him he will sign the legislation in the near future.

This legislation includes a number of policy priorities the Housing and Community Development Network, Homes for New Jersey and Monarch Housing have championed for many years.

The core elements of S1783 represent significant opportunities for New Jersey to provide safe, quality and affordable housing to residents of our State, including:

Creating a State Housing Plan and Commission: This Commission will provide strategic direction in establishing housing goals, strategies and resource priorities for the state. Comprised of public, private and government representatives, it will gather and disseminate information on housing needs, and prepare and adopt an annual Strategic Housing Plan with public input. New Jersey needs a regularly updated housing plan to establish priorities, identify needed reforms and ensure the most effective and targeted use of limited state resources. DCA and HMFA must submit an annual report detailing its housing activity.

Establishing a Statewide Developer Fee: This assessment will help increase critically needed resources for affordable housing development. It will also help create a predictable playing field for commercial and non-residential developers, by applying a statewide 2.5% fee on these projects, rather than a fee, that under COAH regulations, could be as high as 9% on these projects.

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Tags: Advocacy, affordable-housing, Ending Homelessness, Joe-Roberts, Supportive Housing

On Monday, June 23, the full New Jersey Senate will take up S1783, its version of the comprehensive housing reform bill, identical to A500 which passed the Assembly on June 16. Please contact your state senator by phone or fax or e-mail and urge him or her to support this important measure. Passage by the Senate means the bill will go next to the Governor, who is expected to sign it into law. Go here to find contact information for your senator. Let your voice be heard at this crucial juncture for more affordable housing and a better way to deliver it.

This legislation includes a number of policy priorities the Housing and Community Development Network, Homes for New Jersey and Monarch Housing have championed for many years.

The core elements of S1783 represent significant opportunities for New Jersey to provide safe, quality and affordable housing to residents of our State, including:

Creating a State Housing Plan and Commission: This Commission will provide strategic direction in establishing housing goals, strategies and resource priorities for the state. Comprised of public, private and government representatives, it will gather and disseminate information on housing needs, and prepare and adopt an annual Strategic Housing Plan with public input. New Jersey needs a regularly updated housing plan to establish priorities, identify needed reforms and ensure the most effective and targeted use of limited state resources. DCA and HMFA must submit an annual report detailing its housing activity.

Establishing a Statewide Developer Fee: This assessment will help increase critically needed resources for affordable housing development. It will also help create a predictable playing field for commercial and non-residential developers, by applying a statewide 2.5% fee on these projects, rather than a fee, that under COAH regulations, could be as high as 9% on these projects.

Read the rest of this entry »

Tags: Advocacy, affordable-housing, Homes-for-New-Jersey, Housing-and-Community-Development-Network, Joe-Roberts, Supportive Housing

On June 16, 2008, the New Jersey Assembly passed by a vote 45-33-2, A-500, the bill that will reform affordable housing in New Jersey. This is the most significant reform in over twenty years.

According to the Speaker of the Assembly Joseph Roberts, Jr., “The Legislature can no longer take an ostrich-like view of the state’s housing policy. New Jerseyans need homes they can afford and jobs they can reach. The state must lead by example by expanding access to equitable and affordable housing.”

To read the full bill click here. To read a statement on the bill click here.

In addition to Speaker Roberts the other prime sponsors in the Assembly included Bonnie Watson Coleman, Jerry Green, Thomas P.Giblin, Albert Coutinho, and Mila M. Jasey. Co-sponsors included L. Grace Spencer, Nilsa Cruz-Perez and Elease Evans.

The A-500 bill will make the following changes.

Abolish “regional contribution agreements,” (RCAs) ending the practice of allowing municipalities to duck their affordable housing responsibilities while generating new funding through a 2.5 percent fee on nonresidential development. These funds may be used for new construction or rehabilitation of affordable housing units;

Establish a 20-percent affordable housing set aside for all state-assisted development projects - including smart growth areas and transit villages;

Promote the production of housing units by setting-aside 13 percent of all affordable housing for families earning less than 30 percent of the state’s median income and;

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As the First Winner of the Governor’s New Jersey Excellence in Housing Award, Monarch Housing has always viewed the an important event. These awards recognize organizations, projects and professionals “that are on the cutting edge of innovation in the field of affordable housing.” Thus we are pleased to provide this information on this year’s awards and the links to nominating forms. The deadline for nominations is July 25th! Click here for the nominating forms.

The New Jersey Housing & Mortgage Finance Agency is now accepting nominations for the 2008 Governor’s Excellence in Housing Awards. The Awards will be presented at the Governor’s Conference on Housing and Community Development to be held on September 23rd and 24th, in Atlantic City. The Award presentation is on September 24th.

The goal of the Governor’s Excellence in Housing Awards is to recognize projects and professionals that are on the cutting edge of innovation in the field of affordable housing. This year’s categories were selected to reflect current housing needs and challenges. This year’s award categories are:

Outstanding Green Development;
Best Integration of Supportive Housing and Community Revitalization;
Most Innovative Partnership;
Outstanding Preservation and Revitalization Initiative; and
Outstanding Personal Achievement.

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On May 7, the Housing and Community Development Network released NJ and Its Cities: An Agenda for Urban Transformation, our second major report on the state’s urban centers and their impact on the rest of the state, following Cities in Transition: New Jersey’s Urban Paradox, released in September 2006. The report conveys a consistent, comprehensive and positive message: the equitable revitalization of New Jersey’s cities can help restore economic prosperity to the state as a whole

An Agenda for Urban Transformation recommends steps that the state and local governments can take to boost economic vitality and strategically leverage resources for affordable housing and neighborhood revitalization. The report calls for a new direction in the relationship between the state and its cities, and each city and its neighborhoods. How these new relationships are forged will impact many critical issues facing the state, not only housing and neighborhood revitalization, but also job creation and business growth, land use, public safety, transportation and the environment.

The Joint Center for Housing Studies recently released America’s Rental Housing- The Key to a Balanced National Policy, a report that looks at rental housing issues. This year the report discusses the effect that the current mortgage market meltdown is having on the well-being of renters and the construction and preservation of the rental housing inventory. The report’s introduction summarizes the issue:

The damage from today’s mortgage foreclosure crisis reaches deep into the rental market. With affordability already a long-standing problem, the current housing debacle not only adds to the number of households competing for low-cost rentals and threatens current renters with eviction from their homes, but also increases the costs of financing rental housing construction and preservation. Moreover, because many high-risk loans now in default are concentrated in low-income and minority communities, the fallout from foreclosures is hitting the same neighborhoods where many of the nation’s most economically vulnerable renters live.

In addition, according to NAEH, the study found that the number of rental households grew by 2.8 percent, or nearly one million households, in 2007. Additionally, the authors found that nearly half of all renters paid more than 30 percent of their incomes for housing in 2006 and about a quarter spent more than 50 percent. The report also provides policymakers, state and local housing agencies, and private business leaders engaged in the rental market with information about the role of rental housing in the national housing agenda.

To access the full report click here.

To view a fact sheet click here.

On May 6, 2008, the Council on Affordable Housing also proposed amendments to the recently adopted revised third round rules (N.J.A.C. 5:96 and N.J.A.C. 5:97) and the procedural rules for municipalities certified before January 25, 2007 (N.J.A.C. 5:95). The proposed rules are scheduled to be published in the NJ Register on June 16, 2008. Upon publication, written comments can be submitted [Email address: COAHmail #AT# dca.state.nj.us - replace #AT# with @ ] until August 15, 2008.

Full text of the proposed rules are available by clicking here.

To read the proposed growth share rules click here.