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Council outlines committees and timeline to meet affordable housing obligations; manager says township built 1,965 third-round units
Summary
At the Feb. 25 meeting council members and staff described the ad hoc committee and planning board process to finalize Franklin Township's affordable housing plan, with a June 30 deadline for adoption and manager Mark Healy reporting that 1,965 third-round units have been built and occupied.
Franklin Township officials said Feb. 25 they have formed council and planning board committees to finalize the township's affordable housing plan and meet a June 30 state deadline for adoption.
Township Manager Mark Healy and council members described the structure and timeline. The ad hoc committee includes four council members and four planning board members and is supported by township staff; the planning board will hold at least one public meeting and then refer the plan to council for final action. A council member read aloud committee membership during the meeting, and manager Healy said several meetings already have taken place.
Mark Healy provided a numerical update on the third round of affordable housing obligations: the township's third-round obligation had been listed as 2,076 units and the plan as submitted proposed 2,162 units, creating a planned surplus of 86 units. Healy said 67 of those surplus units were not built by developers, leaving a remaining planned surplus of 19 units. "Out of our obligation of 2,076, we actually have 1,965 built and occupied," Healy said, a figure council members characterized as unusually high compared with other municipalities.
Council members described the process through which vacant-land analyses and negotiations proceed, and they said there will be public-facing meetings and a frequently asked questions page on the township website explaining the plan and the sites under consideration. The council's ad hoc committee members were identified in the meeting as four council members (one speaker listed himself and named Councilwoman Sheba Udine, Councilman Charles Onyenjaka and Councilman Jim Vasanella) and an ad hoc planning board group was named by the planning board chairman.
Council members said the plan will remain a living document that can be amended during the 10-year compliance period, and they urged public participation in upcoming hearings and presentations.
No zoning changes were adopted at the Feb. 25 meeting; the discussion was procedural and informational as the committees continue work on draft plan language and candidate sites.
