The Toms River Township Council voted to re-engage outside counsel and to move forward with a housing element and fair-share plan that the administration says will meet the town's fourth-round affordable-housing obligation mainly by extending existing deed-restricted units and applying credits.

Affordable-housing counsel told the council the township negotiated deed-restriction extensions on roughly 470 existing units, which would preserve those units as affordable for another 20 to 30 years and generate "bonus credits" that count toward the town's obligation. The counsel and planner said they also expect to claim a credit of roughly 200 units based on prior round agreements, enabling the township to meet the state-prescribed total without building thousands of new units.

The administration emphasized the approach would not require immediate, large-scale new development and would rely on the township's affordable housing trust fund to fund deed extensions where allowable. Officials said the trust fund contains developer contributions and that, according to their count, the fund had about $9 million available for affordable-housing work.

The council voted on multiple consent-items to retain legal and planning firms (identified in the meeting as items O, Q, R and S on the agenda) that will support the submission and negotiation with the state non-mediation forum. The mayor and affordable-housing counsel said the vote was to allow the township to submit the plan to the state and to pursue certification; once certified, the township would gain protection from builder-remedy litigation.

Why it matters: The plan and submitted mechanisms determine whether the township complies with state law and court precedent on municipal responsibilities for low- and moderate-income housing and whether the township avoids developer-builder lawsuits. The use of deed-restriction extensions and trust-fund dollars is a policy choice that changes the practical approach from large new construction toward preserving existing affordable units.

Action: Council approved motions to contract with legal and planning counsel for affordable-housing litigation and plan submission. Motion to approve counsel (resolution O) carried by roll call after discussion; subsequent related motions (Q, R, S) were similarly approved with multiple yes votes and several abstentions recorded.

Meeting context and next steps: The council's affordable-housing attorney said a 2-month challenge period for objections and third-party challenges begins the day after submission; the township will monitor the docket and respond to any filings. The administration said it is pursuing litigation on a separate issue (the so-called 1,000-unit cap) that could provide additional credits toward the obligation.

Speakers quoted in this article are taken from the council meeting transcript.