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Northvale council adopts DCAfigures: present need 8 rehab units, prospective need 99 new units
Summary
The borough adopted and will submit the state Department of Community Affairs (DCA) calculations that set Northvale's present affordable-housing need at 8 units and its prospective need at 99 units; town staff said those figures reflect DCA's three-factor methodology and adjustments the borough requested.
The Mayor and Council of the Borough of Northvale on a unanimous roll-call vote approved a resolution submitting to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) the agency's calculations that set the borough's present affordable-housing need at 8 units and its prospective need at 99 units.
The numbers are part of the state's fourth-round methodology for calculating municipal affordable-housing obligations. Lindsey, the borough planner, told the council the DCA process uses three equally weighted factors'nonresidential valuation changes, median income changes and land capacity based on NJDEP mapping'and that borough staff checked the state math and parcel mapping before endorsing the submission.
Lindsey said the borough's review identified mapping errors and other parcels that are not realistically developable. Applying those corrections reduced DCA's original prospective need of 112 units to 99 units. The resolution the council approved adopts the DCA-calculated present need of eight rehabilitation units (existing affordable units that may require repairs) and the adjusted prospective need of 99 units to guide the borough's housing element work.
Why it matters: the borough must adopt a housing element and fair-share plan by June 30, 2025, that shows how it will address the next 10 years of housing need. Lindsey said the June housing element process will include a vacant-land adjustment and parcel-by-parcel analysis that could lower the prospective number further, as happened in prior rounds when municipalities documented limited developable land and took credits for certain project types.
Council members pressed staff on implementation details. One council member asked whether present-need rehabilitation must be done only by renovating existing units; Lindsey confirmed the present-need figure is for rehabilitation and that the borough's affordable-housing trust fund can be used to repair or preserve existing affordable units. She also said units from projects not counted in prior rounds can be credited toward the fourth-round prospective need once built and permitted.
The council approved the resolution as part of the consent agenda. The resolution text also authorizes the borough attorney to take legal steps if needed; a borough official later advised the council the attorney is authorized to file a declaratory-judgment complaint in Superior Court within 48 hours of the resolution if the borough proceeds with that course.
Next steps: staff will prepare the full housing element and fair-share plan for public hearings and planning-board review required before the June 30, 2025 adoption deadline. That housing element will include a vacant-land adjustment, implementation strategies (such as overlay zones or redevelopment approaches) and the inventory of sites and credits the borough intends to claim.
