Clark Council advances affordable-housing spending plan and endorses overlay approach to meet state obligation

Council and administration members outlined a package of affordable-housing resolutions on March 2 designed to comply with the municipality’s settlement and New Jersey’s Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC).

Mayor Albanese and the township’s consultant explained that the planning board adopted an amended housing element and fair-share plan and that the council was being asked to endorse that amendment. Resolutions included approval of an updated spending plan for fees deposited in the affordable trust fund, adoption of a 48-page policies-and-procedures manual prepared by the consultant (Community Grants Planning and Housing), and endorsement of an affirmative marketing plan and affordability assistance manual.

Officials said the trust currently holds $1,600,000. The mayor and counsel said the “present need obligation” is 71 units and that the fourth round presents an additional unmet obligation of 166 units; the administration said overlay zoning introduced at the prior meeting is the mechanism to make capacity available if property owners develop according to the overlay. Counsel noted that the town’s realistic vacant-land capacity was reduced to zero by the vacant-land analysis, so overlay zones are contingent mechanisms that do not immediately produce large-scale growth.

The spending plan is a 10-year projection for anticipated fee receipts and eligible expenditures; counsel and the mayor said an “intent to bond” provision is being included as a contingency if development fees fall short, but they do not now anticipate bonding because projected revenues are expected to cover planned costs. The council scheduled a special meeting on March 13 at 2 p.m. to vote on remaining planning-board-voted resolutions required to meet a March 15 compliance deadline.