Morris Township adopts package of rezonings, redevelopment plans and rules to meet fourth-round affordable-housing mandate

The Morris Township Committee on March 9 adopted a coordinated set of ordinances and an amended redevelopment plan intended to implement the township's fourth-round affordable-housing plan under the state's Fair Housing Act.

Town officials said the package — which rezoned multiple sites, amended the Mount Kemell redevelopment plan and updated local affordable-housing regulations and the development-fee ordinance — creates the realistic opportunities the state and the court require for the township to maintain immunity from builder's-remedy litigation. "We have tried to preserve local control while meeting a state-imposed deadline," affordable-housing attorney Steve Warner said during the meeting.

Why it matters: Morris negotiated its prospective-need obligation down from a DCA figure of 571 units to 375 units and used a mix of extensions of existing deed restrictions and statutory bonus credits so that more than half the obligation can be satisfied without new construction, officials said. Where new housing might be built, the committee rezoned multiple sites so developers can pursue applications; those applications will be subject to future site-plan…