Montgomery planning board adopts amended 4th-round housing element, prioritizing preservation of existing affordable units

The Montgomery Township Planning Board voted on March 9, 2026, to adopt an amended 4th-round housing element and fair share plan that focuses on extending affordability controls on existing rental and ownership units rather than creating new inclusionary developments. The board memorialized the resolution at the meeting and will transmit the adopted plan to the governing body and county planning board for next steps.

The plan amendment centers on preserving expiring affordable controls through deed restrictions and maximizing the stateallowed "bonus" credits for extended units, Michael Sullivan, the townshipplanning consultant and affordable housing planner, told the board. He said the amendment identifies existing sites with expiring controls, including Pike Run, McKinley Court, McKinley Commons and Montgomery Glen, and proposes to extend restrictions on specified units to maintain low- and moderate-income occupancy.

"These deed restrictions restrict who can live in these units; they are limited to low and moderate income households," Sullivan said, describing how the extension approach generates both base and bonus credits that reduce the need to build new affordable units.

Sullivan gave unit counts used in the township's calculations: McKinley Court (senior) includes about 60 units; McKinley Commons comprises 35 ownership units; Montgomery Glen has 19 units scheduled for extension. At Pike Run the plan would extend controls on 96 of 210 family rental units; those extensions plus bonus credits were presented as generating a larger credit total for the 4th round, leaving the township with a modest surplus of credits the plan would carry forward to future rounds if needed.

Lori Saverin, MontgomeryTownship planning director and township administrator, said the amendment responds to changed circumstances since the June 2025 plan: "We are amending the plan to remove the previously proposed inclusionary developments to prioritize the preservation of these additional existing affordable housing units." She noted the amended housing element and fair share plan remain part of the master plan and can be updated as circumstances change.

Town officials also discussed the procedural next steps. A township staff member explained the town had received a court order extending immunity for the period while it seeks compliance with the 4th-round requirements, but that the adopted plan will still require a court stamp of approval to obtain final compliance certification.

Board members asked about timing and owner cooperation for extending controls. Sullivan said the Pike Run owner had expressed willingness to discuss extensions after the June 2025 adoption and that the township planned to submit the amended plan to the state within 48 hours of adoption (or no later than the statutory deadline), with the court review step to follow.

The board memorialized the adoption by motion and roll-call vote. The resolution, as read into the record, finds the amended housing element consistent with the goals and objectives of the master plan and recites the public hearing and adoption action; the adopted documents will be forwarded to the governing body and county planning board for further processing. The board also noted it must perform a midpoint look-back review in 2030 if specific extensions cannot be negotiated with owners.

Next steps: staff will file the adopted amendment in accordance with state submission rules and pursue the court compliance stamp required under the municipal housing process. The board said it will include any additional documentation about extension agreements in the plan attachments as those agreements are finalized.