Clinton council introduces sweeping housing ordinance package and sets March 11 public hearing

The Town of Clinton Council on Feb. 25 introduced a package of ordinances intended to rewrite the town's affordable-housing rules, change development-fee calculations and add a mandatory set-aside for small residential projects. Council members voted unanimously to introduce Ordinance 26-02 (affordable housing requirements), Ordinance 26-03 (development fees) and Ordinance 26-04 (zoning set-aside); all three will be the subject of a public hearing on March 11, 2026. The motions to introduce were made and seconded on the record and carried by vote.

The package implements provisions of the amended New Jersey Fair Housing Act (P.L.2024, c.2; cited in the ordinance text as the FHA, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.) and cross-references Department of Community Affairs rules and the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC) at N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.*. The ordinances require town reporting to the Department via the Affordable Housing Monitoring System (AHMS), update unit-design and accessibility standards, and add explicit affirmative-marketing and administrative-agent duties. The draft replaces the town's current Chapter 88, Article X (Affordable Housing Requirements), and contains detailed implementation rules for new construction, rehabilitation and control periods for deed-restricted units.

Why it matters: the ordinances together reshape how Clinton expects to meet its Fourth Round fair-share obligations. Among the key, council-adopted changes introduced Feb. 25 are:

- Mandatory set-aside: Ordinance 26-04 requires developments that create five or more new residential units (or the residential portion of mixed-use projects) to set aside at least 20% of units as affordable, with rounding rules and limited exceptions for sites already governed by the municipal HEFSP. The ordinance also requires integration of affordable units with market-rate units and equal access to amenities.

- Development fees: Ordinance 26-03 codifies fee mechanics in line with state guidance: a 1.5% residential base fee (with separate rules for density increases) and a 2.5% fee on nonresidential new construction or value increases. The ordinance establishes a Municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund to hold fees, sets spending-plan and monitoring requirements, and includes a rule that at least 30% of fee revenues and interest must be used for affordability assistance (with a portion targeted to very-low-income households). The ordinance also restates the statutory elimination of most payments-in-lieu of on-site construction as reflected in P.L.2024 c.2.

- Program and procedural details: Ordinance 26-02 covers itemized UHAC requirements the town must follow if it pursues inclusionary or 100%-affordable projects: affirmative marketing and random selection procedures, bedroom distribution and low/moderate splits, accessibility and 'adaptable' design rules, control periods (30 years for ownership; generally 40 years for rental, with 45 years for 9% LIHTC projects), and enforcement remedies. It also requires annual AHMS reporting and prescribes the role and responsibilities of the Municipal Housing Liaison and any Administrative Agent.

Town Attorney Tara St. Angelo advised council members that the ordinance text preserves required monitoring and public-reporting elements and that some draft provisions reflect state-level technical rules. Council discussion during the introduction included confirmation from the attorney that a separate PILOT issue under discussion (the VIEW 22 transaction) concerns a building lease rather than a land sale and that certain buyer financial information could be redacted in a PILOT agreement.

What to watch next: all three measures were introduced and will be the subject of a public hearing and possible adoption at the March 11 council meeting; the ordinance texts posted on the town's website include many regulatory cross-references and implementation responsibilities that will govern future approvals, fees and affordable-unit monitoring. The council record shows unanimous introduction votes; the hearing will be the first opportunity for public comment and for any council amendments prior to adoption.