Vernon Council adopts new affordable-housing code and development-fee rules

Vernon Township Council unanimously adopted two ordinances March 9 that rewrite local rules for affordable housing and establish a detailed framework for collecting and spending development fees.

The council replaced Chapter 133 with a comprehensive affordable-housing subchapter that spells out rehabilitation and new-construction requirements, assigns monitoring responsibilities and sets control periods for restricted units. It also adopted a development-fee ordinance that establishes residential and nonresidential fee rates and creates a municipal Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Why it matters: The changes set concrete local standards for how Vernon will create and preserve affordable units and how developers will contribute to those efforts. The measures aim to ensure funding for rehabilitation, accessibility improvements and long-term affordability and to align local practice with recent state statutory changes cited in the ordinances.

The new Chapter 133 requires a rehabilitation program that dedicates a minimum of $10,000 per unit for repairs and enforces a 10-year affordability control period on rehabilitated units; the ordinance also allows for municipally sponsored, 100 percent-affordable projects and alternative living arrangements. For newly constructed affordable developments, the code sets unit-mix and affordability targets (for example, at least 13% of restricted rental units must be affordable to very-low-income households and at least 25% of the municipality's obligation must be met with rental units). The ordinance requires adaptable-access entrances in some developments and directs developers to deposit funds into the town's Affordable Housing Trust Fund to make 10% of adaptable entrances accessible when requested.

The development-fee ordinance establishes collection mechanics and rates. Within Vernon's affordable-housing districts, residential developers generally will pay a fee equal to 1.5% of the equalized assessed value for a new residential unit; where bonus density is granted (a —bonus— or —d— variance), a fee up to 6% of equalized assessed value may apply to the additional units. Nonresidential development fees are set at 2.5% of equalized assessed value for new nonresidential construction, with rules for calculating fees when existing structures are altered, demolished and replaced.

The ordinance sets procedures for estimating and finalizing the fee (tax assessor estimates within 90 days of notice; final calculation at certificate-of-occupancy), allows appeals to the County Board of Taxation (residential) or the Director of the Division of Taxation (nonresidential), and requires that 50% of the fee be collected at permit issuance and the balance at certificate of occupancy.

Use of funds: Vernon created an interest-bearing Affordable Housing Trust Fund to hold development fees and related receipts (payments in lieu, recapture funds, sale proceeds of extinguished controls). The fund must be identifiable by source and amount; expenditures require a DCA-approved spending plan. The ordinance directs that at least 30% of collected development-fee revenues (or an amount approved by DCA) be used for direct affordability assistance, and that one-third of that assistance be targeted to households earning 30% or less of median income. Administrative spending from the fund is capped at 20% of revenues.

Administration and enforcement: The council's ordinance requires the Township to appoint a Municipal Housing Liaison to oversee compliance, monitor deed-restricted units and coordinate with Administrative Agent(s) for affirmative marketing, application processing and resale/recapture oversight. The Municipal Housing Liaison must provide contact information to the Division and follow reporting and monitoring through the Affordable Housing Monitoring System.

Vote and next steps: Both ordinances passed on unanimous roll-call votes. The council will carry out ordinance implementation steps including appointing the Municipal Housing Liaison, establishing the Trust Fund account and filing the required DCA paperwork related to approvals and spending plans.

The council's adoption completes a local regulatory update that municipal officials said aligns Vernon with recent state statutory and administrative rule changes and sets the framework for future affordable-housing projects in town. The ordinances themselves provide extensive procedural detail on appeals, recapture, control-period extensions and accessible-entrance funding.