Planning board recommends Metuchen council adopt ordinance raising affordable-housing set‑aside to 20%

The Metuchen Planning Board voted to recommend that the borough council adopt Ordinance 202514, a rewrite of the town’s land‑development code that would require all new developments proposing five or more dwelling units to provide an affordable‑housing set‑aside and raise the required percentage to 20%.

Board staff member Adam summarized the proposal as a ‘‘blanket ordinance’’ intended to clarify applicability. He told the board that under the draft ‘‘all applications for development proposing and/or containing five or more dwelling units shall comply,’’ replacing the prior, more complicated trigger language.

Chris, a planning professional speaking for staff, said the draft grew out of work preparing Metuchen’s fair‑share housing plan and guidance from the state Department of Community Affairs. He told the board the change was both policy and practical: municipalities set their own set‑aside percentages to meet statutory obligations while balancing developer feasibility. ‘‘Many communities are going to the 20%,’’ he said, noting some towns set even higher targets.

The draft ordinance also standardizes affordability bands and a payment‑in‑lieu calculation. Staff described the proposed breakdown as 50% of required units for low‑income households and 13% for very‑low‑income households, and said the payment‑in‑lieu formula would be indexed to the Consumer Price Index to handle fractional units.

Board members asked whether the five‑unit threshold reflected local housing studies. Staff answered that five units is a common trigger and had been used previously in the borough; it had been lowered from 10 in an earlier round. On whether the text represented a substantive expansion of coverage, staff said the draft was primarily cleanup to make the existing five‑unit trigger clear rather than to broaden exemptions.

After discussion, a motion was made and seconded to recommend adoption. The secretary called roll; those recorded voting yes were Miss Clarkson, Mr. Dia, Miss Gelber, Mr. Gman, Miss Kascowski, Mr. Lipkin and Mr. Eric. The motion carried and the board recommended the borough council adopt Ordinance 202514.

The Planning Board’s role in this instance was to determine whether the draft ordinance is inconsistent with the borough’s master plan; staff told members the ordinance is consistent with the recently updated housing element. The draft ordinance and related housing element work were prepared to meet DCA timelines (drafts by June 30, 2025 and consideration for adoption by March 2026), and staff said adopting the ordinance now would avoid a lag between the plan and the code.

The board did not make final changes to the ordinance during the meeting; their action was a recommendation to the borough council. The council will be the final decisionmaker on formal adoption and any future amendments.