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Bedminster committee introduces ordinance to align local housing rules with new New Jersey regulations
Summary
The Bedminster Township Committee introduced an ordinance to incorporate newly issued New Jersey administrative regulations into the township land-management code and adopted an affirmative-marketing plan; officials said the filings are intended to meet a March 15 court deadline and secure 10 years of builder's remedy immunity.
Mayor Jacobs opened the Feb. 17 meeting and the committee voted unanimously to introduce Ordinance 20-26-004, which amends Bedminster’s land-management code to incorporate recently promulgated New Jersey administrative regulations related to affordable housing.
John explained that the ordinance and related documents are being filed to comply with a consent order from the court of the Hon. William Menon. He said the township must submit the ordinance and other updated documents by March 15, 2026, and that meeting the deadline would allow Bedminster to request a final order of compliance and thereby obtain 10 years of builder’s remedy immunity.
The ordinance references the state rules (NJAC 5:80‑26.1 et seq. and related provisions) and, according to John, is structured to adopt the state regulations by reference rather than reprinting a 43‑page ordinance verbatim. John said the approach will keep the township’s rules consistent with the state’s without requiring repeated local amendments when the state updates regulations. “Rather than adopting the 43‑page ordinance … we essentially indicate that we are going to follow these existing regulations,” he said.
Officials emphasized that elements of the existing local ordinance that are not inconsistent with state rules will remain in effect, including the percentage fees charged to builders and residential owners for new construction. The mayor said those percentage-fee elements are unchanged by this introduction.
Along with the ordinance introduction, the committee approved Resolution 20-26-048 adopting the township’s affirmative-marketing plan for its affordable-housing program. John and Miss Ray described the administrative agent (CGP&H) as responsible for income qualification, initial placement, monitoring and reporting required by the new regulations; Miss Ray said those monitoring reports had been filed and were up to date.
The mayor noted the ordinance will be referred to the planning board for a consistency review (scheduled Feb. 26); the public hearing on the ordinance is set for March 2 in the township chambers. The committee voted by roll call to introduce the ordinance and to adopt the affirmative-marketing resolution; all recorded votes were aye.
The next procedural steps are the planning-board consistency review on Feb. 26, the public hearing on March 2, and filing the ordinance and associated materials with the court by March 11 so the township meets the March 15 compliance deadline.
