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Mountainside council adopts resolutions on Fair Housing obligations, urges statutory change
Summary
The Mountainside Borough Council adopted resolutions committing the borough to fourth-round affordable-housing obligations set by the state and asking the legislature to amend the Fair Housing Act’s methodology; council recorded unanimous approval and authorized declaratory-judgment steps.
The Mountainside Borough Council voted unanimously to adopt linked resolutions addressing fourth-round affordable-housing obligations and to urge changes to the state’s Fair Housing Act.
The council adopted Resolution 32-2025 to accept the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs(DCA) determination that Mountainsidehas a present-need obligation of 120 housing units and set a prospective-need obligation at 137 units after the boroughconsulted planning professionals. "The DCA determined that Mountainside's present need obligation is 120 units, and the prospective need obligation is 171 units," Don said during the discussion, and council members then moved to set a different prospective figure after consulting professionals.
The action followed an earlier motion (Resolution 31-2025) pressing the New Jersey Legislature to amend how statewide affordable-housing obligations are calculated. "The New Jersey Fair Housing Act imposes unrealistic burdens on municipalities," Councilman Dierkis said, citing industry estimates and urging a methodology based on net new housing units and certificates of occupancy rather than household-change formulas.
Why it matters: the resolutions set the boroughon a formal path to meet state deadlines and to defend or clarify its obligations legally. Council authorized the borough attorney to pursue declaratory-judgment relief, and the resolutions were presented as meeting the DCA commitment deadline.
Council vote and next steps: the resolutions passed on unanimous roll call; the council recorded consent for the borough to follow up with legal filings as needed and to file the commitment with DCA. The council did not vote on any specific development projects during the meeting; the resolutions address how Mountainside will account for and plan to meet state-set affordable-housing obligations going forward.
The council meeting record shows the council moved and seconded both measures and approved them by roll call, satisfying the boroughdeadline for committing to fourth-round obligations. The borough attorney and planning professionals will be responsible for the technical follow-up and any legal actions authorized by the council.
