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Frenchtown council hears counsel on accepting DCA affordable-housing allocation; planning, filing deadlines stressed
Summary
Municipal counsel told the Frenchtown Borough Council that the Department of Community Affairs assigned the borough a 4th-round allocation of 11 rehabilitation units and 22 new-construction units, with 0 developable acres; counsel urged accepting the allocation and filing a declaratory-judgment action to gain program protections and meet upcoming deadlines.
Municipal counsel briefed the Frenchtown Borough Council on Resolution 2025-35, which would accept the Department of Community Affairs'fourth-round affordable-housing allocation and authorize the borough to pursue participation in the DCA program.
Municipal counsel said the DCA's calculation yields a present-need (rehabilitation) number of 11 units and a prospective-need (new construction) number of 22 units. "Your present need number is 11," counsel said, and "your prospective need, which is the new construction, is 22." Counsel added that the land-capacity analysis shows "it is 0 developable acres," a finding that will shape planning choices.
The counsel summarized the statutory framework that produced the allocation, saying it stems from a March 20, 2024 amendment to the New Jersey Fair Housing Act and is allocated by region and municipality based on three statutory factors: equalized nonresidential value, income capacity and land capacity. Counsel also noted a memorandum dated Jan. 7, 2025, prepared by Darlene Green analyzing the borough's allocation.
Counsel told the council that to participate in the DCA program and gain the protections it offers the borough must file a declaratory-judgment lawsuit to access the program portal. He said municipalities must file either by Jan. 31 or within 48 hours after adopting a resolution authorizing counsel to file. "You miss the deadline, you lose immunity," counsel warned, describing the primary reason to enter the program: while in the program and meeting deadlines the municipality has immunity from builder's-remedy lawsuits and a presumption of validity for the allocation.
Council members discussed next steps. Counsel recommended the borough adopt the allocation, authorize him to file the required declaratory-judgment action and then begin the planning phase: the planning board must prepare a housing element and fair-share plan that the council would later endorse and adopt by the program deadline (June 30). Counsel recommended placing Darlene Green's proposal to prepare the housing element and fair-share plan on the next council agenda so work can begin promptly.
Council members also raised funding and scheduling questions. The council asked the CFO to certify available funds for any planning contract; members discussed using a temporary appropriation to reach 50% of last year's funding to enable account moves and certification, or postponing contract action until March. The chair noted available rehabilitation funding streams, such as county programs and CDBG grants, that can support eligible homeowners with forgivable, noninterest-bearing loans.
No formal vote on Resolution 2025-35 appears in the provided transcript; the council discussed putting the proposal and a contract authorization on a future agenda and addressing CFO certification before executing any contract.
The council also carried a procedural motion on the agenda minutes: a motion to adopt the regular and executive-session minutes of 01/02/2025 was moved and seconded, but roll-call abstentions and quorum issues led the chair to say the minutes would be carried to the next meeting.
