Seaside Park council adopts inclusionary overlay and local affordable-housing fees to meet state mandate

Seaside Park, N.J. —3 March 5, 2026

The Borough Council voted unanimously Thursday to adopt an inclusionary overlay zone and a companion affordable-housing ordinance that together implement the New Jersey Fair Housing Act and allow the borough to collect development fees for future affordable housing work.

The first measure, Ordinance 22608, creates a residential inclusionary overlay covering roughly 1.3 acres of Block 91 (lots 2427s and 3454) on the north side of town and would permit up to 20 dwelling units per acre as an optional zoning overlay. Planner Kendra Lilly said the overlay does not change the underlying zoning; property owners would decide whether to develop under the base zone or to use the overlaywhich requires a 20% affordable set-aside if a developer seeks the increased density. "This would potentially produce 26 dwelling units of which 5 would be set aside for affordable housing," Lilly said.

The second ordinance, 22609, sets operational rules for affordable housing (including affirmative marketing, qualification criteria and deed-restriction lengths) and authorizes development fees that will flow into an Affordable Housing Trust Fund. Lilly said the draft mirrors state uniform affordability controls and sets fees at 1.5% of residential assessed value for new residential construction and 2.5% for nonresidential development. "Those fees go into your affordable housing trust fundto offset any need to pull from your general fund," she said.

Council and staff framed the package as required by state law and as a protection against so-called builder's-remedy lawsuits. Special counsel Jean Cipiani told the council the ordinances must be adopted by March 15 for the borough to secure a judgment of repose and the legal protections that follow. "In order to provide the protection from a builder's remedy lawsuityou must have your ordinances in place by March 15," Cipiani said.

Residents at the public hearing raised concerns about local impacts and notification. Mike Lombardo of Farragut Avenue told the council the neighborhood already struggles with parking and said a new multiunit project would "eliminate that parking spot for everybody." He added: "This would be horrible for my rentermy tenantsit's very difficult to find parking even today." Another resident said dumpsters placed behind houses three years earlier brought persistent flies, and an online commenter who identified herself as Amy Harris said she received certified notice two days earlier and wanted more time to review plans.

Officials responded that the overlay is optional for property owners and that any development using the overlay would have to meet state residential site improvement standards requiring on-site parking. Lilly said the 1.3-acre overlay is an example of zoning intended to produce a "realistic opportunity" for affordable housing over the next 10 years; she told the council the borough's fourth-round unmet-need calculation is 18 units for 20252035, of which the municipality must zone for 25% (five units) under the new state law.

After closing the public hearing, the council voted by roll call to approve the second reading and adoption of Ordinance 22608; it then approved Ordinance 22609 on the same vote. The council also approved a package of related resolutions: a 4th-round affordable housing spending plan (the trust fund budget and forecast of fee receipts), an affirmative marketing plan and program manuals, and a settlement/consent agreement with Fair Share Housing Center tied to the municipality's compliance filings. Cipiani said the settlement largely formalizes steps the borough has already taken in its plan.

Council members also approved routine authorizations on the consent agenda, including permits and a shared-services agreement with the Ocean County Prosecutor's Office for regionalized swap and crisis negotiation services; one event approval required an amended certificate of insurance naming Seaside Park as an additional insured.

What happens next: the borough will implement the ordinances locally; the spending plan will be reported to the state Department of Community Affairs as required and the settlement with Fair Share Housing Center will proceed as the parties direct. The ordinances provide zoning options and local administrative controls but do not compel immediate redevelopment of the identified parcel.

(Reporting in this article is based on the council meeting transcript of March 5, 2026; direct quotes are attributed to speakers as recorded.)