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Eatontown council introduces detailed fourth‑round affordable housing ordinance
Summary
The borough introduced Ordinance 03-2026 implementing its fourth‑round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan; Council voted to introduce the ordinance after Attorney Bayer read the ordinance by title and referred it to the Planning Board. The ordinance references DCA calculations and prior court mediation that fixed Eatontown’s prospective need at 186 units.
Attorney Andrew Bayer read Ordinance 03-2026 by title and moved the council to introduce a lengthy implementing ordinance for the borough’s fourth‑round affordable housing plan. The ordinance is titled "ORDINANCE 03-2026 - AFFORDABLE HOUSING ORDINANCE IMPLEMENTING THE FOURTH ROUND HOUSING PLAN ELEMENT AND FAIR SHARE PLAN," and the council voted to introduce it on first reading; the public hearing is scheduled for March 11, 2026.
The ordinance codifies the borough’s implementation of P.L. 2024, c.2 and incorporates UHAC and DCA monitoring requirements. The draft text included definitions, design standards for restricted units, accessibility and barrier‑free provisions, affirmative marketing requirements, development fee rules and a municipal affordable housing trust fund spending plan. The ordinance cites the DCA’s October 18, 2024 calculations (the DCA originally estimated a present need of 20 units and a prospective need of 193 units), notes the borough adopted Resolution 45‑2025 contesting the prospective figure and summarizes the borough’s court mediation that established a prospective need of 186 units and ordered the borough to file a HEFSP by June 30, 2025. The transcript shows the ordinance text as read in full and the council’s vote to introduce (motion by C/Araman; seconded by C/Lawson). Roll call: AYE — C/Jones, C/Araman, C/Lawson, C/Escalante; ABSENT — C/East, C/Faust.
Why it matters: introducing the ordinance begins a public‑hearing and review process required for the borough to obtain a compliance certification (a court order or judgment of compliance) that would protect Eatontown from builder’s‑remedy exclusionary‑zoning litigation through the current round. The ordinance ties local implementation steps (design, unit set‑asides, affordability controls and monitoring) to the HEFSP the borough filed on June 4, 2025, and to mediation agreements reached with housing advocates.
