Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Eatontown adopts ordinance implementing Fourth-Round affordable housing plan
Summary
Council adopted Ordinance 03-2026 to implement the Boroughs Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, formalizing monitoring, affordability controls, affirmative marketing and a trust-fund spending plan tied to state rules. The vote was unanimous among attending members; the ordinance codifies the Boroughs agreed compliance mechanisms after court-ordered mediation.
The Borough of Eatontown on March 11 adopted Ordinance 03-2026, titled "Affordable Housing Ordinance Implementing the Fourth Round Housing Plan Element and Fair Share Plan," a measure the council said implements the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan approved after mediation and court review.
Attorney Andrew Bayer read the ordinance title into the record before the council held a public hearing that drew no speakers. The ordinance incorporates the Department of Community Affairs and Uniform Housing Affordability Controls requirements and documents the Borough's Fourth Round obligations. The ordinance text cites that the Department estimated Eatontown's Round 4 present need (rehabilitation) as 20 units and references court-ordered mediation that established the Borough's prospective need for the round as part of the HEFSP filing.
The ordinance sets detailed rules for new-construction design, affordability controls for ownership and rental units, monitoring and reporting to the state's Affordable Housing Monitoring System (AHMS), affirmative marketing requirements, unit-size and bedroom distribution rules, accessibility provisions, and the municipal development fee and spending-plan framework the Borough must follow. The measure also authorizes the municipal affordable housing trust fund and defines permissible uses for those funds, including housing preservation, new construction, rehabilitation, and affordability assistance.
Council President Virginia M. East moved to adopt the ordinance; Councilmember Carl Lawson seconded. Roll call: AYE C/East, C/Jones, C/Lawson, C/Faust, C/Escalante; ABSENT C/Araman. The council did not receive public comment on the ordinance during the hearing.
The ordinance text and associated resolutions refer to mediation with Fair Share Housing Center and include program details the borough will use to document compliance and to protect the municipality from exclusionary-zoning litigation through the current round.
