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Planner warns new state housing rules, tight deadlines will force Old Tappan to act
Summary
John Zabo of Burgess & Associates told the Old Tappan council that recent state changes shift housing-number calculations to the DCA, remove municipal immunity, and create early deadlines; he recommended forming a subcommittee and doing a vacant-land analysis to prepare for likely litigation and to document environmental constraints.
John Zabo, senior planner with Burgess & Associates, told the Borough of Old Tappan council that recent amendments to New Jersey's affordable-housing law change who sets municipal obligations and shorten the time available to respond. "DCA will be responsible for coming up with the numbers," Zabo said, adding that municipalities must adopt a binding resolution accepting or contesting those numbers by Jan. 31 and complete a housing element and fair-share plan by June 30, 2025.
Zabo outlined multiple interim deadlines that he said councils should meet as a matter of good faith to avoid challenges, including an accounting of housing trust funds due June 18 and a DCA publication of municipality numbers by Oct. 20. He emphasized legal risk: "I can't emphasize that enough," Zabo said, explaining that the legislation eliminates the old concept of immunity and creates a presumption of validity that leaves towns subject to challenge at several points. He recommended forming an affordable-housing subcommittee, updating the borough's vacant-land analysis, and documenting environmental constraints to strengthen any challenge or rebuttal to DCA numbers.
