Christie wants changes in housing bill

January 25, 2011

Christie wants changes in housing bill

The Associated Press

Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed an overhaul of the state's affordable-housing law Monday, sending back to the Legislature one of its most persistently vexing issues.

Christie, a Republican, likes the objective of the bill he vetoed: to eliminate the often-maligned state Council on Affordable Housing. The agency is in charge of enforcing affordable-housing policy, drafted in response to a series of court rulings over the last 35 years that found that towns in the high-cost state have to make sure there's room for homes for lower-income people. The concept and the way it's carried out are subject to almost constant litigation.

Earlier this month, lawmakers passed a bill to get rid of COAH and eliminate a 2.5 percent fee on commercial development.

The bill also called for each town to have 10 percent of its housing be affordable to low-‚and moderate-income people.

Christie objected, saying he would allow the bill to become law if the requirement was for 10 percent of new homes, not all homes, to be designated as affordable. He said that towns where no development occurs should not be subject to the regulations.

He also objects to a provision that would require 25 percent of affordable housing to be mixed into inclusionary developments. He says it would increase sprawl too much to require market-rate housing be put up to go along with the lower-cost homes.

Christie also objected to a provision that would require towns to hire one planning firm to create their affordable-housing plans and another to certify that they meet legal requirements.

He said he would accept the bill as the state Senate initially passed it last June. Since then, it was amended to add provisions he says he cannot accept.