Offering housing incentives in suburbs

To overcome the reluctance of suburban towns to build affordable housing, the Assembly Democratic leadership yesterday proposed boosting school aid to communities that meet their low- to moderate-income housing needs.

The idea is part of a 12-point plan to confront New Jersey's continuing shortage of affordable housing that would also end the practice of letting wealthy towns shift their responsibilities to urban communities.

"New Jersey needs to do a better job of providing housing for residents who live on the margins of the state economy," Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden) said as he unveiled the plan along with Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer) at a Statehouse press conference.

The plan was welcomed by housing advocates and a lobbyist for developers, but they cautioned that the proposals have a long way to go. Roberts said legislation will not be introduced until after a new Legislature convenes Jan. 8, and he expects a final package to be worked out by the time lawmakers recess for the summer June 30.

Roberts said the use of extra school aid as a reward for towns that build needed low-income housing is being discussed by Corzine administration Cabinet members as they develop a new school funding formula. Community Affairs Commissioner Joseph Doria said he has raised the reward issue, but added, "I can't say it is part of the school funding plan."

The cost of providing schools for an influx of students is a key reason why towns have balked at building new affordable housing. Roberts said extra state aid would be "a carrot, an incentive, a demonstration that Trenton wants to be a partner."

The proposals also include creating a new state trust fund to help finance affordable housing and expanding the income eligibility to families earning less than 30 percent of the state's median income -- meaning a family of four with income up to $87,000 annually would be eligible.

The plan would require towns to use the affordable housing trust funds they have been banking to actually build affordable housing. Roberts said towns are sitting on $150 million to $160 million. "Use it or lose it," he said.

"Regional contribution agreements," which allow wealthy suburban communities to satisfy their affordable housing responsibilities by paying for construction in urban communities, would be abolished under the Assembly Democrats' proposal. Roberts has been a sharp critic of those agreements, saying they contribute to the concentration of the poor in the state's cities.

Roberts said his plan would not spark any tax or fee increase and could be funded with the money that towns have already set aside and the $100 million in state and federal housing that the Department of Community Affairs disburses annually.

The Assembly leaders' plan was not specifically endorsed by the Corzine administration yesterday.

"Our legislative partners should be commended for putting forward a comprehensive and well-thought-out plan that would make our communities more diverse and affordable," said Lilo Stainton, a spokeswoman for Gov. Jon Corzine. "The governor also shares this goal and he will be working closely with the Legislature to reach it."

Doria said Corzine is committed to providing 100,000 affordable houses and apartments. "We are moving in the same direction," he said of Roberts' proposals, "but the devil's in the details."

Commenting on using school aid as a reward for providing affordable housing, Frank Belluscio, a spokesman for the New Jersey School Boards Association, said: "Up to now, the education aid system has been based upon a school district's educational needs, including enrollment, along with its ability to pay. Adding affordable housing quotas to the school funding formula mix would be a new concept."

Corzine and state Education Commissioner Lucille Davy have said they are developing a school aid formula based more on the needs of individual students than a community's overall wealth. Corzine has said he expects to make the plan public before Thanksgiving.

William G. Dressel, director of the New Jersey League of Municipalities, said reward funding would have to be guaranteed. "Right now, schools are woefully underfunded," he said. "What assurances would the people have that the funding is going to be there?"

Staci Berger, advocacy director for the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, described the plan as ambitious. "In general, we are very enthusiastic about the leadership support in the next session."

Carol Ann Short, lobbyist for the New Jersey Builders Association, said environmental regulations that builders believe hinder housing construction in urban and suburban areas have to be considered as part of any affordable housing effort.

Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Union) said the Assembly Housing and Local Government Committee he chairs will hold a hearing on the Roberts-Watson Coleman plan Dec. 10.