BERGEN

Assemblywoman hears mayors concerns on court-mandated affordable housing

Steve Janoski
NorthJersey
A public hearing in Paramus on mandated affordable housing Thursday, June 15, 2017.  From left, Assemblyman Robert Auth, state Senator Gerry Cardinale, Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi, and Assemblyman Kevin Rooney.


Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi and other state officials that the analysis leading to the obligations was “ridiculous” and “stupid.” The obligations were created by the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.

PARAMUS — A number of local mayors and public officials derided their court-mandated affordable housing obligations at a Thursday public hearing, calling the housing numbers unrealistic and saying they could lead to the destruction of their towns.

Joanne Minichetti, mayor of Upper Saddle River, told Assemblywoman Holly Schepisi and other state officials that the analysis leading to the obligations was “ridiculous” and “stupid.” The obligations were created by the Cherry Hill-based Fair Share Housing Center.

“It is long past time for the Legislature to act, and block Fair Share Housing from their objective of destroying our suburban communities,” said Minichetti, whose municipality has an 827-unit obligation. “We really need action. Nobody has done what they need to do.”

The comments were echoed by a number of other mayors concerned with affordable housing. Many represent towns still struggling to fulfill their obligations. Others spoke for municipalities locked in judicial review of their housing plans due a 2015 state Supreme Court ruling that put judges in charge of providing guidance on how much affordable housing they must accommodate.

Schepisi, a River Vale Republican, said she called the hearing because the leadership in the state Legislature has refused to review the issue. And, Schepisi said in a news release, if the Legislature won't hold such meetings, she will.

At the hearing, Schepisi ticked down a list of the obligations facing municipalities, and asked how the towns were expected to cope. Where were the thousands of units supposed to go, she asked, in built-out Bergenfield or tiny Dumont?

“As we sit there and do nothing, towns throughout the entire state are getting slammed with obligations that could destroy the entire flavor of their communities,” she said.

Schepisi told the crowd she had also invited the Fair Share Housing Center, but received a letter declining to appear at what Fair Share called a “political stunt” meant to “create hysteria" and "encourage discrimination.”

Schepisi has sponsored legislation aimed at slowing the implementation of affordable housing rules. This includes a pair of recently-introduced bills that would impose a moratorium on affordable housing litigation through the end of the year and establish a commission to generate new guidelines.

Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, who sat alongside Schepisi on the dais, said the state should “take a deep breath, slow down the process, put it back into the Legislature, and take it out of the hand of the courts.”

But Rooney said they need constituents’ help to move those bills forward.

“We can’t do it on our own. We’ve got to get it to the floor,” he said.

Email: janoski@northjersey.com