A Tale of Two Towns: Marlboro Housing Plan Tossed Out, Union Township Approved

by: Adam Gordon at Fair Share Housing Center

Wed Sep 08, 2010 at 02:30:59 PM EDT

promoted by Rosi

In a decision issued this morning, Marlboro Township (Monmouth County), was removed from the protections of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) because the Council found that the municipality "consistently failed to demonstrate good faith" in meeting its housing obligations.

At the same meeting, the Council approved the housing plans of Union Township (Union County), along with Cresskill Borough (Bergen County).

The comparison between Marlboro Township and Union Township gives a good perspective on what a sound housing policy looks like, and the deep flaws with S-1, which failed to pass the Legislature this spring. Marlboro Township was a prime proponent of S-1; Union Township - ironically the location of the office of S-1 sponsor Sen. Ray Lesniak, along with Assembly Majority Leader Joe Cryan - was deemed "exclusionary" by S-1 despite the town's diversity and history of compliance with its legal obligations.

Marlboro Township has a history of flagrantly violating the state's housing laws that would be comical if it weren't true. Find out why below the fold....

Adam Gordon at Fair Share Housing Center :: A Tale of Two Towns: Marlboro Housing Plan Tossed Out, Union Township Approved

In 2008, former Mayor Matthew Scannapieco was sentenced to nearly two years in prison for taking bribes from developers in exchange for allowing them to get around meeting their obligations to build low- and moderate-income housing in the 1980s and 1990s. The town then tried to sell to Trenton 332 low- and moderate-income homes, even after the Legislature banned the controversial practice in 2008. Most recently, the township filed a plan to meet its obligations that failed to meet 256 units of its fair share housing obligation.

The Township has also sat on over $13 million in funds it collected to spend on supportive housing for people with special needs and other key housing - money that could create a significant number of construction jobs in today's economy, among approximately $300 million of such unspent funds statewide.

Union Township, in contrast, fully complied with its obligations in the 1980s and 1990s, and came up with a new plan that emphasizes redevelopment of housing above stores near its train station.

As of today, Union Township has certification that protects it from any lawsuits for the next eight years - because it came up with a sensible housing plan that will create homes and spur economic development. Marlboro Township, in contrast, is rightfully headed to a court battle, after today's approval of requests by Fair Share Housing Center and several developers seeking approvals to develop homes in Marlboro.

Whatever happens with the future of state's housing policy - which everyone agrees needs reform - it should end up with outcomes like what happened today. Towns like Union Township that take affirmative steps to plan for homes and jobs should be rewarded, and protected from litigation. Towns that do nothing, like Marlboro Township, should face the consequences.