U.S. mortgage rates increased this week, reaching their highest levels since July, with the 30-year fixed rate climbing by six basis points to nearly 6.9%. A year ago, the rate was 6.62%. The average 15-year fixed rate rose by thirteen basis points to over 6% compared to nearly 5.8% a year e...
Gov. Phil Murphy called on lawmakers to revamp zoning laws in a bid to increase housing supply and depress ever-rising rents and home prices during his annual state of the state address Tuesday, but that effort is set to face opposition from Republicans in the Legislature.
Murphy did not name or detail any proposals during his speech, though he singled out bills sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton (D-Burlington), who has introduced legislation that would impose some state control over local zoning rules in a bid to speed the construction of new housing units.
The governor said "cutting red tape and easing outdated restrictions" could lead to thousands of new affordable units, but Assemblyman Gerry Scharfenberger (R-Monmouth) said he doesn't support "taking away local discretion."
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"That's what it boils down to," Scharfenberger said. "The municipal officials and the people who live there should decide these things, not some one-size-fits-all directive that's coming down from Trenton."
Sen. Tony Bucco (R-Morris) on Tuesday said that while his members could support some changes to local zoning, they were unlikely to back legislation that imposes mandates on municipalities.
Singleton's bill package includes legislation that would require municipalities to adopt one of two model land use ordinances developed by the Department of Community Affairs to allow for the construction of accessory dwelling units. Sometimes called granny flats or in-law apartments, these are residential dwellings that fall on the same lot as an existing residence.
Under the bill, municipalities could develop and adopt their own land use rules on accessory dwelling units as long as they are approved by the department.
Advocates have increasingly looked to accessory dwelling units as a means of controlling rents and boosting housing supply -- including to help end a shortage of roughly 200,000 affordable housing units -- but while scattered municipalities have adopted local rules to allow for their construction in recent years, they remain ungoverned by state law.
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"Making housing more affordable must be the foundation of our public policy, because without a safe, secure, and affordable home, none of our other policies can be as effective," Singleton said in a statement.
The proposals follow Murphy's March signing of a bill that revamped the state's affordable housing system in a bid to boost housing supply and spur development locally, including in towns that have resisted constructing new units to meet growing demand.
Like that law, Singleton's bill package has drawn opposition from some Republican officials who worry the state is treading on matters that ought to remain in the purview of local elected officials and planning boards.
Another bill sponsored by Singleton would allow mixed-used developments with mandatory 20% affordable housing in office parks or retail centers where vacancy rates reach or exceed 40% and require local planning boards to allow them absent substantial disruptions to the public good and local zoning plans or a failure to meet utility and other site requirements.
A third bill would give state funds to towns to encourage walkable, mixed-use development near mass transit in an effort to stand up transit villages. In exchange, the towns would agree to allow for the construction of medium- or high-density housing with affordable housing near public transportation.
"Together, these proposals will give municipalities even more tools to meet their affordable housing obligations while cutting needless and outdated bureaucratic rules that have for too long locked families out of communities and out of homeownership," Singleton said.
This story first appeared on the New Jersey Monitor.
Originally published on newjerseymonitor.com, part of the BLOX Digital Content Exchange.
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