Affordable Housing Plan Alternatives to Save the Trees

 by Brian T. Lynch, MSW

Randall Hill in Mine Hill, NJ

Mine Hill, like most New Jersey towns, has a history of planning and zoning practices that, in effect, disadvantage creation of low- cost housing for the poor. The reasons for this are many, but this is a much longer discussion. Suffice it to say, these practices violate the New Jersey State Constitution. Remedies needed to fix this problem have been forged in decades of litigation and codified in state legislation, with mixed results. The current set of laws creates a developer-friendly approach to building new, affordable low-income housing. Current law focuses on setting low-cost housing goals and limiting municipal discretion to create or impose barriers for land developers who agree to include new affordable housing units as part of their larger housing development projects. In effect, if the developer perceives that a town is placing unreasonable demands on them through zoning enforcement, they can sue the town in court. If they prevail, they are granted a “builders remedy” which allows them to bypass some restrictive local zoning enforcement measures.   

From a municipal perspective, these new Fair Housing laws creates unnecessary burdens in many urban and suburban towns that have little undeveloped land or environmentally sensitive lands under environmental zoning restrictions or within the Highlands protection areas. Sky-high building prices coupled with decades of U.S. wage suppression have priced many people out of the home ownership market. Moreover, it has created greater competition for affordable rental stock. Building costs for new construction have grown faster than inflation. Many low-income renters cannot afford rental rates high enough to cover the construction costs. Coupled with this is that many municipalities don’t want low wage families in their community, which is discriminatory. This latter point not only suppresses the building of low-cost housing; it causes towns to restrict homeowners from converting excess space in their older homes to apartments for relatives in need, such as elderly parents or disabled adult children.  In high-density neighborhood especially, it has become common for homeowners living in single-family homes to build unauthorized, non-conforming apartments such as basement units or garage conversions. These off the books apartment nevertheless provide a cache of affordable housing for which towns are not receiving credit.  

Research suggests this is a widespread and growing phenomenon, particularly in high-cost areas.  Estimates in some more densely populated localities suggesting that as many as 25% to over 50% of older housing stock may contain unauthorized units. In specific urban neighborhoods with high demand, as many as 75% of basements may be rented illegally. Similar less dramatic trends are observed in older suburban, "inner-ring" neighborhoods where homeowners convert spaces to manage high mortgages or create "missing middle" housing, or duplexes, in areas that technically only allow single-family detached homes. These apartments exist because they offer more affordable housing options. These of-the-books apartments helping fill the gap between single-family homes and large apartment buildings. They also assist struggling homeowners to cover their mortgage payments. Because they are unregulated, these apartments often lack proper exits, ventilation, or smoke detection leading to higher risks for tenants during disasters such as fires or flooding. Non-conforming apartments exist, and will continue to grow in number but are not yet counted as a housing resource for low-income residents.  

Given this research, it is possible that Mine Hill may already have a shadow stock of low-income housing that can help us meet our Round Four Fair Housing quota. Instead of acknowledging these non-conforming units, we are potentially allowing dangerous conditions for the low-income families who live in these apartments. 

Planning boards, including Mine Hill’s board, are mostly meeting State’s affordable housing quotas through new construction. This opens the town up for pressure from developers and set affordable housing needs at odds with the need to conserve our forest lands in the Highland Region, where 70% of New Jersey residents get their water.  

Little consideration is given to older home conversions. Yet, the acute need for affordable housing often impacts extended families within the community. The housing crisis is already driving homeowners to convert a garage, attic or basement into small apartments for elderly parents, children just starting out on their own or other friends and family. We as a community should embracing these conversions and work with homeowners to bring existing unregistered conversion units up to safety standards. We should ease some zoning restriction when it is prudent to do so or issues special variances to owners of certain “eligible” homes that can be converted to duplex housing. Grant money should be made available for home conversion projects to help offset costs involved.

 Here is an article that explores these concepts from 2017. It is entitled, “Learning from a Non-Conforming Neighborhood.”

https://archive.strongtowns.org/journal/2017/6/9/learning-from-a-non-conforming-neighborhood