A dozen new municipalities have signed on to an amended lawsuit filed against New Jersey that says a recently-enacted law designed to create more affordable housing is an “overreach.”
The bipartisan coalition — called “Local Leaders for Responsible Planning” — is led by Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali. The lawsuit, filed last month, initially included nine municipalities as plaintiffs.
An additional 12 municipalities have signed on to the amended complaint, bringing the total number of plaintiffs to 21.
“These new additions to our lawsuit are clear evidence of the growing concern of municipal leaders across our state who are deeply frustrated by the current law, and who are willing to unite together to make our voices, and the voices of our residents, heard,” Ghassali said.
Filed by attorney Michael L. Collins in Mercer County Superior Court, the lawsuit challenges the law Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, signed in late March.
The 12 new municipalities that joined the amended lawsuit are: Allendale, Westwood, Hanover, Wyckoff, Wharton, Mendham, Oradell, Closter, West Amwell, Washington (Bergen County), Norwood and Parsippany-Troy Hills.
They join the original nine plaintiffs: Montvale, Denville, Florham Park, Hillsdale, Mannington, Millburn, Montville, Old Tappan and Totowa.
The new housing law, S50/A4, standardizes obligations for municipalities throughout the state to build more affordable housing units. It also gives towns more protections from lawsuits that aim to stop affordable housing from being built.
“This isn’t about politics — it’s about fairness,” Ghassali, a Republican, previously said. “Whether Republican or Democrat, we all believe that communities should have a say in how they grow.”
In a statement, Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin called the lawsuit “baseless” and said the state will defend the new law in court.
“We are disappointed that a small group of towns are resisting New Jersey’s important new housing law, and we look forward to defending that law in court,” he said. “We are confident that the courts will see these baseless claims for what they are.”
In response to a request for comment, a spokeswoman for Murphy pointed to remarks he made last month during an appearance on the NJ PBS program “Chat Box with David Cruz.”
“I’m not a lawyer, but I will just say as a general matter, I’m highly confident that that law will hold up in court,” Murphy said when asked about the initial lawsuit.
“I don’t want to get into the specifics of why they filed this lawsuit,” he added, “but I will say I’m incredibly proud of the law I signed and the lawyers are telling me they’re highly confident that it will hold up in court.”
The plaintiffs argue the law exceeds what is constitutionally required under the Mount Laurel Doctrine, which refers to a series of landmark state Supreme Court decisions that outlawed exclusionary zoning practices and required all towns in New Jersey to provide their fair share of the region’s affordable housing.
The lawsuit also questions the exemption of roughly 62 urban aid municipalities from having affordable housing obligations. The suit also challenges the new Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program, which refers local housing disputes to experts, instead of local officials.
Affordable housing advocates called the lawsuit meritless.
“This lawsuit is a smokescreen to undermine and delay implementation of New Jersey’s affordable housing law. It’s hardly surprising that these ultra-wealthy towns — which have resisted affordable housing for decades, every step of the way — are joining the lawsuit,” said Adam Gordon, executive director of the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center.
“Many mayors are taking up the new law as a way to meet their communities’ housing needs, instead of just continuing the tired strategy of lawsuit after lawsuit. It’s time for the last few holdouts like Millburn and Montvale — which are deeply unrepresentative of our state’s diverse population — to come up with real solutions,” he added.
Stories by Brianna Kudisch
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Brianna Kudisch may be reached at bkudisch@njadvancemedia.com.