Affordable housing rules may change

[news]

Affordable housing rules may change
Locals wary of assembly proposal

By Sean Ruppert, Special Writer
Posted: Friday, December 7, 2007 11:04 AM EST

Proposed changes to state affordable housing regulations could have an impact on some area towns that have traditionally paid cities to build some of the state-required low- and moderate-income housing unit slated for the suburbs.

On Nov. 13, state Assembly Speaker Joseph Roberts (D-Camden), Assembly Majority Leader Bonnie Watson Coleman (D-Mercer), and Assemblyman Jerry Green (D-Union) introduced a 12-point plan to reform the state’s affordable housing program.

The Assembly members say their plan will allow the state to meet Gov. Jon S. Corzine’s goal of creating 100,000 new affordable housing units statewide over the course of the next 10 years.

Among the provisions is the banning of regional contribution agreements, which allow municipalities to pay urban communities to take up to half of their affordable housing obligations. Both Cranbury and Monroe have used the method, while South Brunswick has not.

Critics of RCAs, including the Assembly leadership, argue that they perpetuate poverty by keeping people in the inner cities. They say that limiting the number of affordable housing units in suburban areas decreases the likelihood that people will be able to move out of poverty-stricken cities.
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http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2007/12/07/cranbury_press/news/doc47596e1b97aa7064587401.prt