COAH gets cold shoulder from Princeton Borough Council

[Guest]

Members of Princeton Borough Council on Tuesday asked the executive director of the Council on Affordable Housing point blank why the borough should comply with the new regulations — and some didn’t buy her answer.

Citing concerns about a history of rule changes, the difficulty of creating affordable units for local residents, the potential burden on taxpayers and the unique challenges posed by the growth-share exemption of Princeton University, some council members raised doubts about whether the borough should even submit a plan under the third-round of the program.

COAH Executive Director Lucy Voorhoeve, who attended the borough meeting Tuesday to give an overview of the proposed regulations, responded by providing three reasons why the borough should participate in what she admitted is a “voluntary process.”

Two of the reasons, according to Ms. Voorhoeve, are the responsibility to provide affordable housing options for residents and the public goodwill that would result from fulfilling that need.

”You’re doing the right thing by participating in the COAH process and meeting affordable housing needs for the community and for the region,” she said.
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The third reason, Ms. Voorhoeve said, is to protect against of the threat of builders remedy lawsuits — those filed by developers claiming municipalities don’t have the plan in place to allow the construction of affordable units.

Assistant Borough Attorney Karen Cayci later confirmed such lawsuits as the “biggest risk” of not submitting a plan, which is required between four and seven months after the effective date.

Borough Zoning Officer Derek Bridger, Princeton’s municipal liaison for affordable housing, also noted the potential loss of fees acquired under COAH, which currently total approximately $500,000, after the addition of $134,000 in developers fees that were collected by the borough last year.

But Councilman Roger Martindell said he’s not concerned about the possibility of builder lawsuits.

”I’m not sure if we even risk anything. I’m not sure the builders are going to come in and attack us. But if they do, OK, let them build the house,” he said, noting his belief that the borough could default and simply let the project proceed under such lawsuits. “What do we have to fear?”

Though she admitted the borough “may have nothing to fear,” Ms. Voorhoeve said that some municipalities that thought the same have later faced lawsuits.


http://www.packetonline.com/articles/2008/03/14/the_princeton_packet/news/doc47d9d8c9cc32f615866626.txt