As many young Americans struggle to become homeowners, lawmakers across the country are drafting legislation to ensure housing needs are met, sparking debate over its constitutionality. affordable housing requirements.
New Jersey faces lawsuit over affordable housing mandate. City leaders argue the mandate places a burden on local governments due to a lack of available infrastructure to meet demand.
Fox News Digital spoke with Montbarre, N.J., Mayor Michael Gassari, who is leading the charge against the state, to get his take on the latest bill.
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“As the mayor of a small town, we have built affordable housing over the past three years, and in fact, about 10 percent of Montvale is stocked with affordable housing… “Water pressure is low because our infrastructure is affected,” Gassari told Fox News Digital. Therefore, fire hydrants with low water pressure have been installed on the west side of town. Next, we need to add a second water tower. We need more police officers…We passed a $30 million referendum to expand the size of our middle schools because we need more space. The traffic situation is much worse than before. It's a small town, but it takes 20 minutes to get from one end to the other. In other words, the quality of life in a city is affected simply by the increase in the number of people. ”
The small town's mayor expressed concern that the law does not take into account affordable housing units in the 62 urban sub-municipalities and expressed his desire to work with the state to plan wisely going forward. expressed.
“We want Mr. Trenton and the members of Congress to listen to us and trust us,” Gassari told Fox News Digital. “We want to build, but the infrastructure won't support it. So we took some time to evaluate what we have before we do more. …We know our city. We know what we can do. We don't want to work with them. affordable housing. I have two sons and I don't think they could afford to live in the town where they grew up. I understand that. We need affordable housing. Please listen to us for a moment. ”
On the other side of the country, California Governor Gavin Newsom has also introduced legislation to provide affordable living for Americans. housing opportunities. Fox News Digital reached out to the governor's office for more information.
“(The Governor) has invested more than $40 billion to increase affordable housing across the state through expanded state tax credits, infrastructure grants, funding for climate-friendly housing, and more,” the statement said. It is written. Address homelessness with a focus on eliminating street encampments, (and) require the first-ever regional homelessness plan for California cities, counties, and chain of custody. ”
Newsom also plans for 1 million affordable housing units by 2030, pioneers HomeKey and Project RoomKey to take 72,000 people off the streets, and plans to address housing encampments. Securing funding, creating tenant protections and adopting a new framework for providing care to people experiencing mental illness, to name a few of the many measures his office is sharing.
“There are no more excuses,” Newsom told the magazine in September. press release. “California is taking action to solve our decades-old homelessness, housing, and mental health crisis. These new laws, combined with the state’s unprecedented financial resources, will help us create more housing , get people off the streets and provide life-changing assistance that benefits all Californians.”
Fox News Digital reached out to legal experts for their opinions on the constitutionality of the affordable housing fight.
Jamie E. Wright, founder of the Wright Law Firm, said the debate explores the “long-standing struggle between state and local governments over decision-making.”
“(In the New Jersey lawsuit), the state argues that ensuring access to housing for low- and moderate-income residents is a vital interest under the Mount Laurel Principles.” she explained. “Meanwhile, municipalities are resisting this obligation, arguing that it infringes on their jurisdiction and interferes with their control over parcels and resources.The crux of this legal issue is: It revolves around whether the state's commitment to equity and anti-racism goals trumps municipal goals. This debate goes beyond housing and the future direction of New Jersey's communities. It is for you to decide.”
Raul Gastesi, lawyer and co-founder Gastesi Lopez & MestreThe Miami-based group offered a different perspective on the constitutionality of affordable housing mandates, citing the debate over Florida's Live Local law as an example.
“I believe that the mandate is constitutional as long as it is mandated by the state legislature and not by the courts,” Gastesi said. “Affordable housing issues are increasingly becoming a creature of state law, rather than local and municipal laws. Too often we believe that the restrictions are exacerbating the housing shortage, making it very expensive and difficult to build apartment buildings. housing. ”
Fox News Digital reached out to the state bill's sponsor, New Jersey Senate Majority Whip Troy Singleton (D-Delran), for his opinion on the lawsuit, but he did not respond to multiple requests for comment. .
new jersey globe “It's nothing new for wealthy suburban towns to oppose affordable housing mandates,” Singleton said, according to the report.
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“It's the same story, but on a different day,” Singleton said, according to the New Jersey Globe. “What is more disgusting than using taxpayers to fund this politically-driven redundant litigation is the use of legal process to deliberately undermine the Affordable Housing Act, rather than weeks or months? , an attempt to delay it for years.”
Fox News Digital also reached out to the New Jersey Department of Social Affairs, which declined to comment on the pending bill.
