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March 10, 2015
Trenton, NJ
League Statement on NJ Supreme Court Ruling
The New Jersey Supreme Court has issued its ruling in
response to oral argument on the Fair Share Housing Center’s (FSHC)
motion to enforce litigant’s rights. FSHC, as well as the New Jersey
Builders Association (NJBA) and representatives for other private
developers, asked the Court to declare that municipalities are no
longer protected from litigation by the COAH administrative process.
This request was made following COAH’s failure to comply with a
previous Court ruling, requiring the agency to adopt Third Round
regulations. Essentially, FSHC and the NJBA asked the Court for a
return of the pre-Fair Housing Act years, which were marked by
significant “builder’s remedy” litigation against municipalities.
The League, represented by Edward J. Buzak, Esq., opposed the FSHC
motion. Jonathan Drill, Esq. and Jeffrey Surenian, Esq also
represented municipalities before the Court. The League is guided
through these efforts by the Mayors’ Housing Policy Committee, which is
co-chaired by the Hon. Janice S Mironov, League Past President,
Mayor, East Windsor and the Hon. Colleen Mahr, League Executive Board,
Mayor, Fanwood Borough.
The Supreme Court did order that exclusionary zoning
disputes will be heard by the courts, effectively bypassing the Council
on Affordable Housing (COAH); however, the Court accepted the
arguments put forth by the League and other municipal advocates that
municipalities should not be punished for COAH’s failure to act.
Accordingly, the Court’s ruling established a process and timeline for
municipalities to voluntarily go to the Courts via “declaratory
judgment actions.” Effectively municipalities will have 120 days
to go to the Courts voluntarily and seek protection from builders remedy
actions. In doing so, the Court instructed that the trial courts "should
be generously inclined to grant applications for immunity from
subsequently filed exclusionary zoning actions during that necessary
review process, unless such process is unreasonably protracted."
The Hon Brian C. Wahler, President of the League and Mayor of Piscataway Township, offered the following comments:
“We appreciate the Court’s recognition that municipalities
should not be punished for COAH’s failure to act, allowing
municipalities breathing room to voluntarily comply and be protected
from costly litigation. The motion before the Court was to expose
municipalities to builders’ remedy litigation immediately, and the
Court agreed with the League’s objections. However, at the same time
the Court again invited the State Legislature to address the issue.
Going back to the Courts will still be costly and is not a viable
solution; a solution can only and must be offered by the Administration
and the Legislature in a timely fashion.”
* * * *
Contact:
Brian C. Wahler, League President and Mayor of Piscataway, at 732-562-7627
Michael F. Cerra, Director, Government Affairs at 609-695-3481, ext. 120 or 609-532-2494.
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