NJ A2931

Municipalities in New Jersey may enter into shared service agreements to transfer a portion of their fair share affordable housing obligation to other municipalities anywhere in the state, regardless of whether they are in the same housing region

A sending municipality cannot transfer more than 50 percent of its affordable housing obligation to any single receiving municipality through these agreements

Shared service agreements must be approved by the Department of Community Affairs after review by the county planning board to ensure the agreement provides realistic opportunity for low- and moderate-income housing with convenient access to employment and aligns with sound regional planning

The bill reverses a 2008 prohibition on regional contribution agreements (which allowed municipalities to transfer housing obligations), deleting legislative findings that such transfer mechanisms should no longer be utilized

Municipalities proposing to use shared service agreements must include in their housing element a contingency plan showing how the transferred portion would be provided within the municipality if the agreement is not executed