Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a)
The Balanced Housing Program may provide assistance to eligible municipalities,
as defined in
5:43-1.3 and (b) below, to acquire
land and/or any other eligible activity, for the purpose of providing future
affordable housing.
(b) Eligible
municipalities must meet the requirements listed in 1 through 3 below:
1. The municipality must have adopted a
development fee ordinance approved either by the Superior Court or by the New
Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) in accordance with N.J.A.C.
5:94-6;
2. The proposed project is
contained within:
i. A COAH approved Fair
Share Plan or court-approved compliance agreement; or
ii. Will meet all or part of the municipal
low and moderate income housing obligation if COAH has invoked its authority
pursuant to
52:27D-320(c);
and
3. The municipality
is in compliance with all reporting requirements of COAH or the Superior
Court.
(c) Land acquired
through this program must be restricted, at the time of purchase to affordable
housing only, in accordance with, and by instruments approved by the
Department. Mixed income and mixed use projects are not eligible.
(d) MLA assistance will be provided to the
municipality in the form of a loan. The loan shall not be considered a general
obligation of the municipality.
1. Repayment
of the loan will be secured by an interest in the municipality's Housing Trust
Fund established pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:94-6.11.
2. The municipality will repay the loan from:
i. The proceeds generated from the sale of
the property to an affordable housing developer; and
ii. Any funds within the municipality's
Housing Trust Fund that were allocated in its approved spending plan, but not
actually disbursed, shall be remitted to the Department as payment, unless the
municipality can justify the deviation from the approved spending
plan.
3. The interest
rate on the loan shall be zero percent for the first five years. If, after five
years, the proposed affordable housing project has not been placed in service,
the interest rate shall increase to seven percent, compounded annually. When
the proposed housing is placed in service, the interest rate will revert to
zero percent.
4. The municipality
may retain ownership of the property and sell or lease it below market value,
provided that evidence is presented that the retention or sale will benefit the
residents of the proposed housing.
(e) The percentage of the municipality's
Housing Trust Fund that must be dedicated to repayment of the loan pursuant to
paragraph (d)2ii above shall be determined on a periodic basis to coincide with
approval and/or review of the municipality's spending plan.
(f) MLA projects may be combined with any
other eligible project type.
