HOWELL – Township Councilman John Bonevich believes the members of the Howell Township Council need to begin thinking about 2026, which will mark the start of the next round of the municipality’s affordable housing obligation.
Affordable housing is defined as housing that is sold or rented at below market rates to individuals and families whose income meets certain guidelines. New Jersey municipalities are under court order to provide opportunities for the development of affordable housing within their borders.
Township Attorney Joe Clark said an affordable housing settlement agreement that will cover Howell through 2025 was recently approved by a court. The agreement means Howell cannot face affordable housing litigation through 2025, Clark explained during the Jan. 7 reorganization meeting of the governing body.
“We all know time flies, so this year we are going to star working … to get ahead of the curve, so we are not playing catch-up,” Bonevich said. “I do not want us to throw another Hail Mary and hope it works (in a settlement agreement). … This year we are going to work for 2026,” Bonevich said.
Deputy Mayor Evelyn O’Donnell said she wants to work toward changing state law as it relates to affordable housing.
“I hope some of our Democratic friends in Trenton can see their way clear to giving Howell a break,” she said. “With any luck maybe they will see it our way, but at any rate, even after we had the numbers (of affordable housing units required) and we came up with the different properties we were going to use (for affordable housing), we were already looking at things we could use for the next round (beginning in 2026), so I am thankful for that.”
In 2018, council members approved a settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center, Cherry Hill, which advocates for the construction of affordable housing in New Jersey.
Howell’s third round affordable housing obligation from 1999 to 2025 was set at 895 units and the settlement agreement provides the mechanisms by which the township will satisfy that obligation.
In November 2019, council members adopted ordinances that were designed to help Howell comply with the obligation to provide opportunities for the development of affordable housing in the municipality.
