This bill amends New Jersey's affordable housing laws by excluding specific types of land from being classified as vacant for the calculation of a municipality's housing obligations. It specifically targets flood-prone areas, defined as land below the most recent flood elevation determination or within 100 feet of designated category one waters, ensuring that these environmentally sensitive lands are protected from development. The bill clarifies that municipalities are not required to use these excluded lands for affordable housing and cannot be compelled to permit non-redevelopment housing projects on undeveloped land.

Additionally, the bill abolishes the Council on Affordable Housing and introduces new procedures for municipalities to assess their housing obligations, including deadlines for adopting housing elements and fair share plans. It establishes a cap on the number of affordable housing units that municipalities must provide, limiting population growth due to these units to no more than five percent over a ten-year period, replacing the previous 20 percent cap. The Department of Environmental Protection is tasked with creating regulations to guide the determination of flood-prone lands within seven months of the bill's enactment, while also outlining compliance certification processes and addressing challenges to municipal housing plans.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 52:27D-310.1, 52:27D-304.1