[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Board
of Alderman of the Town of Dover as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted 2-11-1997 by Ord. No. 2-1997;
amended in its entirety 9-27-2005 by Ord. No. 28-2005]
This article establishes regulations for designated low- and
moderate-income housing units created within the Town of Dover through
new housing construction, resales, rentals, or rerentals of affordable
units. This article is intended to be consistent with and to implement
the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) regulations at
N.J.A.C. 5:94, Substantive Rules, and N.J.A.C. 5:95, Procedural Rules,
both for the period beginning December 20, 2004, along with N.J.A.C.
5:80, Uniform Housing Affordability Controls, the provisions of which
are included here by reference, as if set forth at length, the Fair
Housing Act of 1985, N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq., and any other applicable
federal laws, and regulations, and as all of the referenced laws and
regulations may be amended.
As used in this article, the following term shall have the meaning
indicated:
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for the Town of Dover.
A.
Establishment of position of Housing Officer. There is hereby established
the position of Housing Officer for the Town of Dover.
B.
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH),
the Housing Officer shall be appointed by the governing body and may
be a full- or part-time municipal employee.
C.
A Housing Officer shall be responsible for oversight and administration
of the affordable housing program for the Town of Dover and to act
as a liaison to any contracting agency for housing services, the developers
of low- and moderate-income housing and COAH.
D.
Subject to approval by COAH, the Town of Dover may contract with
or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency charged
by the Mayor and Board of Aldermen with the responsibility of administering
all or any part of the affordable housing program of the Town of Dover.
E.
Compensation. Compensation shall be fixed by the governing body at
the time of the appointments of the Housing Officer.
F.
Powers and duties.
(1)
The primary responsibility of the Housing Office shall be to ensure
that the restricted units under administration are sold or rented,
as applicable, only to low- and moderate-income households. Among
the responsibilities of the Housing Office are the following:
(a)
Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative marketing
of affordable housing units in accordance with the Affirmative Marketing
Plan of the Town of Dover and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15;
(b)
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews
with interested households;
(c)
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation
of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income
eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(d)
Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination
of eligibility or noneligibility;
(e)
Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant
households living in the housing region and eligible applicant households
with members working in the housing region where the units are located;
(f)
Employing the random selection process as provided in the Affirmative
Marketing Plan of the Town of Dover when referring households for
certification to affordable units;
(g)
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms of deed restrictions
and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance of title of
each restricted unit;
(h)
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for
its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions,
recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;
(i)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating
information between owners and the administrative agent regarding
the availability of restricted units for resale or rental;
(j)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating
information to low- and moderate-income households regarding the availability
of restricted units for resale or rerental;
(k)
Reviewing and approving requests from owners of restricted units
who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term
of their ownership;
(l)
Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from
owners of restricted units who wish to make capital improvements to
the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations
to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms
or bathrooms and the cost of central air-conditioning systems;
(m)
Processing requests and making determinations on requests by
owners of restricted units for hardship waivers;
(n)
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures;
(o)
Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates of occupancy
or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10;
(p)
Notifying the municipality of an owner's intent to sell
a restricted unit;
(q)
Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation
of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly filed with the appropriate
county's Register of Deeds or County Clerk's office after
the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted
unit;
(r)
Creating and publishing a written operating manual, as approved
by COAH, setting forth procedures for administering such affordability
controls;
(s)
Providing annual reports to COAH as required; and
(t)
Such other responsibilities as may be necessary to carry out
the affordable housing program of the Town of Dover and the provisions
of COAH's regulations pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:94 et seq. and the
Uniform Housing Affordability Controls pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26
et seq.
(2)
The Housing Office shall have authority to take all actions necessary
and appropriate to carrying out its responsibilities hereunder.
(3)
If the Town of Dover contracts with another administrative agent
to administer all or any part of the affordable housing program, including
the affordability controls and Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Housing
Officer shall supervise the contracting administrative agent.
[Adopted 2-11-1997 by Ord. No. 3-1997]
A.
This article shall apply to all low- and moderate-income
housing units created in the town, including any future low- and moderate-income
housing units.
B.
An affirmative marketing plan is a regional strategy
designed to attract buyers and/or renters of all majority and minority
groups within the housing region, regardless of sex, age or number
of children, to housing units which are being marketed by a developer/sponsor,
the municipality and/or a designated administrative agency of affordable
housing within the town. The plan prohibits discrimination in the
sale, rental, financing or other services related to such housing
on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, handicap, age (except
for designated senior citizens' units), familial status, family size
or national origin.
C.
The Town of Dover is located in the northwest housing
region of the state, which includes Warren, Morris, Essex and Union
Counties.
A.
Daily newspapers and publications.
(2)
The primary marketing shall take the form of at least
one press release sent to the above publications and a paid display
advertisement (at least four column inches) in each of the above newspapers.
Additional advertising and publicity shall be on an as-needed basis.
(3)
The advertisement shall include a description of the:
(a)
Number of units currently available;
(b)
Anticipated dates of future available units;
(c)
Numbers of bedrooms per available unit;
(d)
Range of monthly rents available;
(e)
Sizes of available units;
(f)
Income limit information;
(g)
Where and how applications may be obtained,
including business hours at each location; and
(h)
Name, telephone number and location of the Housing
Administrator's office.
B.
Weekly newspapers, publications and newsletters.
(1)
All newspaper articles, advertisements, announcements
and requests for applications pertaining to low- and moderate-income
housing units shall appear in at least the following neighborhood-oriented
weekly newspapers, religious publications and organizational newsletters
within the region:
(2)
The advertisement shall include a description of the:
(a)
Number of units currently available;
(b)
Anticipated dates of future available units;
(c)
Numbers of bedrooms per available unit;
(d)
Range of monthly rents available;
(e)
Sizes of available units;
(f)
Income limit information;
(g)
Where and how applications may be obtained,
including business hours at each location; and
(h)
Name, telephone number and location of the Housing
Administrator's office.
D.
Applications and information.
(1)
The following are the locations where applications
and information packets to be used as part of the affirmative marketing
plan shall be available:
(2)
Community contact organizations, agencies, officials
and departments.
(a)
Quarterly flyers and copies of applications
and information packets shall be sent to the following community contact
organizations, agencies, officials and departments:
[1]
Morris County Director of Social Services.
[2]
Warren County Director of Social Services.
[3]
Essex County Director of Social Services.
[4]
Union County Director of Social Services.
[5]
Morris County Office on Aging.
[6]
Warren County Office on Aging.
[7]
Essex County Office on Aging.
[8]
Union County Office on Aging.
[9]
Morris County Rental Assistance Office (local
DCA office).
[10]
Warren County Rental Assistance Office (local
DCA office).
[11]
Essex County Rental Assistance Office (local
DCA office).
[12]
Union County Rental Assistance Office (local
DCA office).
[13]
Morris County Housing Agency.
[14]
Warren County Housing Agency.
[15]
Essex County Housing Agency.
[16]
Union County Housing Agency.
[17]
Morris County Board of Realtors.
[18]
Warren County Board of Realtors.
[19]
Essex County Board of Realtors.
[20]
Union County Board of Realtors.
[21]
Morris County Community Development Office.
[22]
Warren County Community Development Office.
[23]
Essex County Community Development Office.
[24]
Union County Community Development Office.
[25]
Morris County Department of Human Services.
[26]
Warren County Department of Human Services.
[27]
Essex County Department of Human Services.
[28]
Union County Department of Human Services.
[29]
NORWESCAP, Morris County.
[Amended 8-12-2008 by Ord. No. 27-2008]
B.
MUNICIPAL HOUSING LIAISON
Definitions. As used in this section, the following terms shall have
the meanings indicated:
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for the Town of Dover.
C.
Establishment of position and compensation; powers and duties.
(1)
Establishment of position of Municipal Housing Liaison. There is
hereby established the position of Municipal Housing Liaison for the
Town of Dover.
(2)
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)
the Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by the governing
body and may be a full- or part-time municipal employee.
(3)
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible for oversight
and administration of the affordable housing program for the Town
of Dover, including the following responsibilities which may not be
contracted out, exclusive of Item 6,[2] which may be contracted out:
(a)
Serving as the municipality's primary point of contact
for all inquiries from the state, affordable housing providers, administrative
agents, and interested households;
(b)
Monitoring the status of all proposed and completed affordable
housing programs and affordable units in the municipality's Fair
Share Plan;
(c)
Compiling, verifying, and providing monitoring information at
such time and in such form as the Council requires;
(d)
Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers and
administrative agents, as applicable; and
(e)
Where applicable, providing to an administrative agent a copy
of the adopted municipal operating manual(s), Housing Element and
Fair Share Plan and ordinances relating to the creation and administration
of the municipality's affordable housing programs and/or affordable
units.
[2]
Editor's Note: So in original.
D.
Compensation. Compensation shall be fixed by the governing body at
the time of the appointment of the Municipal Housing Liaison.
A.
Households that apply for low- and moderate-income
housing will be prescreened by the Housing Administrator for income
eligibility by comparing their total income to the current low- and
moderate-income limits adopted by COAH. Applicants will be notified
as to their eligibility status.
B.
In order to ensure a sufficient supply of qualified
applicants, the advertising process will continue until at least 10
income-eligible applicants have applied for each low- and moderate-income
unit available or until all of the available low- and moderate-income
units within the town have been sold, whichever occurs first.
C.
Having prescreened applicants for income eligibility,
the Housing Administrator will analyze the income and household size
of each applicant to determine which of the available low- and moderate-income
housing units the applicant is qualified to occupy.
D.
The Housing Administrator will interview each applicant
to verify the applicant's income and review the applicant's credit
history. Applicants will be required to submit income verification
for each household member 18 years or older. This process will be
utilized in establishing the final certified applicant group.
E.
If there is more than one certified applicant for
an available low- and moderate-income unit, placement will be made
on a first come/first served basis, considering the date the application
was first received by the Housing Administrator.
F.
The process described above will begin at least 120
days before the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for an affordable
dwelling unit in the affordable housing compliance program and will
continue until all low- and moderate-income units are occupied and
for as long as there are deed-restricted affordable units within the
municipality.
G.
Households who live or work within the housing region
will be given preference over households from outside of the housing
region for the first 30 days that a unit becomes available. If no
qualified households from within the housing region can be found within
30 days, the unit may be rented to a household from outside the housing
region.
H.
Households will generally be referred to available
units using the following standards for occupancy:
I.
Households may be considered for units other than
as set forth herein, except that in no case shall a household be referred
to a unit that provides for more than one additional bedroom over
the number required by the application of H(1) through (4) above.
