[Added 10-10-2005 by Ord. No. 08-05-22]
Pursuant to the provisions of the third round
substantive rules promulgated and adopted by the New Jersey Council
on Affordable Housing, N.J.A.C. 5:94 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 5:95 et
seq., it is hereby declared that the purpose of this article is to
help the Township fulfill its affirmative obligation to facilitate
the provision of affordable housing.
As used in this article, words and phrases shall
have the same meanings they have pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:94-1.4, as
said provision may from time to time be amended.
A.
Residential development.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided below, any market rate
residential development in any zoning district in the Township proposing
five or more lots or units shall set aside 11.1% of said units (rounded
to the next higher number if 0.5 or greater) for affordable housing
as said term is defined under the Fair Housing Act of 1985 (FHA),
P.L. 1985, c. 222 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.) and the substantive
and procedural rules of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing
(COAH) for the period beginning December 20, 2004, N.J.A.C. 5:94 et
seq. and 5:95 et seq. (COAH rules), as said rules may from time to
time be amended.
(2)
Residential development in any zoning district in the Township proposing four or fewer lots or units shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code.
(3)
For the purposes of this article, "residential development"
shall include new market rate residential units created from the conversion
of a nonresidential building to residential unit(s) requiring the
issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
B.
Nonresidential development - warehouse. Any warehouse development in the Township shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code, unless the affordable housing obligation is constructed on site as permitted by the Land Development Ordinance of the Township of Cranbury, Chapter 150 of this Code.
C.
Nonresidential development - other.
(1)
All nonresidential development, other than warehouse
development, proposing the construction of net new floor area in any
zoning district shall be required to provide affordable housing constructed
at the ratio of one affordable unit (rounded to the next higher number
if 0.5 or greater) for every 25 new jobs created as a result of the
proposed net new nonresidential floor area.
(2)
Nonresidential development creating an obligation of less than 12.5 new jobs (an obligation of less than 0.5) shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code.
(3)
The calculation of the number of jobs and employment
opportunities created shall be in accordance with Appendix E of N.J.A.C.
5:44-1 et seq., entitled "UCC Use Groups for Projecting and Implementing
Nonresidential Components of Growth Share."
D.
Exemptions. The following types of development shall
be exempt from the requirements of this article:
With the prior written approval of the Township Committee, and except as provided in § 150-112B above, the applicant may choose to satisfy its affordable housing growth share obligation through the mechanisms permitted in COAH's rules, including on-site affordable housing production; off-site affordable housing production in the Township; the purchase of an existing market rate home(s) at another location in the community and its conversion to an affordable price-restricted home in accordance with COAH's rules; participation in gut rehabilitation and/or buy-down/write-down, buy-down/rent-down programs; payment of a contribution in lieu of construction; and/or any other compliance mechanism permitted by COAH's rules.
A.
Construction of affordable housing on site.
(1)
Affordable housing units may be provided within single-family
detached buildings, duplex buildings, triplex buildings or quadriplex
buildings designed to resemble as nearly as possible the single-family
homes otherwise being constructed within the residential development
to accommodate the market units. Duplex, triplex and quadriplex buildings
containing low- and moderate-income housing units only shall be deemed
to be permitted uses in the underlying zone when created for the purpose
of meeting a growth share obligation on site.
(2)
No density increase shall be granted for the construction
of the affordable housing units on site.
(3)
All required setbacks, building height, open space
requirements and coverage limits for the zone shall be met on all
lots.
(4)
All applicable Board of Health and NJDEP regulations
for water supply and sewage treatment shall be met.
B.
Creation of affordable housing units off site but
within the Township.
(1)
Applicants electing to create affordable housing units
elsewhere within the Township of Cranbury may do so with the prior
written approval of the Township Committee, and may do so within existing
buildings, whether converted, reconstructed or purchased for buy-down,
in any residential zone of Cranbury Township as set forth and regulated
herein.
(2)
All such units shall meet or shall be improved to
meet UCC requirements and shall be certified to be in standard condition
prior to their conveyance or occupancy.
(3)
All required setbacks, building height and impervious
coverage limits for the zone shall be met on the lot, except that
existing setback deficiencies and other nonconformities of the lot
and/or building(s) located thereon may be continued for as long as
the buildings remain on site, without the need for additional variances.
C.
Low- and moderate-income split and compliance with
COAH rules.
(1)
If only one affordable unit is required to be produced
pursuant to this section, said unit shall be made available to a qualified
low-income individual or household. Where more than one affordable
unit is produced, the designation of units shall be evenly split between
low- and moderate-income individuals and households. If an odd number
of low- and moderate-income housing units are required to be provided,
the majority of the units shall be designated for low-income individuals
or households.
(2)
Where there are an insufficient number of affordable
units provided to meet the bedroom distribution requirements of COAH's
rules, the first unit shall be a two-bedroom unit, the second unit
shall be a three-bedroom unit, and the third unit shall be a one-bedroom
unit. Otherwise, the bedroom distribution shall be in strict accordance
with COAH's rules.
(3)
All affordable units created pursuant to this section
shall comply with COAH's rules pertaining to the phasing, integration,
low/moderate income split, controls on affordability, bedroom distribution,
affirmative marketing, heating source and administration of the affordable
units, as set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:94-4 and/or as otherwise provided
for by COAH's rules.
(4)
It shall be the developer's responsibility, at its
sole cost and expense, to ensure full COAH compliance and to timely
file such certifications, reports and/or monitoring forms as may be
required by COAH to verify COAH compliance of each affordable unit.
(5)
Residential developments that have been zoned to produce an affordable housing set-aside or that include only low- and moderate-income housing units shall be exempt from the growth share obligations of this article and shall be exempt from payment of development fees pursuant to the Development Fee Ordinance set forth at Chapter 76 of this Code.
D.
Payments in lieu of construction. Payments in lieu
of the construction of affordable housing shall be based upon a proportionate
share of the total project cost embodied in one or more pro-forma
statements pro-forma(s) for the construction of an affordable housing
development elsewhere within the Township of Cranbury, which pro-forma(s)
shall be on file in the office of the Township Clerk. The payment
in lieu of construction to be made by the developer may be subject
to negotiation with the Township based upon the following considerations:
the actual cost of buying down or subsidizing one or more existing
or planned market priced dwelling units to achieve an average rent
level affordable to a household earning 52.0% of median income; the
actual land cost of site(s) earmarked for off-site affordable housing
construction within the Township of Cranbury; or reasonable and acceptable
offers to substitute land, site preparation and/or construction services
for all or a portion of the monetary payment otherwise required.
If any paragraph, section, subsection, sentence,
clause, phrase or portion of this article is for any reason held invalid
or unconstitutional by any court or administrative agency of competent
jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and
independent provision, and such holding shall not affect the validity
of the remaining paragraphs or sections hereof.
In the event that any provision of this article
is inconsistent with any other provision of this Code, the terms of
this article shall govern.
