New Jersey Lawmakers Target Local Zoning Laws to Spur Housing Development

With housing prices continuing to rise across New Jersey due to a shortage of available homes, the New Jersey General Assembly recently advanced legislation that would incentivize municipalities for making efforts to update their zoning laws in order to encourage new housing in their communities. Bill A4913, is sponsored by Assembly Speaker Craig J. Coughlin and Assemblywomen Shanique Speight and Verlina Reynolds-Jackson.

“This bill strikes a critical balance, expanding housing opportunities while ensuring towns have the resources to support that growth,” said Speaker Coughlin (D-Middlesex). “We enacted landmark legislation, A4, last spring that will spur the construction of thousands of new homes throughout the state. Now, we must ensure that our towns have the tools they need to move forward. The construction of additional housing would help stabilize the cost of housing.”

Under the bill, municipalities that reexamine and revise their master plans and zoning regulations to support additional housing would receive a competitive advantage when applying for certain state grants and financial assistance programs. That could include permitting accessory dwelling units, eliminating or reducing parking minimums or lot size requirements, allowing multi-family development in commercial areas, and encouraging housing near transit hubs.

“In the past, increasing housing often meant straining schools, infrastructure, and local services. This legislation would change that by giving municipalities the resources they need to expand housing – ensuring the necessary investments follow,” said Assemblywoman Speight (D-Essex, Hudson). “By providing incentives to municipalities, we are encouraging local leaders to adopt zoning policies that will open doors for more New Jersey residents, because everyone deserves an opportunity to settle down.”

The incentives provided through this bill would help address the primary concerns municipalities have regarding the rising costs of infrastructure and education when increasing housing density. The bill would offer a balanced approach to addressing the housing crisis, encouraging smart growth and additional housing without removing any zoning powers from local governments.

“Too many families are being priced out of the communities they’ve called home for generations,” said Assemblywoman Reynolds-Jackson (D-Mercer, Hunterdon). “Bill A4913 would make right on that wrong by establishing real pathways to homeownership and stable housing and gives municipalities the tools and support they need to grow.”