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Message from your Mayor and Council

 Dear Haworth residents,

 

DATE: JUNE 18TH

TIME:  8:00PM

PLACE: BOROUGH HALL

 

As you'll recall, on March 20, 2024 Governor Murphy signed new legislation that amended the state's Fair Housing Act and dramatically changed the affordable housing process in New Jersey. The Fair Housing Act Amendment  (Amendment) eliminated the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), directed the Department of Community Affairs to prepare nonbinding affordable housing obligations, changed certain aspects of the vacant land process, eliminated and revised available bonus credits, and imposed strict deadlines on municipalities.

Those deadlines have been driving our work for the past year, and we have successfully met each thus far. The next crucial one is coming up on June 30th.

 

Municipalities must adopt a Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HEFSP) by June 30, 2025, which amends the Borough's master plan. The HEFSP will conform to the requirements established in the new legislation and Amendment.

The Municipal Land Use Law requires that a municipal master plan include a housing element to enable the municipality to exercise the power to zone and regulate land use. The housing element is adopted by the municipal Planning Board and endorsed by the Mayor and Council.

 

The HEFSP amends the Borough's master plan to address affordable housing planning requirements for the time period known as Round 4, which includes the decade between July 2025 and July 2035. It addresses the Borough's cumulative fair share obligation for the period from 1987 through

2035. The Borough last adopted a Round 3 Housing Element on September 18, 2019.

This plan will replace the 2019 Round 3 plan.

 

On Wednesday, June 18th, the Planning Board will review and discuss the HEFSP that has been prepared by our borough planner in conjunction with the Council Affordable Housing committee and our attorneys. This is a public hearing and comments from residents may be heard. 

The Council will meet on June 24th to consider the resolution endorsing the Plan. This is the final step before submitting to meet the deadline imposed upon us by the state. 

 

I encourage you to attend the Planning Board meeting on June 18 at 8pm to hear our plans, the reasoning behind them, and to have an opportunity to ask questions and/or comment.

 

Sincerely, 

Heather Wasser​

Mayor, Borough of Haworth 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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