Published: Tuesday, January 25, 2011, 6:00 AM
By Matt Friedman/Statehouse Bureau
TRENTON — The messy question of how New Jersey provides affordable housing is back in the hands of the state Legislature after Gov. Chris Christie Monday conditionally vetoed a compromise bill aimed at revamping long-criticized rules.
Christie said the bill (S-1) had changed too much from the version he supported, which passed the Senate overwhelmingly in June but ran into opposition in the Assembly.
In his veto message, Christie said the original version was "a clearly superior bill and was the result of significant negotiation between the Legislature and the governor’s office."
"This bill, for many municipalities, is worse than the existing system," said the governor, who sent the Legislature an identical bill to the one the Senate passed in June.
The bill Christie vetoed Monday took seven months and several revisions before passing both houses.
Although both versions eliminate the controversial Council on Affordable Housing, Christie objected to the new bill’s requirement that towns have at least 10 percent of all their housing affordable for lower- and middle-class residents. The original version required only 10 percent of new construction.
Christie also said the bill would encourage sprawl, did not do enough to protect towns from lawsuits from developers, and would create more red tape.
Affordable housing advocates said Christie’s action set the state back. "The governor sided with wealthy towns that want to keep out bus drivers, waitresses and public employees," said Kevin Walsh, associate director of the Fair Share Housing Center.
Assembly Housing and Local Government Chair Jerry Green (D-Union), who sponsored the latest version of the bill, burnished a December legal opinion by the Office of Legislative Services that said Christie’s preferred bill would not have stood up to a court challenge. "It’s obvious the governor wants everything his way and it’s not going to happen," said Green.
The state has to set these rules because of court decisions saying towns must provide affordable housing for lower-income families. In October, a state appeals court ordered the state to come up with new affordable housing rules by March. But with several groups appealing parts of that decision, the state Supreme Court last week delayed the deadline.
