PASCACK VALLEY—Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali told a group of Bergen County mayors Oct. 8 that he anticipated at least up to 30 or more towns to join a recently filed lawsuit that challenges the fourth round of affordable housing obligations due to be handed down by state officials by Oct. 20.
Ghassali provided a lawsuit update to about two dozen mayors and public officials at the Oct, 8 Bergen County League of Municipalities meeting held in Paramus.
Ghassali’s coalition of towns, recently named “Local Leaders For Responsible Planning,” filed a lawsuit on Sept. 9 in Mercer County Superior Court alleging that the state has overstepped its constitutional authority by imposing a new affordable housing law, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in March.
It also challenges the status of 62 “urban aid” municipalities statewide who are currently exempt from any affordable housing obligations, charging that their exclusion adds unfairly to the burden of towns like Montvale to provide more housing that they should be providing.
Ghassali’s current coalition of 21 towns who have passed resolutions to join the lawsuit — with two more said to be joining soon — have committed to funding the legal challenge by approving $10,000 in 2024 and $10,000 in 2025 to the court fight.
Ghassali previously told us there are currently 62 “urban aid” municipalities that are exempt from affordable obligations, including Hoboken, Jersey City, and Hackensack. He said he does not understand why these towns have no affordable obligations, noting that he might not be able to afford to live in some towns currently excluded from affordable obligations.
Other exempt Bergen County towns include Ridgefield, Cliffside Park, Garfield, and Lodi. Ghassali posted the full list of “urban aid” municipalities on his mayor’s Facebook page.
“Ours (affordable obligations) would be lessened if the others had obligations,” Ghassali told us, referring to the 62 towns not required to provide affordable housing. In response to the lawsuit, Fair Share Housing Center, a statewide advocate and intervenor in affordable housing court cases, said the Montvale lawsuit was “a smokescreen to undermine the new law and delay its implementation, possibly for years.”
Ghassali told the mayors that the Local Leaders for Responsible Planning have hired a consultant, Econsult, to do an analysis on affordable obligation numbers provided to coalition towns, hoping to reduce the affordable obligations imposed on coalition towns. He said the consultant will offer the coalition towns “science” to challenge the state-imposed affordable housing number.
(For reaction to the lawsuit, see “Ghassali defends allies’ housing lawsuit: Critics slam coalition of towns suing state over fourth round of affordable housing obligations,” Michael Olohan, Sept. 12, 2024, thepressgroup.net).
Also, Ghassali said the group had hired a public relations consultant, Riverside Communications LLC, of Basing Ridge, to spread the word about the coalition’s lawsuit, future towns joining, and lawsuit developments.