MONTVALE — Mayor Michael Ghassali said Jan. 30 that Montvale and other municipalities challenging New Jersey’s 2024 affordable housing law suffered another setback when the United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit denied their emergency request to halt implementation of the statute. Ghassali said the towns plan to seek emergency relief next from Samuel Alito, the U.S. Supreme Court justice assigned to the Third Circuit, with a filing anticipated to be completed Monday.
In a separate statement, the Fair Share Housing Center said two Third Circuit judges—Cindy K. Chung and D. Michael Fisher—denied the request in a one-page order, following a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Zahid N. Quraishidismissing the federal lawsuit and declining to pause the law. Fair Share said similar claims have been rejected repeatedly in state court, including a September decision by Mercer County Superior Court Judge Robert T. Lougy dismissing a related case with prejudice.
Fair Share said the lawsuit involves roughly three dozen municipalities and argues the new law—known as A4/S50—streamlined the affordable housing process and codified the methodology used to set municipal obligations for the current 10-year cycle. The group said about 380 municipalities have filed compliant housing plans and urged towns to move forward with local planning rather than further litigation.