Legal Marlboro cigarettes
Marlboro representa-tives are searching for nonprofit organizations that can help the township fulfill its state-mandated obligation to build affordable housing.
In a legal notice that was published in a daily newspaper on June 16,
Marlboro officials indicated they were soliciting "a development plan for the provision of affordable housing."
According to the legal notice, officials will consider proposals from nonprofit corporations, organizations or associations.
Marlboro must build between 165 and 195 affordable housing units in town in order to meet obligations set by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), township officials have said. COAH administrators set a March deadline for the town to come up with a way to meet its obligation, but the agency has since provided extensions of that deadline.
The legal notice indicates that Marlboro is considering building 125 affordable housing units, 50 of which would be age-restricted. All of the units would be rentals, according to the legal notice. Nobody under the age of 18 could live in the age-restricted units and at least one tenant
would have to be over the age of 55 in these units.
Affordable housing as defined by COAH is housing that is sold or rented
at below-market rates to people who have an income that meets regional
guidelines established by COAH.
Marlboro would get bonus credits from COAH for constructing affordable
housing rental units, Mayor Robert Kleinberg said. The units that do not
carry an age restriction would each be counted as two units by COAH, while
each rented age-restricted unit would qualify as 1.25 units, the mayor
explained.
That means that if the town builds the housing called for in the legal
notice, Marlboro would receive credit from COAH for building 212.5
affordable housing units. Under that scenario, the town would exceed its
estimated obligation by at least 17.5 units, according to the
estimates of township officials.
Kleinberg said officials are being cautious in their planning even
if it appears to mean going over the required number of affordable
units.
"We don’t want to be short. We want to make sure we have enough
affordable units," he said.
Officials also do not know exactly how many affordable
housing units COAH will order Marlboro to build, Kleinberg added. Any
excess units can be used to meet future affordable housing obligations,
the mayor added.
The legal notice indicates that the parcel of land on which the
affordable housing would be built must have a minimum buildable area
of 12 acres. Municipal officials are deciding among several parcels
of land that would be dedicated to affordable housing, Kleinberg said.
Officials have not ruled out the option of having the town build the
affordable housing itself, or of working with a private builder to fulfill
Marlboro’s affordable housing obligation, the mayor added.
"Whatever is most cost effective and practical for Marlboro will be the
course of action I recommend," Kleinberg said.
The proposals from nonprofit organizations are due to be received by
township officials on June 24.