Cranbury City Zoning Code
ARTICLE X
Required Growth Share Affordable Housing Obligation.
§ 150-110 Authority and purpose.
Pursuant to the provisions of the third round substantive rules promulgated and adopted by the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing, N.J.A.C. 5:94 et seq. and N.J.A.C. 5:95 et seq., it is hereby declared that the purpose of this article is to help the Township fulfill its affirmative obligation to facilitate the provision of affordable housing.
§ 150-111 Definitions.
As used in this article, words and phrases shall have the same meanings they have pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:94-1.4, as said provision may from time to time be amended.
§ 150-112 Uniform affordable housing production obligation based upon growth share.
A.
Residential development.
(1)
Except as otherwise provided below, any market rate residential development in any zoning district in the Township proposing five or more lots or units shall set aside 11.1% of said units (rounded to the next higher number if 0.5 or greater) for affordable housing as said term is defined under the Fair Housing Act of 1985 (FHA), P.L. 1985, c. 222 (N.J.S.A. 52:27D-301 et seq.) and the substantive and procedural rules of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) for the period beginning December 20, 2004, N.J.A.C. 5:94 et seq. and 5:95 et seq. (COAH rules), as said rules may from time to time be amended.
(2)
Residential development in any zoning district in the Township proposing four or fewer lots or units shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code.
(3)
For the purposes of this article, "residential development" shall include new market rate residential units created from the conversion of a nonresidential building to residential unit(s) requiring the issuance of a certificate of occupancy.
B.
Nonresidential development - warehouse. Any warehouse development in the Township shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code, unless the affordable housing obligation is constructed on site as permitted by the Land Development Ordinance of the Township of Cranbury, Chapter 150 of this Code.
C.
Nonresidential development - other.
(1)
All nonresidential development, other than warehouse development, proposing the construction of net new floor area in any zoning district shall be required to provide affordable housing constructed at the ratio of one affordable unit (rounded to the next higher number if 0.5 or greater) for every 25 new jobs created as a result of the proposed net new nonresidential floor area.
(2)
Nonresidential development creating an obligation of less than 12.5 new jobs (an obligation of less than 0.5) shall be required to pay an affordable housing development fee pursuant to the Township's Development Fee Ordinance, Chapter 76 of this Code.
(3)
The calculation of the number of jobs and employment opportunities created shall be in accordance with Appendix E of N.J.A.C. 5:44-1 et seq., entitled "UCC Use Groups for Projecting and Implementing Nonresidential Components of Growth Share."
D.
Exemptions. The following types of development shall be exempt from the requirements of this article:
§ 150-113 Satisfaction of affordable housing production obligation.
With the prior written approval of the Township Committee, and except as provided in § 150-112B above, the applicant may choose to satisfy its affordable housing growth share obligation through the mechanisms permitted in COAH's rules, including on-site affordable housing production; off-site affordable housing production in the Township; the purchase of an existing market rate home(s) at another location in the community and its conversion to an affordable price-restricted home in accordance with COAH's rules; participation in gut rehabilitation and/or buy-down/write-down, buy-down/rent-down programs; payment of a contribution in lieu of construction; and/or any other compliance mechanism permitted by COAH's rules.
§ 150-114 Compliance mechanisms.
A.
Construction of affordable housing on site.
(1)
Affordable housing units may be provided within single-family detached buildings, duplex buildings, triplex buildings or quadriplex buildings designed to resemble as nearly as possible the single-family homes otherwise being constructed within the residential development to accommodate the market units. Duplex, triplex and quadriplex buildings containing low- and moderate-income housing units only shall be deemed to be permitted uses in the underlying zone when created for the purpose of meeting a growth share obligation on site.
(2)
No density increase shall be granted for the construction of the affordable housing units on site.
(3)
All required setbacks, building height, open space requirements and coverage limits for the zone shall be met on all lots.
(4)
All applicable Board of Health and NJDEP regulations for water supply and sewage treatment shall be met.
B.
Creation of affordable housing units off site but within the Township.
(1)
Applicants electing to create affordable housing units elsewhere within the Township of Cranbury may do so with the prior written approval of the Township Committee, and may do so within existing buildings, whether converted, reconstructed or purchased for buy-down, in any residential zone of Cranbury Township as set forth and regulated herein.
(2)
All such units shall meet or shall be improved to meet UCC requirements and shall be certified to be in standard condition prior to their conveyance or occupancy.
(3)
All required setbacks, building height and impervious coverage limits for the zone shall be met on the lot, except that existing setback deficiencies and other nonconformities of the lot and/or building(s) located thereon may be continued for as long as the buildings remain on site, without the need for additional variances.
C.
Low- and moderate-income split and compliance with COAH rules.
(1)
If only one affordable unit is required to be produced pursuant to this section, said unit shall be made available to a qualified low-income individual or household. Where more than one affordable unit is produced, the designation of units shall be evenly split between low- and moderate-income individuals and households. If an odd number of low- and moderate-income housing units are required to be provided, the majority of the units shall be designated for low-income individuals or households.
(2)
Where there are an insufficient number of affordable units provided to meet the bedroom distribution requirements of COAH's rules, the first unit shall be a two-bedroom unit, the second unit shall be a three-bedroom unit, and the third unit shall be a one-bedroom unit. Otherwise, the bedroom distribution shall be in strict accordance with COAH's rules.
(3)
All affordable units created pursuant to this section shall comply with COAH's rules pertaining to the phasing, integration, low/moderate income split, controls on affordability, bedroom distribution, affirmative marketing, heating source and administration of the affordable units, as set forth in N.J.A.C. 5:94-4 and/or as otherwise provided for by COAH's rules.
(4)
It shall be the developer's responsibility, at its sole cost and expense, to ensure full COAH compliance and to timely file such certifications, reports and/or monitoring forms as may be required by COAH to verify COAH compliance of each affordable unit.
(5)
Residential developments that have been zoned to produce an affordable housing set-aside or that include only low- and moderate-income housing units shall be exempt from the growth share obligations of this article and shall be exempt from payment of development fees pursuant to the Development Fee Ordinance set forth at Chapter 76 of this Code.
D.
Payments in lieu of construction. Payments in lieu of the construction of affordable housing shall be based upon a proportionate share of the total project cost embodied in one or more pro-forma statements pro-forma(s) for the construction of an affordable housing development elsewhere within the Township of Cranbury, which pro-forma(s) shall be on file in the office of the Township Clerk. The payment in lieu of construction to be made by the developer may be subject to negotiation with the Township based upon the following considerations: the actual cost of buying down or subsidizing one or more existing or planned market priced dwelling units to achieve an average rent level affordable to a household earning 52.0% of median income; the actual land cost of site(s) earmarked for off-site affordable housing construction within the Township of Cranbury; or reasonable and acceptable offers to substitute land, site preparation and/or construction services for all or a portion of the monetary payment otherwise required.
§ 150-115 Severability.
If any paragraph, section, subsection, sentence, clause, phrase or portion of this article is for any reason held invalid or unconstitutional by any court or administrative agency of competent jurisdiction, such portion shall be deemed a separate, distinct and independent provision, and such holding shall not affect the validity of the remaining paragraphs or sections hereof.
§ 150-116 Inconsistency.
In the event that any provision of this article is inconsistent with any other provision of this Code, the terms of this article shall govern.