Lawmakers have been divided over the constitutionality of affordable housing mandates

As many young Americans struggle to become homeowners, lawmakers nationwide are crafting legislation to ensure housing needs are met, sparking a debate over the constitutionality affordable housing mandates.

The state of New Jersey is being fought in a lawsuit over its affordable housing mandates, as city leaders say the mandate puts pressure on municipalities because of a lack of infrastructure available to meet the demands.

Fox News Digital spoke with Montvalle, NJ Mayor Michael Ghassali, who is leading the charge against the state, to get his take on the latest legislation.

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“As the mayor of a small town, we have been building affordable housing for the past three rounds. In fact, about 10% of Montvale is affordable housing stock… What what happened is our infrastructure is affected,” Ghassali told Fox News Digital. “We have low water pressure. So we have fire hydrants with low water pressure on the west side of the city. Now, we have to add a second water tower We need to add more police officers… We passed a $30 million referendum to increase the size of the middle school because we need more space Traffic was worse than ever. It’s a small town, but it takes twenty minutes to walk from one end to the other. So it’s affected our quality of life in the city just by adding more people.”

The small town’s mayor expressed concern that the law does not take into account affordable housing units in 62 urban aid municipalities and expressed a desire to work with the state to develop a smart plan to go further.

“I wish Trenton and the legislators would listen to us and trust us,” Ghassali told Fox News Digital. “We want to build, but our infrastructure does not hold up. So, we asked for some time to evaluate what we have before we can do more… We know our cities. We know our streets. We know what we can do. and what we cannot do. We want to work with them. We don’t want to fight affordable housing. I have two sons who will not be able to afford to live in the city where they grew up. So I got it. We need affordable housing. Just listen to us.”

On the opposite side of the country, California Governor Gavin Newsom has also introduced legislation to help afford Americans. housing opportunities. Fox News Digital reached out to the governor’s office, which provided more information.

“(The governor) has invested more than $40 billion to boost affordable housing across the state, including through expanded state tax credits, infrastructure grants and green housing funding,” the statement said, “(along with investments) over $27 billion to address homelessness with a focus on eliminating street encampments and (and) requiring California’s first regional homelessness plans for cities, counties and CoC.”

Newsom also planned 1 million units of affordable housing by 2030, launched Homekey and Project Roomkey to get 72,000 people off the streets, cut funding to address encampments, created the protection tenants and adopted a new framework for providing care to those experiencing psychosis. , to name a few of the many measures shared by his office.

“No excuses,” Newsom said in September press release. “California is taking action to fix decades-long crises in homelessness, housing and mental health. These new laws—combined with the state’s unprecedented resources—will provide more housing, get people off the streets, and provide life-changing support. benefits all Californians.”

Fox News Digital reached out to legal experts to address the constitutionality of the affordable housing fight.

Wright Law Firm founder Jamie E. Wright said the debate delves into “the age-old struggle between state authority and local autonomy around decision-making.”

“(In the New Jersey case), the state argues that ensuring access to housing for low- and moderate-income families is a vital interest under the Mount Laurel doctrine,” she explained. “On the other hand, municipalities oppose this mandate, arguing that it violates their jurisdiction and disrupts their control over the area and resources. Essentially, the legal issue revolves around whether the state’s commitment to equity and anti-segregation goals trumps the independence of local governments. This discussion goes beyond housing; it’s a battle to determine the future direction of New Jersey’s communities.

Raul Gastesi, lawyer and co-founder of Gastesi Lopez & Mestrebased in Miami, offered a different perspective on the constitutionality of affordable housing mandates, using the Florida Live Local Act debate as an example.

“I think mandates are constitutional as long as they are mandated by the state legislature and not by the courts,” Gastesi said. “The issue of affordable housing is increasingly becoming a creature of state law as opposed to local or municipal legislation. State lawmakers too often believe that local governments are exacerbating the housing shortage with local ordinances and zoning restrictions, including land-use rules that make it extremely expensive and difficult to build multifamily housing.”

Fox News Digital reached out to New Jersey Senate Majority Leader Troy Singleton (D-Delran), who sponsored the state bill, for his thoughts on the process, but he did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

The New Jersey Globe reported Singleton as saying “wealthy, suburban cities opposing affordable housing mandates are nothing new.”

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“Same story, different day,” Singleton said, according to the New Jersey Globe. “What is incredibly offensive, beyond using taxpayer dollars to fund this superfluous politically driven process, is the attempt to use the legal process to intentionally delay our affordable housing laws — not by weeks or months, but by years.”

Fox News Digital also reached out to the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, which declined to comment on the pending legislation.