HPP– The mayor of New Jersey’s largest city proposes a contentious initiative to create affordable housing statewide if he becomes governor.
Newark Mayor Ras Baraka has stated that if he becomes governor, he plans to significantly increase the pace of affordable housing construction in New Jersey. In February, he entered the fray for New Jersey’s competitive 2025 gubernatorial race.
It’s a risky suggestion since several municipalities are dissatisfied with the current affordable housing requirements.
This year, Gov. Phil Murphy enacted a law aimed at standardizing affordable housing requirements for municipalities in New Jersey.
At a June conference, Baraka highlighted that New Jersey has thousands of acres of land that are not being fully utilized.
Several towns have come together to file a lawsuit challenging the law as excessive. On Tuesday, Attorney Michael Collins announced that 26 municipalities have joined as plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed in Superior Court in Mercer County.
As New Jersey’s next Governor, I am going to double the rate we build housing in this state in the first two years. That’s it. That’s the tweet.
— Ras J. Baraka (@rasjbaraka) November 25, 2024
For more than a hundred years, state law has established home rule. It provides local governments with control over areas such as education, law enforcement, emergency services, and regulations regarding land use and zoning.
State Sen. Declan O’Scanlon, R-Monmouth, emphasized that local governance provides a way to maintain power dynamics, even if it occasionally leads to higher expenses.
“It does indeed place hurdles to some cost-saving reforms. But let’s not lose sight of the fact that home rule also is responsible for the unique character of each of our municipalities. It also keeps control of some aspects of government close to the people… right where it belongs,” O’Scanlon said.
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