Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan Adoption and Implementation, Borough of Northvale

The Borough of Northvale, situated in Bergen County, New Jersey, has formally adopted and is implementing its Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, a comprehensive framework detailing its strategy to meet affordable housing obligations from July 1, 2025, to July 1, 2035. This critical municipal initiative outlines a robust approach to addressing both present and prospective housing needs for low- and moderate-income families. The plan encompasses a thorough inventory of the Borough's existing housing stock, detailed demographic and employment analyses, and an identification of suitable lands for future affordable housing development. Key components include a commitment to ensuring multigenerational family housing continuity, alignment with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan, and the strategic management of a dedicated Affordable Housing Trust Fund. The overall objective is to fulfill the Borough's constitutional obligations under the New Jersey Fair Housing Act, ensuring a realistic opportunity for affordable housing development within the community. The plan specifies a Present Need obligation of eight (8) affordable units and a Prospective Need obligation of one hundred and five (105) affordable units. To address these, Northvale proposes various mechanisms, including participation in the Bergen County Home Improvement Program and a supplemental municipally-operated rehabilitation program for rental units. New construction efforts will include seven (7) affordable units from approved applications at 192 Livingston Street (Block 909, Lot 6) and 160 Paris Avenue (Block 910, Lot 2), with the latter providing five affordable units within a 31-unit multi-family building. Additionally, the Borough has adopted a mandatory set-aside overlay zone in its Light Industrial (LI) Zone, permitting inclusionary residential development at 14 units per acre, requiring 15% affordable housing for rentals and 20% for for-sale units. These strategies aim to mitigate a total unmet need of 306 units from prior and current rounds, with further consideration for a borough-owned property at 155 Veterans Drive for future development. The Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, adopted by the Planning Board on June 18, 2025, and endorsed by the Borough Council on June 26, 2025, sets forth an implementation schedule. Any challenges to this adopted plan must be filed by August 31, 2025. The final compliance deadline for the Borough to adopt the necessary implementing ordinances to align with this plan is March 31, 2026. The Affordable Housing Trust Fund, holding a balance of $732,518.87 as of December 31, 2024, and projecting a total of $762,273.26 available through 2035, will finance rehabilitation, new construction, and affordability assistance programs, with no more than 20% allocated to administrative expenses. No specific contact for general bid submissions related to future projects arising from this plan is provided within the furnished documents.