A coalition of mayors seeking to delay the implementation of New Jersey’s affordable housing law is now knocking on the door of the Supreme Court of the United States.
The Local Leaders for Responsible Planning, a group of about three dozen municipalities, filed a federal lawsuit in April seeking to undo the criteria the state uses to calculate municipalities’ affordable housing obligations. They wanted to delay the March 15 deadline to implement zoning for required high-density, affordable housing.
U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi rejected the coalition’s attempt at a delay last month, and the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit ruled the same earlier this week. All that’s left now is the Supreme Court, where LLRP is seeking an emergency stay to prevent the law from going into effect.
“We pledged from the beginning to take this fight as far as necessary – and today that means the United States Supreme Court,” said Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, the leader of the LLRP. “We ask Justice Samuel Alito to grant a pause of the state’s arbitrary March 15 deadline so we can first have our claims decided in court.”
Unlike high-profile Supreme Court cases that undergo oral arguments and are resolved after months, the LLRP’s case was filed in the emergency docket, also known as the “shadow docket,” where applicants request immediate relief from lower court rulings. Alito is tasked with handling emergency cases originating in the Third Circuit, which includes New Jersey.
Alito can either individually approve or reject the LLRP’s application, or he can refer the decision to the full court.
The law, approved two years ago, aims to address a statewide shortage of affordable housing estimated at roughly 150,000 units. In October, Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy dismissed a similar state lawsuit filed by the coalition.
