The purpose of this article is to set forth
standards and procedures to ensure that the affordable housing required
under the Zoning Ordinance of the Borough of Fort Lee is developed
for and made affordable to low- and moderate-income households. All
affordable units shall meet the requirements of this article.
All developers who have an affordable housing
obligation shall be required to comply with this article. Specifically,
this article shall apply to the R-10A and R-12 Zones. No subdivision
approval, site plan approval or building permit shall be granted to
a developer having an affordable housing obligation unless the developer
participates in the production of affordable housing pursuant to this
article.
Every development subject to the requirements
of this article shall contain equal number of low- and moderate-income
units. The maximum average unit and price of low- and moderate-income
units within a development shall be affordable to households earning
57.5% of median income, as calculated pursuant to the regulations
of the Council on Affordable Housing. Moderate-income sales units
shall be available for at least three different prices and low-income
sales units shall be available for at least two different prices.
Developers of rental units may establish one rent for a low-income
unit and one rent for a moderate-income unit for each bedroom distribution.
Every development subject to the requirements
of this article shall establish a distribution for the number of bedrooms
in the affordable housing units such that:
A. At least 30% shall be two-bedroom units;
B. At least 20% shall be three-bedroom units; and
C. The combination of efficiency and one-bedroom units
shall be at least 10% and no greater than 20%.
None of the affordable housing units in any
development subject to this article shall be age-restricted without
the prior approval of the Affordable Housing Official. Such approval
shall be granted only if no more than 25% of the Borough's fair share
obligation (after any transfers made under a regional contribution
agreement) will be met by age-restricted units.
In the event that there are more applicants
for affordable housing in any development than there are vacancies
for such housing, the units shall initially be made available to low-
and moderate-income households currently living or working in the
region consisting of Bergen County, Hudson County, Passaic County
and Sussex County. For initial occupancy priority, households shall
be screened according to the above preference. Those households qualifying
for priority shall be offered contracts of sale and/or lease first
and before other income eligible households. When housing units have
been purchased or leased by all households qualifying according to
the priority standards, the remaining income eligible applicants,
not yet under contract, shall be pooled and offered contracts. Within
all rounds of applicant selection, random selection of eligible applicants
shall prevail.
Persons wishing to sell affordable units shall
notify the Affordable Housing Official of the intent to sell. If no
eligible buyer enters a contract of sale for the unit within 90 days
of notification, the Borough and the housing authority shall have
the option to purchase the unit for a negotiated price not to exceed
the maximum price permitted based on the regional increase in median
income as defined by HUD. If neither the Borough nor the housing authority
purchases the unit, the seller may apply for permission to offer the
unit to a non-income-eligible household at the maximum price permitted.
The seller shall document efforts to sell the unit to an income-eligible
household as part of this application. If the request is granted,
the seller may offer a low-income housing unit to a moderate-income
household and a moderate-income housing unit to households earning
in excess of 80% of median. In no case shall the seller be permitted
to receive more than the maximum price permitted. In no case shall
a sale pursuant to this section eliminate the resale controls on the
unit or permit any subsequent seller to convey the unit except in
full compliance with the terms of this article.