[HISTORY: Adopted by the Mayor and Council
of the Borough of Highland Park as indicated in article histories.
Amendments noted where applicable.]
[Adopted by Ord. No. 1162 (§ 2-20A of the 1987 Code)]
This article shall be known as and may be cited
as "The Borough Historian Ordinance."
There is hereby created the position of Borough
Historian.
The Borough Historian shall be appointed by
the Mayor with the advice and consent of the Borough Council and shall
serve at the pleasure of the appointing authority.
The Borough Historian shall have the powers
and responsibilities provided by N.J.S.A. 40:10A-7.
The Borough Historian shall serve without compensation
but shall be entitled to be reimbursed for expenses within the funds
established in the annual Borough Budget.
[Adopted 12-19-2006 by Ord. No. 1708]
The purpose of this article is to create the
administrative mechanisms needed for the execution of Highland Park's
responsibility to assist in the provision of affordable housing pursuant
to the Fair Housing Act of 1985.
As used in this article, the following terms
shall have the meanings indicated:
The entity responsible for administering the affordability
controls of some or all units in the affordable housing program for
Highland Park to ensure that the restricted units under administration
are affirmatively marketed and sold or rented, as applicable, only
to low- and moderate-income households.
The employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for Highland Park
A.
Establishment of position of Municipal Housing Liaison.
There is hereby established the position of Municipal Housing Liaison
for Highland Park.
B.
Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable
Housing (COAH), the Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by
the governing body and may be a full- or part-time municipal employee.
C.
The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible
for oversight and administration of the affordable housing program
for Highland Park, including the following responsibilities which
may not be contracted out:
(1)
Serving as Highland Park's primary point of contact
for all inquiries from the state, affordable housing providers, administrative
agents, and interested households;
(2)
Monitoring the status of all restricted units in Highland
Park's Fair Share Plan;
(3)
Compiling, verifying, and submitting annual reports
as required by COAH;
(4)
Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers
and administrative agents, as applicable;
(5)
Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability
controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered
or approved by COAH;
D.
Subject to approval by COAH, Highland Park may contract
with or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency
charged by the governing body, which entity shall have the responsibility
of administering the affordable housing program of Highland Park.
If Highland Park contracts with another entity to administer all or
any part of the affordable housing program, including the affordability
controls and Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Municipal Housing Liaison
shall supervise the contracting administrative agent.
E.
Compensation. Compensation shall be fixed by the governing
body at the time of the appointment of the Municipal Housing Liaison.
F.
Administrative powers and duties assigned to the Municipal
Housing Liaison.
(1)
Affirmative marketing.
(a)
Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative
marketing of affordable housing units in accordance with the Affirmative
Marketing Plan of Highland Park and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15;
and
(b)
Providing counseling or contracting to provide
counseling services to low- and moderate-income applicants on subjects
such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease
requirements, and landlord/tenant law.
(2)
Household certification.
(a)
Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following
up on interviews with interested households;
(b)
Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient
documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination
of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(c)
Providing written notification to each applicant
as to the determination of eligibility or noneligibility;
(d)
Requiring that all certified applicants for
restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form,
as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set
forth in Appendixes J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et seq.;
(e)
Creating and maintaining a referral list of
eligible applicant households living in the housing region and eligible
applicant households with members working in the housing region where
the units are located; and
(f)
Employing the random selection process as provided
in the Affirmative Marketing Plan of Highland Park when referring
households for certification to affordable units.
(3)
Affordability controls.
(a)
Furnishing to attorneys or closing agents forms
of deed restrictions and mortgages for recording at the time of conveyance
of title of each restricted unit;
(b)
Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted
unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions,
recorded mortgage and note, as appropriate;
(c)
Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions
and cancellation of the mortgage note are effectuated and properly
filed with the appropriate county's register of deeds or county clerk's
office after the termination of the affordability controls for each
restricted unit;
(d)
Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures;
and
(e)
Ensuring the issuance of continuing certificates
of occupancy or certifications pursuant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
(4)
Resale and rental.
(a)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information between owners and the administrative
agent regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or
rental; and
(b)
Instituting and maintaining an effective means
of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households
regarding the availability of restricted units for resale or re-rental.
(5)
Processing request from unit owners.
(a)
Reviewing and approving requests from owners
of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance
during the term of their ownership;
(b)
Reviewing and approving requests to increase
sales prices from owners of restricted units who wish to make capital
improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such
authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional
bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air-conditioning systems;
and
(c)
Processing requests and making determinations
on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.
(6)
Enforcement.
(a)
Securing annually lists of all affordable housing
units for which tax bills are mailed to absentee owners and notifying
all such owners that they must either move back to their unit or sell
it;
(b)
Securing from all developers and sponsors of
restricted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing
of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement
that no restricted unit can be offered, or in any other way committed,
to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by
the administrative agent;
(c)
The posting annually in all rental properties,
including two-family homes, of a notice as to the maximum permitted
rent together with the telephone number of the administrative agent
where complaints of excess rent can be made;
(d)
Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable
dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined
in N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(e)
Establishing a program for diverting unlawful
rent payments to the municipality's affordable housing trust fund
or other appropriate municipal fund approved by the DCA;
(f)
Establishing a rent-to-equity program;
(g)
Creating and publishing a written operating
manual, as approved by COAH, setting forth procedures for administering
such affordability controls; and
(h)
Providing annual reports to COAH as required.
(7)
The administrative agent shall have authority to take
all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities
hereunder.
