Borough of Pine Beach, NJ Affirmative Marketing Plan

The affirmative marketing plan is a regional marketing strategy designed to attract income eligible households of all majority and minority groups, regardless of sex, age or number of children, for the purpose of buying or renting affordable housing units. The plan shall address the requirements of N.J.A.C. 5:93-11. In addition, the plan prohibits discrimination in the sale, rental, financing, etc., on the basis of race, color, sex, religion, handicap, age, familial status/size or national origin. The municipality of Pine Beach is in the housing region consisting of Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties. The affirmative marketing plan is a continuing program and shall meet the following requirements:

All newspaper articles, announcements and requests for low and moderate-income housing shall appear in the following daily regional newspaper(s): Ocean County Observer, Asbury Park Press, and Trenton Times.

The initial advertising of affordable housing must take the form of at least one press release and one paid display advertisement in each of the above newspaper(s). At a minimum, the paid display advertisement shall include the following:

(1)

Street address of units.

(2)

Directions to housing units.

(3)

Number of bedrooms per unit.

(4)

Size of units.

(5)

Prices or rents of units.

(6)

Income range for qualifying households.

(7)

Location of applications.

(8)

Telephone number and office hours for obtaining information and requesting applications.

Applications must be mailed to prospective applicants upon request.

Public service announcements shall be made through the use of the following radio and/or cable television stations broadcasting throughout the region: WOBM-AM, WJLK, Asbury Park and TKR Cable, Trenton, NJ.

Announcements, requests for applicants and newspaper articles may be placed in the following neighborhood oriented weekly newspapers, religious publications and organizational newsletters within Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties:

Ocean County Observer

Project Freedom, Trenton

Rural Development Corp., Toms River

Affordable housing application, brochures, signs and/or announcements regarding the availability of affordable housing units with Pine Beach shall be forwarded to and posted at the following four large-scale employers within the region:

(1)

Ocean County Admin. Building.

(2)

Toms River Regional School.

(3)

Community Medical Center, Toms River.

(4)

Ocean County Mall.

The following is a listing of community and regional organizations in Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties that will aid in the affirmative marketing program with particular emphasis on contacts that will reach out to groups that are least likely to apply for affordable housing within the region:

Ocean Inc. - Nonprofit home provider, Toms River, NJ.

Collaborative Support Programs of NJ, Freehold, NJ.

Affordable housing applications, brochures, announcements and/or posters will be forwarded to and posted at the following locations:

Developer's sales office Municipal building.

Ocean County Library.

Mercer County Library Monmouth County Library.

Quarterly informational circulars and applications shall be sent to each of the following agencies for publication in their journals and for circulating among their members:

Board of Realtors in Ocean County

Board of Realtors in Mercer County

Board of Realtors in Monmouth County

Additional quarterly information circulars and applications shall be sent to the following nonprofit, religious, governmental, fraternal, civic, community action agencies in Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties:

Homes for All - Toms River, NJ

Lutheran Social Ministries of NJ, Yardville Monmouth Housing Alliance, Eatontown

The following points (Subsections L to O) describe the random selection method that will be used to select occupants of low and moderate-income housing random selection method used by NJ Affordable Housing Management Service (AHMS).

AHMS or another experienced administrative agency approved by COAH will be the agency under contract with Pine Beach to administer the affordable housing units. The administrative entity has the responsibility to advertise, income qualify low and moderate-income households, to place eligible households in low and moderate-income units upon initial occupancy, to continue to qualify households for re-occupancy of units as they become vacant and to enforce the terms of the deed restriction. The Borough of Pine Beach or the administrative entity will provide counseling services to low and moderate income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualifications, rental lease requirements and landlord-tenant law.

In addition, the Borough of Pine Beach is designating the Borough Clerk and/or the Land Use Board Secretary as a full-time "housing officer" to act as liaison between COAH, the municipality and the administrative entity. The municipal liaison will be responsible for tracking the progress of affordable housing, fielding inquiries regarding affordable housing from the public and COAH, complying with COAH monitoring and reporting requirements as per N.J.A.C. 5:93-11.6 and 5:93-12.1.

Developers and builders of low and moderate-income housing units may be required by Pine Beach to assist in the advertising of affordable units in their respective developments in accordance with the preceding paragraphs. Such advertising must be coordinated with the administrative entity and is subject to the approval of Pine Beach.

Pine Beach, in conjunction with AHMS or another selected qualified agency, may delegate other specific tasks to a developer/builder (such as interviewing applicants, pre-screening households, etc.) provided that copies of all applications, income verification documents, sales records, etc., of the low and moderate-income units are returned to Pine Beach for reporting purposes and to aid with future resales.

Households who live or work in the housing region of Ocean, Mercer and Monmouth Counties may be given preference for the affordable housing units within the municipality. Applicants living outside the housing region shall have an equal opportunity for units after intra-regional applicants have been processed. Pine Beach intends to comply with N.J.A.C. 5:93-11.7.

The affirmative marketing plan for new (NA) units shall commence 120 days before the issuance of either temporary or permanent certificates of occupancy. Affirmative marketing shall continue until all low and moderate-income housing units are initially occupied. Affirmative marketing for existing units shall continue on an "as needed" basis for as long as affordable units are deed restricted.