It’s been 50 years since the Supreme Court’s landmark Mount Laurel decision, effectively ending discriminatory zoning and expanding affordable housing opportunities throughout New Jersey.

The Mount Laurel Doctrine requires every town in New Jersey to provide their “fair share” of affordable housing. Since then that March 24, 1975 ruling, more than 75,000 affordable homes and over 130,000 middle-class homes have been created, according to Fair Share Housing Center.

While this is a huge accomplishment, and one that should be applauded, the need for housing — housing that families can actually afford — still remains.

If you can’t afford a home, you can’t build a future or generational wealth. It’s that simple.

Right now, families are barely scraping by just to cover rent. Young professionals and seniors are packing up and leaving. Businesses can’t find workers because no one can afford to live nearby. And it’s only getting worse.

This isn’t just a housing problem. It’s an economic problem.

More homes don’t just mean more places to live, they mean more jobs, stronger businesses, and a healthier economy. Every time we build 1,000 homes, nearly 3,000 people get work, as stated in a National Association of Home Builders study. That’s millions in paychecks. Millions in tax dollars for schools and roads. It’s a win for everyone.

So why aren’t we building more? Because “home rule” and our zoning laws make it too hard. And that drives up costs for everyone.

That’s why we need to fix our outdated zoning laws because they currently make it unnecessarily difficult and more expensive to build.

Our proposals to permit the development of Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU’s) and to convert abandoned offices and strip malls into mixed-use developments would modernize these archaic rules. Collectively, these proposals seek to make restrictive local zoning laws more flexible.

For instance, ADU’s are an innovative way to address the rising demand for intergenerational living, and to increase the overall inventory of affordable housing. Providing a statewide ADU framework would allow homeowners to turn their extra space in an attic, garage or basement into an apartment — one that would supplement their income or help house a family member, such as a recent graduate or an aging parent.

Or, consider how converting a vacant office park into housing could benefit a community. With the rise of remote work, office space vacancies are at a 30-year high, yet we have a housing shortage that is driving up rents and home prices. If we transform those buildings into mixed-use development — combining retail, commercial, and residential — we can turn these eyesores into economic engines, while preserving valuable open space.

We also need to build homes near public transportation because employees want to get to work without breaking the bank on gas.

Enhancing our transit village program to create transit-oriented development would do just that. By offering more support to participating municipalities we can further enhance economic opportunity around transit hubs, reduce traffic congestion, and promote smart, sustainable growth – all while increasing housing inventory.

Essential workers — teachers, nurses, first responders — should be able to live in the communities where they work, and not have to live an hour away just to afford a home. And, developers should build homes that people can actually afford.

Other states and cities have figured this out. So can we.

Think about the teacher who shaped your life. The nurse who cared for your loved one. The small business that gave you your first job. The veteran who was willing to risk their life for you. If they can’t afford to stay in New Jersey, we all lose.

So what do we do? We need to change the conversation around “affordable housing.”

Unfortunately, for some, those words carry a negative stigma; yet, what “affordable housing” means is housing that people - working families, single parents, veterans, seniors, young adults - can actually afford. When we talk to our neighbors, co-workers and family members, this is how we need to explain “affordable housing.”

New Jersey cannot wait any longer. The longer we stall, the more people leave. The more businesses struggle. The more families fall behind.

We must change the conversation and modernize our laws. We know what works. Now, we just have to have the guts to do it.

Original Article