New Jersey struggles to develop fair rules on affordable housing. "The whole thing is madness at this point," says a Sussex County administrator.
"Across the state, a four-letter word is spoken - sometimes righteously, other times disdainfully - in council chambers, planning offices and courtrooms: COAH.
The revised, third-round Council on Affordable Housing Rules could bring the most confusion - and legal wrangling - yet seen in the decades-old, statewide program.
The council's new regulations and requirements plan for 115,000 new affordable housing units statewide. The cost estimate for the building of those units is estimated by attorneys and planners to amount to as much as $18.5 billion across the Garden State.
Statewide concerns on both sides of the controversy span from the socioeconomic - preserving current property values in highly-valued areas - to the philosophical, like the opportunity to live in a better neighborhood someone otherwise might not be able to afford."
Read the full story: Housing rules stir controversy
Seattle Public Hearing on Affordable Housing Surprisingly YIMBY
Fort Lawton, an affordable housing proposal including over 200 units, got a warm reception at a meeting in Seattle.
Judge says Rhode Island town can't seize private lot to block affordable housing
The town of Johnston moved to seize a lot for municipal buildings after its owners submitted a plan for a 254-unit housing development.
Wellesley sues state over proposed housing on state-owned parking lot
The college town opposes a 180-unit development that it says creates too much density for the area.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
US buildings threatened, destroyed by fires set to triple by 2060
Researchers found a high fire risk for socioeconomically vulnerable neighborhoods in the American West.
LA residents may be allowed to paint their own crosswalks
Councilwoman Katy Yaroslavsky put out a motion instructing the Los Angeles Department of Public Transportation to study the feasibility of allowing volunteers to paint crosswalks.
Dallas moves to overhaul its zoning code
The city's zoning reform will allow more multi-family and mixed-use developments.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
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Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
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Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
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