Zoning abets housing crisis

Published in the Asbury Park Press 4/08/03

An Asbury Park Press editorial

The state's decision to crack down on motels that take in more long-term guests than is the law permits has helped draw attention to the shortage of affordable housing in Monmouth County and elsewhere in New Jersey. The need to crack down on some of the most flagrant abuses is clear. So, too, is the obligation to ensure that those who are being evicted have somewhere else to go before they are thrown out on the street.

The lack of affordable housing -- both for those on state assistance and those whose incomes make it difficult for them to find decent housing -- is particularly acute in Monmouth County, where rental costs are among the highest in the nation. The shortage has been aggravated by the reluctance of many towns to allow construction of affordable housing, homeless shelters and transitional housing. That attitude must change.

The shortage of low-cost housing - and the impediments local officials have thrown in the way of getting it built - has forced county welfare agencies to increase their reliance on motels. A state Department of Community Affairs inspection found that 12 of 14 motels inspected in Monmouth County violated state laws on boarding houses. In one, the Pan American Motel in Eatowntown, an inspector found that 146 people were living in 26 rooms. That's unacceptable. But alternative housing needs to be found.

The state will be working with the New Jersey Apartment Association, a group whose members collectively own 120,000 apartments, to make more of their units available to those on state assistance. That effort is crucial to helping ease the crisis. But municipal officials need to stop thwarting efforts by housing advocates to build new homeless shelters, transitional housing and affordable housing in their communities.

A nonprofit group has been trying for more than a year to find a site for a homeless shelter and soup kitchen in Monmouth County. Another group hoping to build a 97-unit apartment complex that would include 29 units for people with mental and physical disabilities sent a letter to all 53 Monmouth County municipalities about six months ago in hopes of finding a host community. It failed to get a single response.

The dearth of affordable housing is due largely to the failure of local officials - often acting on what they perceive to be the will of their constituents - to make provision for it in their zoning ordinances. The problem won't go away until public officials start showing some guts and stand up for those most in need. In the meantime, housing advocates and the state must continue seeking short-term solutions

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