Opinion ID: 1901249
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Judicial Remedies

Text: If a trial court determines that a municipality has not met its Mount Laurel obligation, it shall order the municipality to revise its zoning ordinance within a set time period to comply with the constitutional mandate; if the municipality fails adequately to revise its ordinance within that time, the court shall implement the remedies for noncompliance outlined below; and if plaintiff is a developer, the court shall determine whether a builder's remedy should be granted.
Builder's remedies have been one of many controversial aspects of the Mount Laurel doctrine. Plaintiffs, particularly plaintiff-developers, maintain that these remedies are (i) essential to maintain a significant level of Mount Laurel litigation, and the only effective method to date of enforcing compliance; (ii) required by principles of fairness to compensate developers who have invested substantial time and resources in pursuing such litigation; and (iii) the most likely means of ensuring that lower income housing is actually built. Defendant municipalities contend that even if a plaintiff-developer obtains a judgment that a particular municipality has not complied with Mount Laurel, that municipality, and not the developer, should be allowed to determine how and where its fair share obligation will be met. In Madison, this Court, while granting a builder's remedy to the plaintiff appeared to discourage such remedies in the future by stating that such relief will ordinarily be rare. 72 N.J. at 551-52 n. 50. Experience since Madison, however, has demonstrated to us that builder's remedies must be made more readily available to achieve compliance with Mount Laurel. We hold that where a developer succeeds in Mount Laurel litigation and proposes a project providing a substantial amount of lower income housing, [37] a builder's remedy should be granted unless the municipality establishes that because of environmental or other substantial planning concerns, the plaintiff's proposed project is clearly contrary to sound land use planning. We emphasize that the builder's remedy should not be denied solely because the municipality prefers some other location for lower income housing, even if it is in fact a better site. Nor is it essential that considerable funds be invested or that the litigation be intensive. Other problems concerning builder's remedies require discussion. Care must be taken to make certain that Mount Laurel is not used as an unintended bargaining chip in a builder's negotiations with the municipality, and that the courts not be used as the enforcer for the builder's threat to bring Mount Laurel litigation if municipal approvals for projects containing no lower income housing are not forthcoming. Proof of such threats shall be sufficient to defeat Mount Laurel litigation by that developer. It is within the power of trial courts to adjust the timing of builder's remedies so as to cushion the impact of these developments on municipalities where that impact would otherwise cause a sudden and radical transformation of the municipality. This adjustment is analogous to the phasing-in of the satisfaction of present and prospective need mentioned in Ruling 10, supra at 218-219. The trial court (and the master, if one is appointed) should make sure that the municipal planning board is closely involved in the formulation of the builder's remedy. This does not mean that the planning board should be permitted to delay or hinder the project or to reduce the amount of lower income housing required. However, with this caveat, the trial court and master should make as much use as they can of the planning board's expertise and experience so that the proposed project is suitable for the municipality. Finally, we emphasize that our decision to expand builder's remedies should not be viewed as a license for unnecessary litigation when builders are unable, for good reason, to secure variances for their particular parcels (as Judge Muir suggested was true in the Chester Township case). Trial courts should guard the public interest carefully to be sure that plaintiff-developers do not abuse the Mount Laurel doctrine. Where builder's remedies are awarded, the remedy should be carefully conditioned to assure that in fact the plaintiff-developer constructs a substantial amount of lower income housing. Various devices can be used for that purpose, including prohibiting construction of more than a certain percentage of the non-lower income housing until a certain amount of the lower income housing is completed.
If the trial court determines that a municipality's zoning ordinance does not satisfy its Mount Laurel obligation, it shall order the defendant to revise it. Unless it is clear that the requisite realistic opportunity can be otherwise provided, the trial court should direct the municipality to incorporate in that new ordinance the affirmative devices discussed above most likely to lead to the construction of lower income housing. The trial court shall order the revision to be completed within 90 days of its original judgment against the municipality. For good cause shown, a municipality may be granted an extension of that time period. To facilitate this revision, the trial court may appoint a special master to assist municipal officials in developing constitutional zoning and land use regulations. [38] The use of such special masters, sometimes called hybrid masters, is not uncommon in litigation resulting in some form of institutional change. [39] See, e.g., T. Eisenberg & S. Yeazell, The Ordinary and the Extraordinary in Institutional Litigation, 93 Harv.L. Rev. 465 (1980); T. Mayo, Exclusionary Zoning, Remedies, and the Expansive Role of the Court in Public Law Litigation, 31 Syracuse L.Rev. 755 (1980); Special Project  The Remedial Process in Institutional Reform Litigation, 78 Colum.L.Rev. 784, 794 (1978); Berger, Away from the Court House and Into the Field: The Odyssey of a Special Master, 78 Colum.L.Rev. 707 (1978); The Wyatt Case: Implementation of a Judicial Decree Ordering Institutional Change, 84 Yale L.J. 1338, 1344 (1975). These impartial experts use their skills to help the parties formulate a remedy that will comply with the trial court's order and supply information that the parties may not have available to them. 78 Colum.L.Rev. at 794. They differ from traditional masters, whose roles are usually limited to serving as fact-finders and supervising procedural tasks, id. at 805, in that special masters work with the parties to devise a remedy that will meet with the court's approval. Id. at 805-06; 84 Yale L.J. at 1344. While the appointment of a master is discretionary, we believe that such appointment is desirable in many cases where the court orders a revision of the land use regulations, especially if that revision is substantial. We do not view the appointment of a master as punitive in the least; it is not designed to settle scores with recalcitrant municipalities. The point here is that we intend that the appointment of masters be viewed by the court as a readily available device, one to be liberally used. In our view the master is of potential help to all concerned: to the municipality, to the plaintiffs, to the court and counsel. He or she is an expert, a negotiator, a mediator, and a catalyst  a person who will help the municipality select from the innumerable combinations of actions that could satisfy the constitutional obligation, the one that gives appropriate weight to the many conflicting interests involved, the one that satisfies not only the Constitution but, to some extent, the parties as well. Where the court, however, has solid reason  more than faith  to believe that the municipality will promptly attempt to rezone in accordance with the spirit of the court's order, the better part of judicial discretion would be not to appoint a master. This form of supervision is neither as intrusive nor as novel as it might seem. It is not overly intrusive since the municipality itself develops the ordinance with the advice and assistance of the special master and the participation of the other parties. 78 Colum.L.Rev. at 809. The final result, of course, is subject to the trial court's approval. Id. Nor is it especially novel. In addition to the increasing use of special masters in the implementation of remedies in institutional litigation, courts necessarily intrude into parties' affairs in all litigation  that is the very nature of a lawsuit and its consequences. Such intrusions have traditionally taken the form of supervising a party's business, whether as a result of bankruptcy, probate, or corporate litigation; compelling parties to appear as witnesses to testify, which may entail considerable disruption of those persons' lives and affairs; creating special tribunals; and in many other ways becoming involved itself with the lives and activities of the parties. 93 Harv.L.Rev. at 474-92. We have however become accustomed to seeing courts and their delegates function in those traditional roles and therefore do not object to their activities, while the use of special masters is a relatively new remedial device. The special master may also free the court from unwise direct over-involvement in the revision of the zoning ordinance, saving the court's time and eliminating the need for the court to develop even greater expertise in the intricacies of land use regulation. The municipality receives the assistance of an expert in the zoning field to aid in its revision process. Obviously the court must select a planning expert who has had no previous connection with the litigation. The master will work closely not only with the governing body but with all those connected with the litigation, including plaintiffs, the board of adjustment, planning board and interested developers. He or she will assist all parties in discussing and negotiating the requirements of the new regulations, the use of affirmative devices, and other activities designed to conform to the Mount Laurel obligation. The parties will presumably give the master's suggestions great weight, since the revised ordinance will be submitted to the master for his or her review and recommendations prior to its submission to the court. During the course of the revision process, the master will report periodically to the court on the progress of the revision process. At the end of the 90 day period, on notice to all the parties, the revised ordinance will be presented in open court and the master will inform the court under oath, and subject to cross-examination, whether, in his or her opinion, that ordinance conforms with the trial court's judgment. That opinion, however, is not binding on the trial court. The master's powers are limited to rendering opinions, proposing findings, issuing recommendations, and assisting the court in other similar ways as it may direct. [40] See, e.g., Fidelity Union Trust Co. v. Ritz Holding Co., 126 N.J. Eq. 148 (Ch. 1939). It is the trial court that must ultimately determine, independently, whether or not the municipality has conformed to its judgment and to the Mount Laurel doctrine. The municipality may elect to revise its land use regulations and implement affirmative remedies under protest. If so, it may file an appeal when the trial court enters final judgment of compliance. Until that time there shall be no right of appeal, as the trial court's determination of fair share and non-compliance is interlocutory. Stay of the effectiveness of an ordinance that is the basis for a judgment of compliance where the ordinance was adopted under protest shall be determined in accordance with the usual rules. Proceedings as ordered herein (including the obligation of the municipality to revise its zoning ordinance with the assistance of the special master) will continue despite the pendency of any attempted interlocutory appeals by the municipality.
If within the time allotted by the trial court a revised zoning ordinance is submitted by the defendant municipality that meets the municipality's Mount Laurel obligations, the trial court shall issue a judgment of compliance. If the revised ordinance does not meet the constitutional requirements, or if no revised ordinance is submitted within the time allotted, the trial court may issue such orders as are appropriate, including any one or more of the following: (1) that the municipality adopt such resolutions and ordinances, including particular amendments to its zoning ordinance, and other land use regulations, as will enable it to meet its Mount Laurel obligations; (2) that certain types of projects or construction as may be specified by the trial court be delayed within the municipality until its ordinance is satisfactorily revised, or until all or part of its fair share of lower income housing is constructed and/or firm commitments for its construction have been made by responsible developers; (3) that the zoning ordinance and other land use regulations of the municipality be deemed void in whole or in part so as to relax or eliminate building and use restrictions in all or selected portions of the municipality (the court may condition this remedy upon failure of the municipality to adopt resolutions or ordinances mentioned in (1) above); and (4) that particular applications to construct housing that includes lower income units be approved by the municipality, or any officer, board, agency, authority (independent or otherwise) or division thereof. In determining remedies for non-compliance, the trial court may use the assistance and advice of a master subject to the guidelines set forth above. The remedies permitted herein upon judgment of non-compliance go beyond what had previously been allowed by this Court in Mount Laurel cases. They were clearly anticipated by the Court, however, in Madison, where we explicitly approved and adopted remedies far beyond our actions in Mount Laurel I. As we noted in Madison: In Mount Laurel we elected not to impose direct judicial supervision of compliance with the judgment in view of the advanced view of zoning law as applied to housing laid down by [the] opinion. 67 N.J. at 192. The present case is different. The basic law is by now settled. Further, the defendant was correctly advised by the trial court as to its responsibilities in respect of regional housing needs in October 1971, over five years ago. [ Oakwood at Madison Inc. v. Township of Madison, ] 117 N.J. Super. 11. It came forth with an amended ordinance which has been found to fall short of its obligation. Considerations bearing upon the public interest, justice to plaintiffs and efficient judicial administration preclude another generalized remand for another unsupervised effort by the defendant to produce a satisfactory ordinance. The focus of the judicial effort after six years of litigation must now be transferred from theorizing over zoning to assurance of the zoning opportunity for production of least cost housing. [72 N.J. at 552-53]. That step itself was anticipated in Mount Laurel I, when we said that [s]hould Mount Laurel not perform as we expect, further judicial action may be sought by supplemental pleading in this cause. 67 N.J. at 192. It is now five years beyond Madison. The direct orders we issued to the municipality then, 72 N.J. at 553, may appropriately now be issued by trial courts initially and with complete specificity. And that which we intimated in Madison might be the ultimate outcome after so many years of litigation  adoption by the trial court of a master's recommendations to achieve compliance, id. at 553-54  may now be the appropriate initial judicial remedy at the trial level. We adhere to the belief that where conventional remedies are adequate to vindicate a right, they should be employed, that it is unwise to devise remedies that partake more of administrative and legislative than of judicial power where traditional remedies will do. Judicial legitimacy may be at risk if we take action resembling traditional executive or legislative models; but it may be even more at risk through failure to take such action if that is the only way to enforce the Constitution. [41] In short, there being a constitutional obligation, we are not willing to allow it to be disregarded and rendered meaningless by declaring that we are powerless to apply any remedies other than those conventionally used. We intend no discourse on the history of judicial remedies, but suspect that that which we deem conventional was devised because it seemed perfectly adequate in view of the obligation it addressed. We suspect that the same history would show that as obligations were recognized that could not be satisfied through such conventional remedies, the courts devised further remedies, and indeed the history of Chancery is as much a history of remedy as it is of obligation. The process of remedial development has not yet been frozen. We should be clear as to what is new here and what is conventional and about the extent of remedial change, regardless of the labels used. The use of a master to aid in resolution of a dispute is not new. Indeed, here it is not a remedy at all but a method of aiding the parties in complying with a court order. [42] When the court orders that an ordinance be amended, it does very little different from ordering that a variance be granted, actions taken by our courts in New Jersey for many years. It does very little different from declaring that a zoning ordinance is invalid on equal protection grounds, the effect of that often being not simply to allow a plaintiff to use his property in a manner not permitted by the ordinance, but to give the same right to an entire class. The ordinance is effectively amended to permit a use explicitly excluded, or in some cases to exclude one explicitly permitted. Sometimes the action of the court comes even closer to ordering, indeed declaring, that an ordinance has been changed, see West Point Island Ass'n v. Township Committee of Dover Twp., 54 N.J. 339 (1969), where this Court, in effect, affirmed the decision of a trial court ordering a municipality to take certain action, which action could be taken only by the adoption of a resolution that the municipality had not adopted. As noted above, we did not hesitate, in Madison, to order amendment of the municipal zoning ordinance. Similarly, in Lusardi v. Curtis Point Property Owners Ass'n, 86 N.J. 217 (1981), relying on the judiciary's power to regulate zoning in the public interest, we effectively modified an ordinance that conflicted with the state's policy of affording recreational opportunities on the Atlantic seafront for as many citizens as possible. The scope of remedies authorized by this opinion is similar to those used in a rapidly growing area of the law commonly referred to as institutional litigation or public law litigation. [43] While it may not have been appropriate at the time of Mount Laurel to employ those remedies, regularly used in such public law litigation, we clearly recognized the further extent of judicial power in the field by citing the lower court's decision in Pascack, 131 N.J. Super. 195 (Law Div. 1974), a case in which the panoply of remedies appropriate in institutional litigation was used. What we said in Mount Laurel in reference to remedy eight years ago was that such remedies were not appropriate at this time, particularly in view of the advanced view of zoning law as applied to housing laid down by this opinion.... 67 N.J. at 192. That view is no longer advanced, at least not in this state. It is eight years old. Our warning to Mount Laurel  and to all other municipalities  that if they do not perform as we expect, further judicial action may be sought ..., id. at 192, will seem hollow indeed if the best we can do to satisfy the constitutional obligation is to issue orders, judgments and injunctions that assure never-ending litigation but fail to assure constitutional vindication.
The remedies authorized today are intended to achieve compliance with the Constitution and the Mount Laurel obligations without interminable trials and appeals. Municipalities will not be able to appeal a trial court's determination that its ordinance is invalid, wait several years for adjudication of that appeal, and then, if unsuccessful, adopt another inadequate ordinance followed by more litigation and subsequent appeals. We intend by our remedy to conclude in one proceeding, with a single appeal, all questions involved. There will be either a judgment of compliance (from which a municipality that acted under protest may appeal with or without stays) signifying the trial court's conclusions that there are land use regulations and affirmative devices in place conforming to the constitutional obligation; or there will be a judgment containing one or more of many orders available in the event of non-compliance along with the action of the municipality conforming to such orders. On appeal, the appellate court will have before it everything needed to determine fully the issues. It may ultimately turn out on appeal, of course, that the trial court's initial determination that the ordinance before it failed to comply with Mount Laurel was incorrect. In that case, all of the steps subsequently taken by the municipality to comply at the trial level may have been wasted energy. Our requirement of this procedure, however, is based upon our belief that much more time has been (and would continue to be) wasted, and much less compliance effected, as a result of the multiple appeals that have been allowed in the past. In the most unusual circumstances stays may be granted either by the trial or appellate courts and interlocutory appeals taken (or attempted); furthermore, there may even be circumstances in which the trial court declines to handle the litigation in one package. It may, for instance, enter as final judgment (upon certification pursuant to R. 4:42-2) what would otherwise be an interlocutory order invalidating the ordinance before it. It should ordinarily do so only where it entertains substantial doubts as to the correctness of its position and concludes that on balance an immediate appeal is clearly preferable to any procedures that might otherwise follow the interlocutory judgment of invalidation. We intend to administer the Mount Laurel doctrine effectively. It is complex. Its administration is important not simply to those seeking lower income housing, but to the municipalities as well. We have no desire to deprive municipalities of their right to litigate each and every determination affecting their interests, but we believe that the present procedures, allowing numerous appeals, retrials, and ordinarily resulting in substantial delay in meeting the obligation, do not strike the proper balance. While we cannot totally satisfy both the plaintiffs' and defendants' interests, we think the procedures required above come closer than those that have existed in the past to achieving a just balance of all the polices involved. That balance also requires modification of the role of res judicata in these cases. Judicial determinations of compliance with the fair share obligation or of invalidity are not binding under ordinary rules of res judicata since circumstances obviously change. In Mount Laurel cases, however, judgments of compliance should provide that measure of finality suggested in the Municipal Land Use Law, which requires the reexamination and amendment of land use regulations every six years. Compliance judgments in these cases therefore shall have res judicata effect, despite changed circumstances, for a period of six years, the period to begin with the entry of the judgment by the trial court. [44] In this way, municipalities can enjoy the repose that the res judicata doctrine intends, free of litigious interference with the normal planning process.