Opinion ID: 1901249
Heading Depth: 3
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Determination of Mahwah's Fair Share

Text: We turn to the trial court's disposition of Mahwah's Mount Laurel obligation. The trial court, after deciding that Mahwah was developing, held that the Township satisfied the resulting Mount Laurel obligation by providing least cost housing. It rejected plaintiffs' claim that housing costs could be reduced in Mahwah so that housing could be constructed at prices affordable by lower income families, stating instead that the judge's personal knowledge of the economic situation led him to conclude that the housing available reflected a bona-fide attempt at achieving least cost. [70] We disagree with both the trial court's approach and ultimate conclusion, and therefore reverse and remand. On remand the trial court will immediately appoint an expert to assist the court in the fair share hearing, which shall be conducted in accordance with this opinion. Assuming the Township does not challenge the SDGP characterization of Mahwah as containing a growth area, and assuming the court finds that Mahwah's present ordinance does not provide a realistic opportunity for the construction of its present and prospective fair share of the regional lower income housing need (and this seems certain from the record before us), it will enter a judgment invalidating the ordinance along with an order requiring Mahwah to revise its ordinance to achieve compliance. To the extent necessary, that revision should eliminate the cost-generating provisions that have made least cost housing impossible to construct. That order should require Mahwah fully to utilize the remedial devices set forth above, and should include appointment of a master to aid in the amendment of Mahwah's ordinance. Mahwah, which contains a growth area under the SDGP, [71] will have to document its efforts at providing lower income housing opportunities (efforts that must include use of affirmative devices where necessary), and then if, and only if, provision of such opportunities is shown to be impossible, it will be required to prove that the opportunities it does provide are in fact least cost. We therefore reverse the trial court's judgment and remand for further proceedings consistent with this opinion.