Opinion ID: 1901249
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 3

Heading: Mandatory Set-Asides

Text: A more effective inclusionary device that municipalities must use if they cannot otherwise meet their fair share obligations is the mandatory set-aside. [30] According to the Department of Community Affairs, as of 1976 there were six municipalities in New Jersey with mandatory set-aside programs, which varied from a requirement that 5 percent of developments in a certain zone be composed of low and moderate income units (Cherry Hill, Camden County) to a requirement that between 15 and 25 percent of all PUDs be reserved for low and moderate income housing (East Windsor, Mercer County). Housing Handbook, supra at 201 n. 2 at 12-16. [31] Apparently, judging from the Handbook itself and from responses to our inquiries at oral argument, lower income housing is in fact being built pursuant to these mandatory requirements. The use of mandatory set-asides is not without its problems: dealing with the scarcity of federal subsidies, maintaining the rent or sales price of lower income units at lower income levels over time, and assuring developers an adequate return on their investments. Fox and Davis found that the scarcity of federal subsidies has greatly undermined the effectiveness of mandatory set-asides where they are triggered only when a developer is able to obtain such subsidies. Fox & Davis, supra, 3 Hastings Const. L.Q. at 1065-66. Where practical, a municipality should use mandatory set-asides even where subsidies are not available. [32] As several commentators have noted, the problem of keeping lower income units available for lower income people over time can be a difficult one. See id. at 1034-36; Housing Handbook, supra at 201 n. 2, at 11; Kleven, supra at 266 n. 28, at 1445. Because a mandatory set-aside program usually requires a developer to sell or rent units at below their full value so that the units can be affordable to lower income people, the owner of the development or the initial tenant or purchaser of the unit may be induced to re-rent or re-sell the unit at its full value. This problem, which municipalities must address in order to assure that they continue to meet their fair share obligations, can be dealt with in two ways. First, the developer can meet its mandatory quota of lower income units with lower cost housing, such as mobile homes or no-frills apartments, which may be affordable by lower income families at close to the units' market value. The other, apparently more common, approach for dealing with the re-sale or re-rent problem is for the municipality to require that re-sale or re-rent prices be kept at lower income levels. For example, the Cherry Hill ordinance requires that there be regulations which reasonably assure that the dwelling units be occupied by [lower income persons]. Similarly, the Franklin Township (Somerset County) ordinance requires that a developer demonstrate in writing that the rentals and prices of lower income units remain low enough to benefit lower income persons. Housing Handbook, supra at 201 n. 2, at 11. These provisions appear to place the burden on the developer to devise the precise mechanism for maintaining the units at lower income levels. A more sophisticated approach, considered by Princeton Township, would have established a two part control mechanism. First, disposition covenants would have been created for all the lower income units binding the owners and renters of such units to sell or rent only at lower income levels. Second, a Public Trust would have been created whose trustees would have administered the covenants and determined what would be lower income levels over time. See Housing Proposal, supra at 266 n. 28, at 68-70. Mandatory set-asides can be rendered ineffective if a developer builds all its conventional units first and then reneges on the obligation to build the lower income units. To avoid this problem, municipalities and courts should require that a developer phase-in the lower income units as the development progresses. That is, if a developer is required to set aside 20 percent of a development for lower income units, 20 percent of each stage of the development should be lower income, to the extent this is practical. In addition to the mechanisms we have just described, municipalities and trial courts must consider such other affirmative devices as zoning substantial areas for mobile homes and for other types of low cost housing and establishing maximum square footage zones, i.e., zones where developers cannot build units with more than a certain footage or build anything other than lower income housing or housing that includes a specified portion of lower income housing. In some cases, a realistic opportunity to provide the municipality's fair share may require over-zoning, i.e., zoning to allow for more than the fair share if it is likely, as it usually is, that not all of the property made available for lower income housing will actually result in such housing. Although several of the defendants concede that simply removing restrictions and exactions is unlikely to result in the construction of lower income housing, they maintain that requiring the municipality to use affirmative measures is beyond the scope of the courts' authority. We disagree. Before directly answering their objections, we note, as we did in Robinson v. Cahill, 69 N.J. 133 (1975), that unless an appropriate remedy is formulated to redress a violation of [constitutional] rights, our Constitution embodies rights in a vacuum, existing only on paper. Id. at 147, quoting Cooper v. Nutley Sun Printing Co., Inc., 36 N.J. 189, 197 (1961). See also Swann v. Charlotte-Mecklenburg Bd. of Ed., 402 U.S. 1, 15, 91 S.Ct. 1267, 1275, 28 L.Ed. 2d 554 (1971). If it is plain, and it is, that unless we require the use of affirmative measures the constitutional guarantee that protects poor people from municipal exclusion will exist only on paper, then the only appropriate remedy is the use of affirmative measures. The specific contentions are that inclusionary measures amount to a taking without just compensation and an impermissible socio-economic use of the zoning power, one not substantially related to the use of land. Reliance is placed to some extent on Board of Supervisors v. DeGroff Enterprises, Inc., 214 Va. 235, 198 S.E. 2d 600 (1973), to that effect. We disagree with that decision. We now resolve the matter that we left open in Madison, 72 N.J. at 518-19. We hold that where the Mount Laurel obligation cannot be satisfied by removal of restrictive barriers, inclusionary devices such as density bonuses and mandatory set-asides keyed to the construction of lower income housing, are constitutional and within the zoning power of a municipality. In Taxpayers Ass'n of Weymouth Twp. v. Weymouth Twp., 80 N.J. 6 (1976), we upheld a zoning ordinance that allowed mobile homes in a particular zone, limited however to elderly persons or families. Our decision was based, in part, on the conclusion that meeting the special housing needs of the elderly served the general welfare, and that the restriction of this use to a mobile home district satisfied the requirement that the zoning ordinance be related to the physical use of the land. See also Shepard v. Woodland Twp. Comm. & Planning Bd., 71 N.J. 230 (1976); DeSimone v. Greater Englewood Housing Corp. No. 1, 56 N.J. 428 (1970). [33] The rationale of Weymouth could, under appropriate circumstances, sustain a zoning ordinance that restricted a particular district exclusively for mobile homes for the elderly (the actual restriction allowed other uses). If that is permissible, then the comparable special need of lower income families for housing, and its impact on the general welfare, could justify a district limited to such use and certainly one of lesser restriction that requires only that multi-family housing within a district include such use (the equivalent of a mandatory set-aside). Since the objective here goes beyond serving the special needs of a particular class of citizens for the general welfare and extends to the fulfillment of a constitutional obligation, the constitutionality of such devices, and the power of the municipality to impose them, is even clearer. The contention that generally these devices are beyond the municipal power because they are socio-economic is particularly inappropriate. The very basis for the constitutional obligation underlying Mount Laurel is a belief, fundamental, that excluding a class of citizens from housing on an economic basis (one that substantially corresponds to a socio-economic basis) distinctly disserves the general welfare. That premise is essential to the conclusion that such zoning ordinances are an abuse of the zoning power and are therefore unconstitutional. It is nonsense to single out inclusionary zoning (providing a realistic opportunity for the construction of lower income housing) and label it socio-economic if that is meant to imply that other aspects of zoning are not. Detached single family residential zones, high-rise multi-family zones of any kind, factory zones, clean research and development zones, recreational, open space, conservation, and agricultural zones, regional shopping mall zones, indeed practically any significant kind of zoning now used, has a substantial socio-economic impact and, in some cases, a socio-economic motivation. It would be ironic if inclusionary zoning to encourage the construction of lower income housing were ruled beyond the power of a municipality because it is socio-economic when its need has arisen from the socio-economic zoning of the past that excluded it. Looked at somewhat differently, having concluded that the constitutional obligation can sometimes be satisfied only through the use of these inclusionary devices, it would take a clear contrary constitutional provision to lead us to conclude that that which is necessary to achieve the constitutional mandate is prohibited by the same Constitution. In other words, we would find it difficult to conclude that our Constitution both requires and prohibits these measures. We find the distinction between the exercise of the zoning power that is directly tied to the physical use of the property, Madison, 72 N.J. at 517, and its exercise tied to the income level of those who use the property artificial in connection with the Mount Laurel obligation, although it obviously troubled us in Madison. [34] The prohibition of this kind of affirmative device seems unfair when we have for so long allowed large lot single family residence districts, a form of zoning keyed, in effect, to income levels. The constitutional obligation itself is not to build three bedroom units, or single family residences on very small lots, or high-rise multi-family apartments, but rather to provide through the zoning ordinance a realistic opportunity to construct lower income housing. All of the physical uses are simply a means to this end. We see no reason why the municipality cannot exercise its zoning power to achieve that end directly rather than through a mass of detailed regulations governing the physical use of land, the sole purpose of which is to provide housing within the reach of lower income families. We know of no governmental purpose relating to zoning that is served by requiring a municipality to ingeniously design detailed land use regulations, purporting to be directly tied to the physical use of the property, but actually aimed at accommodating lower income families, while not allowing it directly to require developers to construct lower income units. Indirection of this kind has no more virtue where its goal is to achieve that which is permitted  indeed, constitutionally mandated  than it has in achieving that which is prohibited.
As the cost of ordinary housing skyrockets for purchasers and renters, mobile homes become increasingly important as a source of low cost housing. The evidence clearly supports a finding that mobile homes are significantly less expensive than site-built housing. See Legislature's Mobile Home Study Commission, Report and Recommendations (1980) (finding that while it would take a household income of at least $21,000 to afford a medium priced site-built home in 1979, an income of $11,700 would be sufficient for a family to afford a mobile home and lot); Housing Handbook, supra, at 32. We agree fully with the finding of Judge Wood in Mount Laurel II that mobile homes are economically available for persons of low and moderate income. 161 N.J. Super. at 357. Therefore, subject to the qualifications noted hereafter, we rule that municipalities that cannot otherwise meet their fair share obligations must provide zoning for low-cost mobile homes [35] as an affirmative device in their zoning ordinances. Townships such as Mount Laurel that now ban mobile homes do so in reliance upon Vickers v. Gloucester, 37 N.J. 232 (1962), in which this Court upheld such bans. Vickers, however, explicitly recognized that changed circumstances could require a different result. Id. at 250. We find that such changed circumstances now exist. As Judge Wood found in Mount Laurel II, mobile homes have since 1962 become structurally sound [and] attractive in appearance. 161 N.J. Super. at 357. Further, since 1974, the safety and soundness of mobile homes have been regulated by the National Mobile Home Construction and Safety Standards Act, 42 U.S.C. 5401 (1974). Vickers, therefore, is overruled; absolute bans of mobile homes are no longer permissible on the grounds stated in that case. Strong support for this new rule can be found in the report of the Legislature's Mobile Home Study Commission, Report and Recommendations, at 10-11, and in the DCA's Housing Handbook, supra at 201 n. 2, at 32-33. [36] Lest we be misunderstood, we do not hold that every municipality must allow the use of mobile homes as an affirmative device to meet its Mount Laurel obligation, or that any ordinance that totally excludes mobile homes is per se invalid. Insofar as the Mount Laurel doctrine is concerned, whether mobile homes must be permitted as an affirmative device will depend upon the overall effectiveness of the municipality's attempts to comply: if compliance can be just as effectively assured without allowing mobile homes, Mount Laurel does not command them; if not, then assuming a suitable site is available, they must be allowed. Insofar as the arbitrariness of a total exclusion is concerned, such conclusion will depend upon the facts and circumstances of each case, regardless of the Mount Laurel doctrine. While the question is not directly before us, there may be municipalities whose development is such that the otherwise inoffensive appearance of a mobile home park may be quite offensive. There may be municipalities whose only vacant land has been legitimately set aside for commercial, industrial or residential uses other than mobile homes, where such planning is quite legitimate. But just as Vickers is hereby overruled to the extent that it held that any developing municipality may totally exclude mobile homes, we hold that such attempt at a total exclusion will have to be justified by the same doctrines that would justify a total exclusion of apartment houses, townhouses, or even single family residences. We recognize the propriety of aesthetic considerations in zoning, but the subjective sensibilities of present residents are not a sufficient basis for the exclusion. See Vickers, 37 N.J. at 269 (Hall, J., dissenting).
There may be municipalities where special conditions such as extremely high land costs make it impossible for the fair share obligation to be met even after all excessive restrictions and exactions, i.e., those not essential for safety and health, have been removed and all affirmative measures have been attempted. In such cases, and only in such cases, the Mount Laurel obligation can be met by supplementing whatever lower income housing can be built with enough least cost housing to satisfy the fair share. Least cost housing does not, however, mean the most inexpensive housing that developers will build on their own; it does not mean $50,000-plus single family homes and very expensive apartments. Least cost housing means the least expensive housing that builders can provide after removal by a municipality of all excessive restrictions and exactions and after thorough use by a municipality of all affirmative devices that might lower costs. Presumably, such housing, though unaffordable by those in the lower income brackets, will be inexpensive enough to provide shelter for families who could not afford housing in the conventional suburban housing market. At the very minimum, provision of least cost housing will make certain that municipalities in growth areas of this state do not grow only for the well-to-do. The form that least cost housing will take can vary with the particular characteristics of individual municipalities. Municipalities that must resort to least cost housing to meet their Mount Laurel obligations should, if appropriate, zone significant areas for housing that most closely approaches lower income housing, e.g., mobile homes. Furthermore, overzoning for such housing will greatly increase the likelihood that some of these units, even if not lower income, will be affordable by those close to the top of the moderate income bracket. See Madison, 72 N.J. at 519. It is important for us to emphasize here that unless it meets the stringent least cost requirements set out above, middle income housing will not satisfy the Mount Laurel obligation. This is so despite claims by some defendant-municipalities that the provision of such middle income housing will allow less expensive housing to filter down to lower income families. The problem with this theory is that the housing that has been built and is now being built in suburbs such as Mount Laurel is rapidly appreciating in value so that none of it will filter down to poor people. Instead, if the only housing constructed in municipalities like Mount Laurel continues to be middle and upper income, the only filter down effect that will occur will be that housing on the fringes of our inner cities will filter down to the poor as more of the middle class leave for suburbs, thereby exacerbating the economic segregation of our cities and suburbs. See A. Downs, supra at 221 n. 8, at 9-12. Only if municipalities like Mount Laurel begin now to build lower income or least cost housing will some part of their housing stock ever filter down to New Jersey's poorer families. See Madison, 72 N.J. at 513-14 & n. 22.
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.
The topic is listed under Resolution of the Issues, the subject heading of one of the three major portions of the opinion. Strictly speaking, it is not an issue at all. Judicial management of a Mount Laurel trial, however, is as important to the constitutional obligation as our substantive rulings today. Confusion, expense, and delay have been the primary enemies of constitutional compliance in this area. This problem needs the strong hand of the judge at trial as much as the clear word of the opinion on appeal. The judges assigned to Mount Laurel cases should confer with counsel as soon as the pleadings are complete, or before, if that seems desirable. Those conferences should result in special orders that establish definite limits and schedules for discovery, determine what motions will be required and when they shall be prepared and argued, what experts will be used and on what subject, when the pretrial shall be held and for what purposes, and whether the court should retain an expert for trial purposes (testifying as to region, regional need, fair share, etc.) and/or for remedial purposes (as a master). The trial court should remain in close touch with counsel, keeping itself informed as to the status of the case on a regular basis and calling status conferences whenever they seem needed. There is no reason why, if such procedures are used, the factual and legal issues in the matter cannot be identified early in the litigation; nor any reason why issues of region, regional need, fair share, and compliance cannot be promptly disposed of, followed immediately by resolution of the remedial stage of the litigation. The trial court should use any aids that may sensibly dispose of this litigation fairly, practically, promptly, and effectively. There are experts in this field who are prepared to testify, [45] who have studied this subject matter for many years, and who will not be in the pay of any of the parties, although their general bias may be well known. They should be liberally used by the trial court. They include those in the public sector, in particular in the Department of Community Affairs, as well as those working in the private sector. As for the compensation of court-appointed experts  and compensation will not always be required  the trial court should determine that matter at the time the expert is retained. One or more of the parties will have to pay; on occasion the ultimate liability may await the outcome of the litigation. We hope that individualized case management, the constant growth of expertise on the part of the judges in handling these matters, the simplification and elimination of issues resulting both from our rulings and from the active involvement of judges early in the litigation, and the requirement that, generally, the matter be disposed of at the trial level in its entirety before any appeal is allowed, will result in an example of trial efficiency that needs copying, not explaining.