A November 12 Hopewell Township meeting drew a crowd from Brandon Farms anxious to understand the impact of letters they received about their affordable housing designations. The letters urged residents to renew their homes’ “affordable housing” designation or begin paying higher reassessed property taxes. The Township responded with a special workshop-style session on what these homeowners can expect.
A DEED-RESTRICTIONS WORKSHOP
“We know that letter raised lots of questions because people at the Township started getting calls. We started getting calls from attorneys as well. We have an opportunity to clear the air about some of the main questions we were getting,” said the Hopewell Township attorney Steven P. Goodell who presented slides on the topic.
At issue are 138 Brandon Farms units built under the Township’s Affordable Housing Plan and subject to deed restrictions, which help control Hopewell’s affordable housing inventory. Princeton Community Housing serves as the administrative agent for the Township of Hopewell’s Affordable Sales Program, which includes the Brandon Farms units and others in Pennington Pointe.
The deed restrictions subject homeowners to rules about who they can sell to and limit how much profit they can make when they do. At Brandon Farms these restrictions were applied for a period of 30 years from the date of the first owners’ occupancies around 1993 to 1996, and are now expiring. If individual homeowners decide not to extend them, that can effectively lower Hopewell Township’s inventory of affordable housing and increase the amount of new ones the State requires it to build, officials said.
ANOTHER 30 YEARS
“From our position, as a township, we would like to renew as many restrictions as possible. You heard earlier that we’ve got another [546] units of housing that we’re responsible for in the next 10 years,” said Goodell.
The Township wants owners to extend these restrictions for another 30 years, but emphasized repeatedly that “this choice is the homeowner’s to make.”
95/5 PROVISION
Affected homeowners attended the meeting to learn exactly how much choice they have. Even those who don’t extend their deed restrictions cannot reap the kinds of windfalls that market-rate neighbors might amid the housing market’s recent record-high sale prices: Under the Township’s Affordable Housing Plan, their homes are subject to a 95/5 resale provision, meaning that 95% of the difference between an “affordable sales price” and the market sales price must be paid to the Township’s Affordable Housing Trust. Letters reminded owners of this and other conditions, which they may not have revisited in the decades since many closed on their homes. “We wanted you to be aware that [a renewal date for] this is coming up,” Goodell said.
THE RENEWAL PROCESS
Some lines in the letter also indicated the renewal process would require residents to re-certify their income eligibility, a daunting consideration for some after so many years. But officials negated that, and reassured residents that if they choose to extend their restrictions, they definitely will not need to re-qualify. “We get credits for renewing restrictions. So it’s in our interest to help you renew your restriction,” said Goodell.
In exchanges with residents during the meeting’s public comment session, the importance of the voluntary renewals seemed to hold a certain urgency for Hopewell Township, which is required by state law to provide its fair share of affordable housing—an obligation that was, in one round of requirements reported by mayor Courtney Peters-Manning in September, 653 units. Residents have bristled at new construction and a perceived strain on the public school system. According to the Township, identifying and retaining existing affordable housing units, like those in Brandon Farms, could help reduce the number it needs to build. Township outreach about deed restriction extensions so far affect only Brandon Farms, said Peters-Manning.
Asked by one resident if Goodell’s informational slide presentation would be available to them, Peters-Manning answered: “If any of your neighbors were not able to be here tonight, this [presentation] will be recorded and it will be available on the Township website. And I’m always available for questions.” Her email address is [email protected]
Stay tuned to MercerMe as we follow the process for affordable housing deed restriction extensions.
