By Alli Tretina
SEA BRIGHT – The Sea Bright Borough Council has endorsed the town’s fair share housing plan, complying with state requirements under New Jersey’s updated affordable housing laws.
“It’s an ongoing process. Basically, we have followed the guidance of our professionals to ensure we are in compliance with state-mandated affordable housing obligations and our plan is reflective of Sea Bright’s unique needs,” said Mayor Brian P. Kelley at the council’s June 17 meeting.
Sea Bright’s present and prospective housing obligation totals 46 units, a figure the council formally accepted in January, officials said. To comply with state mandates, a housing element and fair share plan must be adopted, outlining how municipalities will meet their obligations. The borough planning board prepared this document, which the council then endorsed June 17.
All municipalities were required to adopt a housing element and fair share plan by the state’s June 30 deadline. The plan serves as a blueprint for affordable housing development over the next 10 years, and requires municipalities to create zoning opportunities to meet their housing obligations. It is part of the state’s fourth round of affordable housing mandates, which unfolds from 2025 through 2035.
The plan acknowledges significant development constraints. “Sea Bright has to contend with the reality that it is a built-out municipality with virtually no available developable vacant land upon which to construct new affordable housing units,” it states.
The municipality has allocated seven affordable rental units at The Havens, part of the Riverfront Redevelopment Project, and four affordable condo units at the North Pointe Community, bringing the total remaining obligation to 35 units.
Sea Bright has enacted three ordinances to address this obligation: a mandatory set-aside for developments of five or more multifamily units; an overlay mixed-use zone on East Avenue between East Surf Street and East Center Street; and a fee for the borough’s affordable housing trust fund for all new nonresidential development and noninclusionary residential development.
This plan aligns with the state’s fourth round of affordable housing requirements under legislation Gov.Phil Murphy signed in March 2024. The law abolished the Council on Affordable Housing and granted the Department of Community Affairs authority to calculate municipal obligations. Municipalities were required to adopt housing plans by June 30, marking a major compliance milestone in the new framework.
“We’re thankful that the vast majority of New Jersey’s municipalities are moving for ward with creating much-needed affordable housing,” said Adam Gordon, executive director at Fair Share Housing Center, in a news release.
The article originally appeared in the July 3 – July 9, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
