Affordable Housing

State of New Jersey 

The New Jersey Housing Resource Center is the state's resource for finding and listing affordable housing units. Their topics list is a helpful tool to get started.

Hunterdon County

The County offers a variety of services for residents. Their Services page has a full list of programs. The Hunterdon County Housing Division offers additional resources specific to housing.

In Lambertville

The City's Municipal Housing Liason is available to offer information about affordable housing in Lambertville. This role is currently held by the City Clerk, Cynthia Ege, who can be reached by phone (609-397-0110, ext 111) or email ([email protected]).

Fisherman's Mark offers social services, food support, and much more to members of our community.

The City's Municipal Housing Liason is available to offer information about affordable housing in Lambertville. This role is currently held by the City Clerk, Cynthia Ege, who can be reached by phone (609-397-0110, ext 111) or email ([email protected]).

Fisherman's Mark offers social services, food support, and much more to members of our community.

Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) is an organization that advocates on behalf of low-income residents of New Jersey, and was designated as an interested party by the state Supreme Court in all Third Round Affordable Housing Declaratory Judgment filings. Because there was no authoritative determination of Third Round obligations, municipalities determined their Third Round Fair Share obligations through negotiation with FSHC, and memorialized them through Settlement Agreements with FSHC that required approval by the Court. FSHC then had standing to ensure that municipalities followed through on the commitments they made in their Settlement Agreements.

The March 2024 updates to the FHA created a new Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program that is responsible for collecting and monitoring municipal plans to meet their affordable housing obligations. The Program is operated through the court system. FSHC will remain engaged in affordable housing compliance monitoring as an advocate, particularly with municipalities that have disputed DCA’s calculation of their Fourth-Round obligation, but it is no longer a primary party in every municipality’s planning and compliance. FSHC remains active in challenging municipalities’ affordable housing plans, with approximately 250 plans being challenged currently. Lambertville has not met all of its Third Round obligations, therefore FSHC is still engaged in Lambertville’s Third Round process.

In New Jersey, all municipalities are required to plan for, zone for, and take affirmative steps to provide a realistic opportunity for the development of their “fair share” of affordable housing. This obligation is codified in the state constitution and documented in a series of court decisions collectively referred to as the Mount Laurel doctrine. Affordable housing in New Jersey is regulated by the Fair Housing Act (FHA) and the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC), both of which were substantially updated in 2024.

Since 1985 and the Mount Laurel II decision, the affordable housing process in New Jersey has been monitored in “rounds,” referring to specific periods of time during which certain rules are in force and municipalities have to meet certain affordable housing obligations. The First Round was 1987-1993, the Second Round was 1993-1999, the Third Round was 1999-2025, and the Fourth Round is 2025-2035. Lambertville is required to meet its Third and Fourth Round affordable housing obligations according to the rules in effect for each round. There are several resources available that outline the history of affordable housing regulation in New Jersey. FSHC provides a good summary in its Fourth-Round Guide, and Lambertville’s Fourth-Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, endorsed by the City Council in June 2025, also provides a detailed overview.

Affordable housing obligations can be met through the provision of realistic opportunities to develop homes along with certain bonus credits calculated based on the type of homes that would be developed.

Because Lambertville is small and densely developed, we are able to use a Vacant Land Adjustment (VLA) to reduce our Prospective Need. The VLA breaks out our Prospective Need into Realistic Development Potential (RDP), or units we must provide a realistic opportunity for and credits, and Unmet Need, or units we must try to provide a realistic opportunity for and credits. See the Glossary for more details.

Lambertville’s Third Round obligation was 137. This number is divided into 88 units and credits of RDP, and 49 units of Unmet Need.

Lambertville has complied with all of its Third Round obligations, except that Lambertville did not meet the deadline to enter into an agreement with a redeveloper for the Police Station site, an unmet need site that is required to produce five affordable family rental units. The City is in the process of negotiating with Raritan Valley Habitat for Humanity to construct six affordable for-sale homes on a portion of Holcombe Park excluded from Green Acres restrictions, which would take the place of the five units that were to be delivered through the redevelopment of the Police Station site.

Lambertville’s Fourth Round obligation, as determined by DCA and confirmed by the City, is 39 units and credits of Prospective Need. The City updated the VLA to confirm what portion of our Prospective Need will be RDP and what portion will be Unmet Need. As stated in the Fourth Round Plan, Lambertville has an RDP of 8 and an Unmet Need of 31. Lambertville also has a continuing Unmet Need of 28 from the Third Round. See Lambertville’s Fourth-Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan for more detail.

Under NJ Municipal Land Use Law and the FHA, municipalities are required to include a Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HEFSP) as part of their Master Plans. The HEFSP must document how a municipality will meet its affordable housing obligations.

2018

The City of Lambertville and the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) agreed on Lambertville’s Third Round obligation, and executed a Settlement Agreement in May 2018 memorializing the obligation, which was approved by the Court in October. The City then approved an amended Third Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan that was adopted by the Planning Board in November and endorsed by City Council in December.

2020

Lambertville successfully negotiated with FSHC to amend its Settlement Agreement in 2020. An amended Agreement was reached in January and was approved by the Court in June of that year. Prior to the Court’s order, the City had approved an amended Third Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan that was adopted by the Planning Board in March and endorsed by City Council in June. As of the Court’s June 2020 order, Lambertville had a Conditional Judgement of Compliance and Repose and immunity from Builder’s Remedy lawsuits.

2025

In 2025, K. Hovnanian sued the City over the City’s refusal to approve its plans for development of the former High School site. As a result of that litigation, Lambertville temporarily lost protection from Builder’s Remedy suits, but that protection was reinstated in July 2025 with conditions requiring Lambertville to approve new plans for redevelopment of the former High School site by K. Hovnanian.

Overlay zones can be used as a tool to facilitate the construction of affordable housing units, by allowing a greater building density in a designated area. It provides an option (rather than a requirement) for future development. In the case of the affordable housing overlay zone districts, a property owner can continue to use or develop the property according to existing underlying zoning, or may choose to take advantage of overlay zoning that allows for greater density in exchange for including affordable housing.

Lambertville has several affordable housing overlay zones that were adopted in April 2019. These include the Burd property (Block 1058, Lot 15) on Brunswick Avenue, the Corboy property (Block 1072, Lots 3 and 3.01) on Rock Road West, and the former Trenton Cracker Factory site (Block 102, Lot 8) on Lambert Lane. Two more were adopted in 2026 - the Spokeworks Building and the CVS lot.

If these properties develop, 20% of the overall total number of units is required to be designated as Affordable Housing units.

Other overlay zones have been considered but never enacted due to public opposition. This includes the overlay zone that was introduced for the Holcombe Park site that was ultimately not passed in response to residents’ concerns that the historic nature of the property is not compatible with development.

Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HEFSP): A required section of every municipal Master Plan that provides current information about demographics, housing, and employment conditions, and describes the specific methods by which affordable housing obligations will be met.

Prospective Need: The number of new affordable units and associated bonus credits the City must provide a realistic opportunity for in a given round. For the current Fourth Round, Lambertville must meet its obligation by June 30, 2035. (See below for more information about ‘rounds.’)

Vacant Land Adjustment (VLA): A process that allows municipalities to reduce their affordable housing obligation by analyzing the amount of developable land in the municipality. After a VLA, a municipality’s obligation is divided into the Realistic Development Potential (RDP) and the Unmet Need. The City of Lambertville performed a vacant land analysis for the Third Round and received a VLA, and the City updated the analysis for the Fourth-Round.

Realistic Development Potential (RDP): After a VLA, this is the amount of a municipality’s affordable housing obligation that it must provide realistic opportunities for in the current round.

Unmet Need: After a VLA, this is the difference between the municipality's total affordable housing obligation and its RDP. In the Fourth-Round, municipalities are required to identify sufficient parcels likely to redevelop during the current round to meet 25% of unmet need and adopt realistic zoning.

Builder’s Remedy Lawsuit: Lawsuits brought by developers against municipalities when the developer thinks the municipality is not meeting its affordable housing obligations. When developers win these suits, the court can decide what kind and scale of project the municipality must allow on a contested property. The court has the ability to override existing zoning, and the municipality loses significant control over planning and design decisions.

100% Affordable Development: As opposed to a mixed-income or market-rate development, these developments are made up entirely of low- and moderate-income housing.

Accessory Dwelling Unit: A residential dwelling that provides complete independent living facilities located within a primary dwelling or in a separate building on a property where there is already a primary dwelling.

Market-to-Affordable Program: A program through which market-rate homes are purchased and resold or rented at affordable prices to qualified households.