Housing, more housing

If a new affordable-housing plan arrived at by Marlboro Mayor Robert Kleinberg and the Township Council passes municipal muster, residents could eventually see the construction of 700 new homes.

The plan is the result of pressure being put on Marlboro by the state to come up with a way of building affordable housing in the community. The affordable units are sold or rented at below market rates to people who have incomes that meet guidelines established by the state.

The remainder of the homes — we suppose you could call that unaffordable housing — will be sold at whatever price the market dictates.

Because not all of the homes included in this plan are age-restricted, one result will likely be more students in the township’s schools.

According to Kleinberg, the Kaplan Companies would build a 365-unit development on Route 79. In that project, 120 units will be considered affordable housing and 44 of those 120 units will be age-restricted. A total of 245 units of market-price, age-restricted housing will also be built there.

The mayor said developer Michael Weitz would build 126 market-rate, age-restricted homes in the area where Falson Lane and Wooleytown Road meet Texas Road.

Weitz would also be permitted to construct 221 patio homes near Greenwood and Texas roads. The 49 affordable patio homes would be rentals, and the remainder would be market-priced housing. The homes would not be age-restricted.

This plan may not be perfect, and it may not be what everyone who has an interest in Marlboro’s affordable-housing issue wants to see.

It appears to bring Marlboro into compliance with a state mandate to provide affordable housing. Marlboro officials over the years have transferred much of their affordable-housing obligation to other towns. That course of action was legal, but it did not offer people a reasonable chance to live in affordable housing in Marlboro.

In a region like Monmouth County where housing costs continue to soar, any effort that brings some "affordable housing" to a community is a welcome change from zoning regulations that exclude a portion of the population.