A Hudson County judge has barred three luxury apartment buildings in Hoboken from leasing market-rate units until they comply with a decades-old city law requiring affordable housing.
The ruling, issued by Judge Joseph Turula, applies to the VINE, Park+Garden, and Artisan buildings, all of which have operated without providing the affordable units mandated by Hoboken’s inclusionary zoning ordinance.
The case originally included a fourth property, the Harlow, whose owners settled earlier in the litigation.
Enacted in 1988, the ordinance requires residential developments with more than 10 units to reserve 10% for low- and moderate-income households.
“It is undisputed (that) the defendants have failed to honor these legal obligations,” Turula said at a hearing in the cases on July 17.
The court decision marks a major victory for the Fair Share Housing Center, which filed the cases more than a decade ago.
Fair Share Housing Center is a nonprofit advocacy organization based in New Jersey that works to advance housing justice by using legal action, policy reform, and community engagement.
“This case shows that developers will be held accountable when they try to skirt affordable housing laws,” said Josh Bauers, director of exclusionary zoning litigation at Fair Share Housing Center.
“Hoboken is one of the most expensive places in New Jersey, and affordable homes here can be life-changing for families,” Bauers added. “This decision is a major step toward making sure working families — not just the wealthy — can afford to live here in Hoboken.”
Unlike New Jersey’s Mount Laurel doctrine — which stems from a series of landmark state Supreme Court decisions beginning in 1975 — Hoboken’s ordinance was adopted independently.
The Mount Laurel doctrine requires every municipality in New Jersey to provide its “fair share” of the region’s need for affordable housing.
The doctrine stems from the case, Southern Burlington County NAACP v. Mount Laurel Township.
The doctrine established a constitutional obligation for towns to use their zoning powers to enable the construction of affordable housing.
Today, most affordable housing litigation in New Jersey — including challenges brought by developers and advocacy groups — is rooted in Mount Laurel obligations.
Hoboken’s inclusionary zoning ordinance, by contrast, was enacted in 1988 and operates independently of the Mount Laurel framework.
It applies locally, requiring developers of buildings with more than 10 units to set aside 10% for low- and moderate-income households — a mandate that has often gone unenforced until now.
Bauers emphasized that local inclusionary zoning laws like Hoboken’s are “critical tools that augment our statewide affordable housing framework to ensure every community creates its fair share of affordable homes.”
Fair Share Housing Center and local advocates began scrutinizing Hoboken’s ordinance around 2010, after noticing inconsistent enforcement.
By 2011, as new developments came before the city’s Zoning Board, organizers pushed for stricter compliance.
Developers at the time acknowledged the ordinance and publicly stated their intent to follow it.
“Ultimately it boiled down to there being four developments that were approved between 2011 and 2012, all of which got approved with what we felt were token requirements from the ordinance, but not an actual plan to comply,” Bauers said.
The litigation has stretched for more than a decade and has gone to the Appellate Division twice.
Under the most recent court order, the developers must add a total of 40 affordable units across the three buildings, including two- and three-bedroom apartments.
At least 25% of the units must be designated for low-income households, with the remainder for moderate-income families.
However, the developers have filed a motion to stay the ruling pending appeal. Bauers said Fair Share Housing Center will oppose that stay.
“This is about enforcing the rules that have been on the books since 1988,” Bauers said. “These developers have profited enormously while ignoring their legal obligation to provide homes for working families.”
Requests for comment from attorneys for the Hoboken properties and from the mayor’s office were not immediately returned.
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