Affordable housing is topic of Byram forum

Byram - Paul Chrystie, executive director of the Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment, will be the featured speaker at a Tri-County Regional Forum at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, Jan. 31, at the Byram Municipal Building, 10 Mansfield Drive, Stanhope. The program. sponsored by the Byram Environmental Commission and North Byram Concerned Citizens, is open to elected officials, municipal managers, planning board members, environmental commission members, and concerned residents. Under the third round Council on Affordable Housing rules, the state makes no recommendations as to how much affordable housing any municipality should have. It simply requires that if market rate development occurs, a pre-determined percentage of affordable housing must accompany that growth. Chrystie will explain how many towns in the state have produced affordable housing without using massive developments and traditional inclusionary zoning (where 20 percent or less of the homes are affordable). Methods used include: • Re-use, in which vacant or underutilized structures, such as a surplus school or firehouse, are turned into affordable rental apartments or condominiums; • In-fill, in which spaces between existing buildings or on vacant lots are used to create new affordable or mixed income housing in already largely-developed parts of town; • New complexes in which all the homes are affordable; • Accessory apartments and apartments over stores for towns whose obligations are small. Chrystie has more than 20 years experience working on environmental and affordable housing issues. His advocacy background includes not only experience with grassroots non-profits but also in the government affairs offices of the N.J. Dept. of Transportation and Amtrak. For information on the forum, call 973-347-2500, ext. 138, or send e-mail to mmcgarrity@byramtwp.org. The Coalition for Affordable Housing and the Environment, is a statewide group of 35 planning, environmental and housing organizations who recognize the interdependency of urban, suburban and rural communities. The coalition’s goals are to increase affordable housing opportunities, to preserve the state’s natural resources, and to rebuild cities throughout N.J. For information, log on to cahenj.org.