Marlboro Looks to Use COAH Funds to Help Destroyed Towns

Marlboro Mayor Jon Hornik is looking to use up the township's Council on Affordable Housing Trust Fund money by helping to rebuild surrounding townships.

"I wrote Senators Lesniak and Kyrillos requesting emergency legislation be passed to allow our affordable housing trust fund money for disaster relief projects," Hornik said.

Marlboro's battle regarding COAH funds continues. In July, townships raced against a deadline set by Gov. Chris Christie to commit affordable housing funds to approved projects before the state empties municipal trust funds. 

COAH is a state council that ensures every municipality offer low and moderate income housing. In July, state courts ruled that the request to empty municipal affordable housing trust funds needed to come from COAH itself, not the office of the governor.

Marlboro stood to lose the most money in the state, with $13 million in its fund. But the township's battle with the state regarding COAH is not a new one, and Hornik said he believes restoring destroyed townships such as Union Beach is a better way to spend the money.

"We requested legislation be crafted to allow municipalities to utilize our COAH trust fund money to help rebuild communities in our region, which is consistent with our constitutional requirement to provide affordable housing," Hornik said.