Borough of
ORDINANCE NO. 06:16
AN ORDINANCE CREATING THE POSITION OF MUNICIPAL
HOUSING LIAISON FOR THE PURPOSE OF ADMINISTERING THE BOROUGH OF
WHEREAS, the purpose of this ordinance is to create the position of municipal housing liaison to administer the Borough’s affordable housing program, as required by the Fair Housing Act.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT ORDAINED by the Mayor and Council of the Borough of Norwood as follows:
Section 1: The Code of the Boroug= h of Norwood is amended to add a new Section 233-89A to state the following:
Section
233-89A. Municipal Housing Li=
aison.
=
A. Purpose. The purpose of this article is to =
create
the administrative mechanisms needed for the execution of
= B. Definitions. As used in this article, the follo= wing terms shall have the meanings indicated:
= ADMINISTRATIVE AGENT – The entity responsible for administering the affordability controls of some or all units in the affordable housing program for the Bor= ough to ensure that the restricted units under administration are affirmatively marketed and sold or rented, as applicable, only to low- and moderate-income households.
BOROUGH – The Borough of
MUNICIPAL HOUSING LIAISON – =
The
employee charged by the governing body with the responsibility for oversight
and administration of the affordable housing program for the Borough.
B.
1. &nbs=
p; There
is hereby established the position of Municipal Housing Liaison for the
Borough.
2. Subject to the approval of the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), the Municipal Housing Liaison shall be appointed by the Mayor and Council and may be a fu= ll or part time municipal employee.
3. &nbs= p; The Municipal Housing Liaison shall be responsible for oversight and administra= tion of the affordable housing program for the Borough, including the following responsibilities which may not be contracted out:
(1) &nb= sp; Serving as Borough’s primary point of contact for all inquiries from the Stat= e, affordable housing providers, Administrative Agents, and interested househo= lds;
(2) &nb= sp; Monitoring the status of all restricted units in Borough’s Fair Share Plan;
(3) &nb= sp; Compiling, verifying, and submitting annual reports as required by COAH;
(4) &nb= sp; Coordinating meetings with affordable housing providers and Administrative Agents, as applicable;
(5) &nb= sp; Attending continuing education opportunities on affordability controls, compliance monitoring, and affirmative marketing as offered or approved by COAH;
(6) &nb= sp; If applicable, serving as the Administrative Agent for some or all of the restricted units in the Borough as described in F. below.
4. &nbs= p; Subject to approval by COAH, the Borough may contract with or authorize a consultant, authority, government or any agency charged by the Mayor and Council, which entity shall have the responsibilit= y of administering the affordable housing program of the Borough. If the Borough contracts with another entity to administer all or any part of the affordable housing program, including the affordability controls and Affirmative Marketing Plan, the Municipal Housing Liaison shall supervise the contracting Administrative Agent.
5. &nbs= p; Compensation. Compensation shall be fixed by the Mayor and Council at the time of the appointment of the Municipal Housing Liaison.
6. &nbs=
p; Administrative
powers and duties assigned to the Municipal Housing Liaison.
(1) &nb= sp; Affirmative Marketing
(a) &nb= sp; Conducting an outreach process to insure affirmative marketing of affordable housing u= nits in accordance with the Affirmative Marketing Plan of the Borough and the provisions of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.15; and
(b) &nb= sp; Providing counseling or contracting to provide counseling services to low and moderate income applicants on subjects such as budgeting, credit issues, mortgage qualification, rental lease requirements, and landlord/tenant law.
(2) &nb= sp; Household Certification
(a) &nb= sp; Soliciting, scheduling, conducting and following up on interviews with interested households;
(b) &nb= sp; Conducting interviews and obtaining sufficient documentation of gross income and assets upon which to base a determination of income eligibility for a low- or moderate-income unit;
(c) &nb= sp; Providing written notification to each applicant as to the determination of eligibili= ty or non-eligibility;
(d) Requiring that all certified applicants for restricted units execute a certificate substantially in the form, as applicable, of either the ownership or rental certificates set forth in Appendices J and K of N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.1 et. seq.;
(e) &nb= sp; Creating and maintaining a referral list of eligible applicant households living in = the housing region and eligible applicant households with members working in the housing region where the units are located; and
(f) &nb= sp; Employing the random selection process as provided in the Affirmative Marketing Plan = of the Borough when referring households for certification to affordable units= .
(3) &n= bsp; Affordability Controls
(a) &nb=
sp; Furnishing
to attorneys or closing agent’s forms of deed restrictions and mortga=
ges
for recording at the time of conveyance of title of each restricted unit;
(b) &nb= sp; Creating and maintaining a file on each restricted unit for its control period, including the recorded deed with restrictions, recorded mortgage and note, = as appropriate;
(c) &nb= sp; Ensuring that the removal of the deed restrictions and cancellation of the mortgage = note are effectuated and properly filed with the appropriate county’s regi= ster of deeds or county clerk’s office after the termination of the affordability controls for each restricted unit;
(d) &nb= sp; Communicating with lenders regarding foreclosures; and
(e) &nb= sp; Ensuring the issuance of Continuing Certificates of Occupancy or certifications purs= uant to N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.10.
(4) &n= bsp; Resale and rental
(a) &nb= sp; Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information between own= ers and the Administrative Agent regarding the availability of restricted units= for resale or rental; and
(b) &nb= sp; Instituting and maintaining an effective means of communicating information to low- and moderate-income households regarding the availability of restricted units f= or resale or re-rental.
(5)
(a) &nb= sp; Reviewing and approving requests from owners of restricted units who wish to take out home equity loans or refinance during the term of their ownership;
(b) &nb= sp; Reviewing and approving requests to increase sales prices from owners of restricted u= nits who wish to make capital improvements to the units that would affect the selling price, such authorizations to be limited to those improvements resulting in additional bedrooms or bathrooms and the cost of central air conditioning systems; and
(c) &nb= sp; Processing requests and making determinations on requests by owners of restricted units for hardship waivers.
(6) &n= bsp; Enforcement
(a) =
Sec=
uring
annually lists of all affordable housing units for which tax bills are mail=
ed
to absentee owners and notifying all such owners that they must either move=
back
to their unit or sell it;
(b)&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Securing from all developers and sponsors of restri= cted units, at the earliest point of contact in the processing of the project or development, written acknowledgement of the requirement that no restricted = unit can be offered, or in any other way committed, to any person, other than a household duly certified to the unit by the Administrative Agent;
(c)&= nbsp; &nbs= p; The posting annually in all rental properties, including two-family homes, of a notice as to the maximum permitted rent to= gether with the telephone number of the Administrative Agent where complaints of excess rent can be made;
= (d)&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Sending annual mailings to all owners of affordable dwelling units, reminding them of the notices and requirements outlined in = N.J.A.C. 5:80-26.18(d)4;
(e)&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Establishing a program for diverting unlawful rent payments to the municipality's affordable housing trust fund or other appropriate municipal fund approved by the DCA;
(f)&= nbsp; &nbs= p; Establishing a rent-to-equity program;
(g) &nb= sp; Creating and publishing a written operating manual, as approved by COAH, setting for= th procedures for administering such affordability controls; and
(h) = Providing annual reports to COAH as required.
(7) &nb= sp; The Administrative Agent shall have authority to take all actions necessary and appropriate to carry out its responsibilities hereunder.
Section 2: All ordinances or part= s of ordinances that are inconsistent with the provisions of this ordinance are hereby repealed, but only to the extent of any inconsistencies. =
Section 3: The provisions of this ordinance are severable. If a= ny part or parts of this ordinance is or are declared to be unconstitutional or invalid by any Court, the remaining parts of this ordinance will remain in = full force and effect.
Section 4: This ordinance shall take effect u= pon final approval and publication, according to law.
Introduced and passed first reading:
Passed second reading:
ATTEST: = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = &nb= sp; = APPROVED BY:
__________________________________ &=
nbsp; &nbs=
p; __________________________=
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=
F:\wp\RRufrano\NORWOOD\2006 ORDINANCES 140020V1
ORDINANCE CREATING MUN HOUSINGOFFICER.doc