Officials Celebrate Mount Laurel Doctrine, Affordable Housing in NJ
Crystal Charley, second vice president of the New Jersey State Conference of NAACP and former president of the Southern Burlington chapter, spoke at the Mount Laurel Doctrine even in March. Photo courtesy of Crystal Charley
BY CLYDE HUGHES | AC JosepH Media
MOUNT LAUREL — Quietly last month at historic Jacob’s Chapel AME Church, the state celebrated the 50th anniversary of one of the most influential civil rights decision ever decided in New Jersey.
Gov. Phil Murphy and Lt. Gov. Tahesha Way joined other leaders to recognize the New Jersey Supreme Court ruling that became known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine. The ruling ended what was called “exclusionary zoning” done by cities to keep affordable housing — along with many minority groups — out of their city limits.
The decision on March 24, 1974, which declared such zones were unconstitutional and that municipalities had an “affirmative obligation” to provide affordable housing, has been called the housing version of Brown v. Board of Education.
“Fifty years ago, the landscape of affordable housing in our state was marred by exclusion and discrimination in Mount Laurel Township,” said Crystal Charley, second vice president of the NAACP New Jersey State Conference at the Jacob’s Chapel event, according to New Jersey Business Magazine.
“Instead of leaving, people stood their ground. They declared, ‘We shall not be moved.’ That became a battle cry, a testament of unwavering resolve.”
The State of New Jersey said that more than 400,000 now live in homes created by the Mount Laurel Doctrine, named after where the lawsuit leading to the historic case originated, has been in place.
“It was my mother’s love of God, family, neighbors, children and community that compelled her to fight for what was right,” said Ethel Halley, daughter of Ethel Lawrence, said in a statement released by the governor’s office.
“There were times she was discouraged, but she trusted in God and her young attorneys and never lost hope.”
Lawrence, a pianist at Jacob’s Chapel AME Church, was the lead plaintiff in the Mount Laurel case, earning her the title of the “Rosa Parks of Affordable Housing.” Mount Laurel had torn down much of its low-income housing for the poor and allegedly used its zoning laws to make sure other low-income housing could not replace it in the 1960s.
Lawrence and others sued, charging that Mount Laurel used its new zoning laws to discriminate against the poor.
“New Jersey, through the Mount Laurel Doctrine, is the only state to quantify each municipality’s fair share housing obligations for low and moderate income families, the elderly and disabled; and, within this context establishes a negotiation process, with judicial oversight, between housing advocates/developers and municipalities, with the goal of achieving fair share housing plans,” said Peter O’Connor, co-counselin the original Mount Laurel case.
“With plans in place, the major issue today is state and federal financial development support to implement the plans.”
The doctrine was first established through organizing and legal action by local NAACP branches and residents in South Jersey. Today, more towns than ever are working state affordable housing officials than any time since the establishment of the Mount Laurel Doctrine.
“The Mount Laurel Doctrine has been transformative when it comes to ensuring fair and equal access to affordable housing, all across New Jersey,” Murphy said in a statement.
“Over the past seven-plus years, our administration has taken historic strides in realizing the promise of the Mount Laurel Doctrine by advancing long overdue legislative reforms and investing record sums into making housing more accessible and more affordable.”
He said that through the Department of Community Affairs, New Jersey has invested $250 million to support the construction of nearly 1,600 new, affordable housing units across our state.
“New Jersey’s Mount Laurel Doctrine is a testament to decades of persistent advocacy, which has helped our state become a national leader in affordable housing production,” said Jacquelyn A. Suárez, Commissioner of the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs.
“DCA is proud to be a major partner in this vital effort, contributing expertise, data analysis, and significant funding assistance that allow more New Jersey municipalities to develop the housing needed to create thriving communities for all.”
Last year, Murphy signed legislation strengthening the Mount Laurel Doctrine that streamlines the affordable housing development process and codified the methodology used to determine each municipality’s obligations over the next decade.
It has not been smooth sailing for the doctrine. Last fall, nine municipalities sued over Murphy’s latest tweak to the Mount Laurel Doctrine, calling it an “unconstitutional, unfunded local mandate” that enables state legislators to “shirk political responsibility” for making sure municipalities comply.
Many who celebrated the historic state Supreme Court decision 50 years last month said they are ready to fight to keep the hard fought right for affordable housing in place.
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