Building the Future: Actions to Achieve Great Homes and Neighborhoods in New Jersey and Beyond

June 30th, 2025 by New Jersey Future staff

By Luke Steene, land use intern, and Molly Riley, project manager, climate adaptation

New Jersey is amidst a deepening housing crisis—particularly an affordability crisis. In all corners of the state, longtime residents are being priced out of their homes as housing costs soar. In fact, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, New Jersey has a shortage of over 200,000 housing units for low-income residents. Newark now ranks as the most difficult city in the United States to find a rental property. More than one-third of New Jersey residents are cost-burdened, meaning that they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. These statistics make one thing clear: New Jersey’s housing crisis cannot be ignored.

The panel, “Building the Future: Actions to Achieve Great Homes and Neighborhoods,” was held as a part of the 2025 NJ Planning and Redevelopment Conference hosted by New Jersey Future and the New Jersey Chapter of the American Planning Association. The panelists represented diverse professions and perspectives and explored sustainable and equitable solutions to New Jersey’s housing issue. They included: moderator Dan Reed, Policy Director, Greater Greater Washington; Jenny Shuetz, Vice President of Infrastructure for Housing, Arnold Ventures; and four leaders in New Jersey’s Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All initiative: Chris Sturm, Policy Director of Land Use, New Jersey Future; Graham Petto, Principal, Topology, LLC; Shavani Hurry, Founder of the Shemporer Group, Adjunct Political Science Professor at Pace University; and Taiisa Kelly, Chief Executive, Monarch Housing Associates.

Jenny Sheutz’s opening remarks highlighted ways that policy reforms can make it easier to build housing. Her recommendations included legalizing diverse structure types in detached single-family residential locations, relaxing dimensional requirements, and allowing as-of-right development so that lengthy discretionary review processes do not unnecessarily delay projects meeting pre-existing standards. Overall, Scheutz made the case that municipal zoning should allow for more housing choice and that state governments play an essential role.

Taiisa Kelly further emphasised this need for a more streamlined and time-efficient approval process for prospective affordable development. Her nonprofit, Monarch Housing Associates, helps community-based developers navigate the complex web of approval processes for constructing affordable housing by assembling financing, building strong teams, and working through municipal and state processes. Operating under the mindset that “time is money, in the development space,” Kelly acknowledged that obtaining funding and approval for development is often confusing and time-consuming. While these challenges are substantial, Monarch’s aid has led to the creation or preservation of 3,000 affordable units statewide. Nevertheless, Kelly asserted that affordable housing development policy must be more efficient, better organized, and well-funded to meet current and future demand.

Shavani Hurry’s experience in Newark highlighted gaps where housing policy falls short. In Newark—where over half of all renters are rent-burdened—the City Council passed a Right to Counsel ordinance in 2018. This ordinance was intended to guarantee free legal representation for tenants facing eviction in the city. However, as Hurry emphasized, many tenants are still illegally evicted without fully understanding their rights. The primary challenges include a shortage of available attorneys and the absence of a statewide policy to financially back Newark’s local ordinance. To address this, Hurry helped launch the Ironbound Community Corporation’s Housing Justice Hotline, which has helped prevent over 300 evictions since its inception in 2024. Yet, the very existence of this hotline underscores a broader need for the state to work more closely with municipalities and align local and state-level housing justice policies. Hurry championed the principle that “when elected officials, landlords, residents, community officials—when we all work together—communities thrive and everyone wins.”

Sheutz provided recommendations to achieve state and municipal synthesis and cooperation. Firstly, states can establish guardrails to reduce overly restrictive zoning rules, which may be used to identify areas fit for more housing, like underutilized commercial districts.

Despite existing challenges, there are also opportunities for state and municipal collaboration. Sheutz expressed “the relationship between the state and municipal governments can be more productive when they are collectively moving towards the same goals.” One way the state may facilitate this is by providing generous funding for development in areas municipalities have already flagged for development. Dan Reed recounted that this cross-collaboration led to mixed-use, affordable projects in Maryland, such as Bethesda’s Pike and Rose. The state should further provide technical assistance and educational resources to municipal planning boards, helping them navigate state laws and funding sources, and implement smart growth strategies consistent with the State Plan.

Collaboration and dialogue between state and municipal governments further lead to greater synthesis between housing development and capital planning. Graham Petto explained a statewide disconnect between housing and transit infrastructure: “We have an underutilization of high-capacity transit areas or building in areas with limited or infrequent transit.” To align housing and transit efforts, Petto maintained that municipalities should zone for heightened densities where transit and commercial investments exist or are planned.

Chris Sturm wrapped up the presentation by summarizing priorities to boost New Jersey’s housing stock and achieve statewide housing affordability, because “everyone in New Jersey deserves an affordable place to live—in a safe, vibrant community.” New Jersey Future’s Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All (GHNA) initiative highlights four zoning priorities for 2025 that currently have bills circulating through the Legislature: allowing for the conversion of underutilized commercial properties to mixed-use or residential developments, allowing accessory dwelling units, reducing parking requirements near transit, and incentivizing dense, transit-oriented development.

These reforms respond to current trends in New Jersey’s housing market. Sturm remarked that single-family detached homes remain 50% of our total housing stock despite households decreasing in size, reinforcing the need for more duplexes and multifamily units. Additionally, New Jersey boasts the highest percentage of 18-34 year olds living with their parents, a striking indicator of New Jersey’s housing unaffordability. This demographic is leaving to find more affordable housing in other states, further underscoring New Jersey’s need to build more affordable housing to retain this crucial age group. Overall, Sturm stressed that the GHNA priorities help ensure that every New Jerseyan has an affordable place to live in a walkable area near public amenities, commercial activity, well-funded schools, and green spaces.

The Great Homes and Neighborhoods for All (GHNA) legislative priorities would be a critical step forward in promoting smart growth, expanding housing affordability, and fostering equitable economic development across New Jersey. Even so, as the panelists underscored, legislation alone is not enough. Meaningful collaboration between state and municipal governments is essential to turning these priorities into lasting change. State programs like the Affordable Housing Trust Fund must provide substantial, sustained funding for local projects that align with statewide housing goals. At the same time, the state must actively educate municipal leaders about available funding sources, legal frameworks, and planning tools consistent with the State Development and Redevelopment Plan. It should also better support municipal efforts that advance housing justice. While GHNA legislation lays a strong foundation, its success hinges on coordinated local implementation and ongoing public advocacy to ensure every New Jerseyan can access a safe, affordable home in a well-connected, thriving community. By combining top-down policy reform with bottom-up action, New Jersey can move closer to achieving great homes and neighborhoods for all.