Town rehabbing homes for low-income residents
No-interest loans help homeowners fund variety of projects
BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
With greater affordable housing obligations on the horizon, Old Bridge officials are working to fulfill them by providing assistance to existing residents in need.

"The number of units required is going to change dramatically in Old Bridge." - Jim Phillips

The state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) is allowing municipalities to provide housing rehabilitation for homeowners who qualify for the program, in lieu of the usual requirement of building new units in town or paying for them to be built elsewhere.

"We see it as a means of taking monies we have available and providing some help to our longterm residents, to give them a break," Mayor Jim Phillips said of the program.

So far, 28 homeowners in Old Bridge have taken advantage of the COAH funding to rehabilitate their residences, and about a third of those rehabilitation projects have been completed, according to Joe Criscuolo, who heads the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) program for the township.

Criscuolo is coordinating a transition from using the CDBG funds for such projects to using COAH monies. CDBG funds go from the federal government to the state, where they are then intended for disbursement to areas that need them most. The funding can be used for work on individual homes or for larger projects such as parks or sidewalks, according to Township Business Administrator Mike Jacobs.

While Old Bridge officials used the money both for homes and larger projects, they found that it became restrictive when housing rehabilitation costs exceeded $5,000. In such cases, CDBG regulations require extensive testing for lead-based paint. If lead is found, it must be abated. In order to avoid those additional costs, town officials often attempted to keep rehab projects at a $4,500 maximum.

"We want to use that money to do projects that benefit low- to moderate-income areas," Jacobs said. "That's where we think we get more money to the people, as opposed to the administrative costs of checking for the lead."

Unlike the CDBG program, COAH rehabilitation costs are only limited in the sense that they cannot exceed the value of the home undergoing the work, Criscuolo said. On average, the rehabs in progress have cost about $20,000 each, according to Criscuolo.

The program consists of granting a nointerest loan to the homeowner, to be paid back to the township when the house is sold or transferred to another party. A formula is used in order to determine whether a household qualifies as low to moderate income by COAH guidelines.

For example, a one-person household cannot have an income exceeding $51,968 in order to qualify. Two persons must have a maximum income of $59,392 to meet the requirements. A consultant hired by the town meets with interested parties to determine their eligibility. Since the program is relatively new for the township, hiring a consultant seemed more prudent than bringing in a new full-time employee, Phillips said.

The mayor pointed out that the township has always met its affordable housing obligations with COAH. The state council is in the process of its third round of plans for regulations, which will increase the number of low-income housing units required in municipalities.

"The number of units required is going to change dramatically in Old Bridge," Phillips said.

Builders of new construction in a town are required to contribute to that municipality's COAH obligation. Three developers

in court with the township - Michael Alfieri, John J. Brunetti and Atlantic Realty - have had the number of units allowed for their respective projects decreased because of wetlands, which in turn, decreases their required contributions to affordable housing, Phillips said. The change makes the housing rehabilitation option for fulfilling obligations all the more attractive for the township.

According to Jacobs, Old Bridge received approval from COAH to do approximately 40 housing rehabs over a period of 10 years. He said officials want to make sure residents are aware of the program, so that they can get necessary work done on things like electrical and heating systems, roofs or other issues in their homes that they cannot afford to address.

For more information on the program, visit the township Web site at www.oldbridge. com, then click "Forms and permits," or call town hall at (732) 721-5600.