The waitress at the local diner and janitor at your kid's school are working class people who make your town function. They also need a place to live, access to decent jobs and good schools.



To which affluent towns say: No problem. Happy to have you! How about a 4-bedroom, 3.5-bath house with a fitness center and maid's quarters in Toms River?



Or a 5-bedroom 2.5-bath home with an in-ground saltwater pool and spa in Swedesboro?



Yep, this is what passes for "affordable housing" these days in New Jersey. It's all part of the latest absurd argument suburbs are using to fight their obligations to build homes for low and moderate-income people.

Christie cares about affordable housing??? Who knew? | Editorial



A state Supreme Court ruling requires wealthy towns to create zoning rules that allow such families to live within their borders. But "affordable" appears to be a matter of broad interpretation.



The leading expert hired by 40 towns to figure this out, called Econsult, thinks it's perfectly reasonable for a waitress to live in an oceanfront luxury home. It recently categorized 400 homes with price tags of $500,000 as "affordable" --including McMansions, pricey beach houses; even an empty lot of vacant land and a shopping center in Ocean County.



There's not much need for affordable housing in this state if you buy the argument that it's perfectly normal to live in the mall, spend two thirds of your income on housing, or that "affordable" simply means getting a predatory loan.



While some towns are willing to compromise and fulfill their obligations, others are spending lots of time and money battling this out in court. Even after advocates at Fair Share Housing contested their estimates with photos of laughably luxurious houses categorized as "affordable," none of the towns that hired this firm appear to be changing course.

N.J. Supreme Court rebukes Christie administration, puts courts in charge of affordable housing



Jeffrey Surenian, the lawyer who contracted with Econsult for these towns, said he is seeking a response from the consultant, but doesn't find its results particularly surprising. Some "affordable" homes go for a lot of money, he said, thanks to low interest rates on home loans and high median income in New Jersey.



"It's not science, it's not easy to measure, and it's very complicated," he said.



In other words, sometimes a janitor making $27,000 a year or less is expected to live in a McMansion. That's the way life is, people.



Gov. Christie is to blame at the heart of this. The only reason these cases are heading to court is because he disemboweled the state agency that was in charge of setting these standards. The state Supreme Court finally got fed up last year, took the job out of the state's hands, and assigned the lower courts to fill the vacuum.



Some towns are avoiding these court fights by moving forward with their own reasonable plans. Other towns are scratching and clawing to keep working class people out, an ugly mission that requires this sort of fundamental dishonesty over what kind of housing is affordable.



And so we are forced now to ask this ridiculous question: What real estate agent is going to show a hairdresser a half million-dollar home?

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