The Toms River Township Council and Mayor Daniel Rodrick are publicly disputing how to meet state affordable housing requirements ahead of a March 15, 2026 deadline.
What happened
New Jersey requires Toms River to provide opportunities for 526 rehabilitation units and 649 new affordable housing units. According to the adopted Housing Element and Fair Share Plan, the township signed a settlement with Fair Share Housing Center in December 2025 agreeing to meet this requirement through deed restriction extensions at existing complexes and new zoning for apartment buildings. The plan includes implementing ordinances that must be adopted by March 15, 2026.
Why it matters
If Toms River does not have an approved compliance plan by the March 15 deadline, the township could lose legal protection from what are known as “builder’s remedy” lawsuits. Under New Jersey’s Mount Laurel doctrine, a builder’s remedy allows developers to ask courts to override local zoning and approve high-density housing projects. Both the mayor and the council have stated publicly that losing this protection would be a worse outcome than the current disagreement.
According to the Fair Share Plan, the settlement would create new zoning allowing apartments in four areas: a mixed-use project on Route 37 (20 units), expansion at Jamestowne Village (~100 units), a small redevelopment increase in the Hooper-Caudina area, and a larger MF-18 multifamily zone near Route 70 and Massachusetts Avenue. The Route 70 zone has drawn the most public attention from both sides.
The Route 70 zone
The Fair Share Plan states that the proposed MF-18 zone would allow 18 apartments per acre with a 20% affordable housing requirement. Township documents indicate this zone is designed to generate 134 affordable units, which implies roughly 670 total apartments. However, if all land in the overlay were eventually developed at maximum density, the total could reach approximately 1,400 units.
In their March 11 press release, council members stated that the mayor failed to complete negotiations with partners like Hope’s Crossing before the deadline and is using the situation to push through developments residents oppose. They stated they want to seek a court extension and renegotiate using existing affordable housing sites instead of new apartment zoning.
In his letter to residents, Mayor Rodrick stated that his administration negotiated the township’s obligation down from an initial estimate of about 1,700 affordable units. He wrote that the settlement protects local zoning control, while rejecting it could lead to uncontrolled apartment construction through builder’s remedy lawsuits.
What happens next
The township council must decide whether to adopt the implementing ordinances before March 15, 2026. Superior Court Judge Sean Gertner ruled on the township’s housing obligation numbers in May 2025 and would need to approve any significant changes to the December settlement. If the ordinances are not adopted by the deadline, developers could file builder’s remedy lawsuits asking courts to approve apartment projects that bypass current zoning.
