The Toms River Township Council took final action on one affordable-housing ordinance and introduced three more at its April 8, 2026 meeting, continuing work under a settlement of the township’s Fourth Round affordable-housing obligation that is subject to court review. The information is drawn from the council agenda and public notices signed by Municipal Clerk Stephen Hensel. The three new ordinances — covering Jamestowne Village, a 2008 Route 37 parcel, and an amendment to the Hooper-Claudina Redevelopment Plan — were scheduled for second-reading hearings on April 22, 2026.

The Fourth Round in plain language

“Fourth Round” refers to the ten-year cycle (July 1, 2025 through June 30, 2035) during which New Jersey municipalities must provide a realistic opportunity for affordable housing under the state’s Fair Housing Act, as amended in March 2024. The introductory clauses of the new Toms River ordinances state that the township’s Fourth Round prospective-need obligation is 649 units.

The package builds on a December 10, 2025 settlement between the township and Fair Share Housing Center, a New Jersey nonprofit. Property owners 2008 Route 37 Associates, LLC and JD Jamestowne, LLC also filed challenges to the township’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan. The recitals state the settlement is subject to review by the state’s Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program and the county-level affordable-housing judge. The township’s declaratory-judgment action is docketed as OCN-L-331-25.

MF-16 overlay finalized April 8

The council gave final passage on April 8 to Ordinance 4832-26, designating Block 171, Lots 23 and 42 along Lakewood Road as an affordable-housing overlay zone with the “MF-16 Multifamily Zone” designation. An overlay zone layers additional zoning rules on top of an area’s existing zoning; property owners can still build under the prior rules, but the overlay adds affordable housing as a permitted option. MF-16 is the same ordinance the council previously approved in March as part of an earlier package of five overlay zones.

Three new ordinances introduced

Each of the three new ordinances names a specific site and unit count:

HB-MF Highway Business Multi-Family Zone — 2008 Route 37, Block 796, Lot 3. The ordinance creates a mixed-use category permitting a 20-unit inclusionary development of two new floors of multifamily housing atop an existing two-story retail structure. It requires 4 of the 20 units — a 20% set-aside — be affordable to very-low-, low-, and moderate-income households. Maximum building height is 45 feet or four stories.

EMF-23 Multifamily Zone — Jamestowne Village, Block 610, Lots 1, 2, 3, 5, 11, 30, 31, and 33. The notice, ordinance title, and recitals describe a zone intended to generate 42 affordable units through new construction and “market-to-affordable conversions” at the existing Jamestowne Village apartment complex. Exhibit A permits multifamily dwellings at up to 23.5 units per acre with a 20% affordable set-aside; maximum height is 40 feet or three stories. The ordinance’s Section 3 Exhibit Adopted clause separately describes generating 40 affordable units; the reviewed documents do not resolve the 42-versus-40 discrepancy.

Hooper-Claudina Redevelopment Plan Amendment. The ordinance raises permitted density in the existing redevelopment area from 10 to 18 dwelling units per acre. According to the recitals, the change is expected to generate 6 additional affordable units beyond what the adopted plan would otherwise produce. A redline attached to the ordinance raises the area’s maximum residential build-out from 50 to 90 dwelling units. The area, east of Hooper Avenue and south of Caudina Avenue (the avenue itself is spelled with one “C”), is anchored by a planned U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs clinic and a relocated post office.

What the documents do not show

The notices, ordinances, and agendas establish the unit counts, lots, and density figures above. They do not contain vote tallies; certified vote records normally appear in official minutes, which had not been published on the township’s CivicClerk portal at the time of writing. The recitals state the township’s plan “in large part secures affordability through the preservation of existing affordable housing,” with new zoning as an additional mechanism.

Related action and what happens next

The April 8 agenda also included Resolution 15, in which the council committed to adopting the implementing ordinances required by the settlement. The April 22 agenda included a resolution to retain special affordable-housing counsel and another extending controls for a Fourth Round mechanism known as Villages at Bay Lea through an amendment with S/K Bey Lea Associates II, LLC. The township’s affordable-housing case (OCN-L-331-25) remains pending; each development would still need site-plan approval through the standard land-use process before construction.

This article is based on the ordinance text, public notices, and council agendas posted on the township’s CivicClerk portal. It will be updated when minutes recording the votes are published or when the court rules on the settlement.