U.S. District Court Judge Zahid Quraishi won’t hesitate to invalidate a state law if he believes it’s wrong – he demonstrated that last year when he struck down county lines in primary elections – so his decision to hold an evidentiary hearing next week on New Jersey’s new affordable housing law could mean a delay of a critical deadline.
A coalition of about three dozen municipalities filed a federal lawsuit in April seeking to invalidate the criteria the state uses to calculate municipalities’ affordable housing obligations. Their lawyer, Michael Collins, has asked Quraishi to issue an injunction by March 15, requiring them to adopt their own guidelines or risk the state adopting its own.
“I look forward to testifying in federal court before Judge Quraishi about the harm caused by the state’s upcoming arbitrary deadline to implement high-density housing in my community,” said Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who leads the bipartisan coalition.
The law, approved nearly two years ago, appears to address a statewide shortage of affordable housing estimated at roughly 150,000 units.
In October, Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy dismissed a lawsuit filed by the coalition, Local Leaders for Responsible Planning.
“The significant opinions of our Supreme Court have defined what the Constitution requires in providing affordable housing and emphasized the important role of the legislative and executive branches in fulfilling that obligation,” Lougy wrote in his decision.
Quraishi’s hearing is set for January 7.
“My clients are grateful for this opportunity to be heard on their request to pause the impending March 15, 2026 deadline to zone for mandated high-density development while their equal protection challenge proceeds in federal court,” Collins stated.
