Addressing what she called a critical state shortage impacting working families, seniors, and young buyers, Gov. Mikie Sherrill unveiled a comprehensive five-pillar housing plan.
The strategy aims to close an estimated 350,000-home gap identified by the Housing Governing Council—a body established under Executive Order No. 17 during the Sherrill’s first 100 days in office. To jumpstart the initiative, the administration rolled out immediate, high-impact actions, including doubling planned housing targets on state-owned land and introducing strict permitting “shot clocks.”
Key Immediate Actions
- Doubling State-Land Production: Planned housing on state-owned land has been doubled from 20,000 to 40,000 new homes.
- Permitting Shot Clocks: New procedural rules will introduce firm timelines to accelerate permit applications and cut through red tape.
- Affordable Housing Funding: A new tax credit auction will deploy tens of millions of dollars directly toward affordable housing.
The Five-Pillar Strategy
Developed to bridge the state’s housing deficit and combat rising construction costs—which the administration noted are being compounded by external federal pressures—the comprehensive blueprint centers on:
- Delivering more homes where New Jerseyans want to live, work, and stay, prioritizing smart development near transit, jobs, and schools.
- Increasing “speed to shovel” by streamlining approvals, making the regulatory process clearer, faster, and more predictable.
- Partnering with municipalities to build, preserve, and support housing growth locally.
- Expanding access to housing opportunities for families across the state.
- Lowering costs while fighting unfair housing practices and keeping residents stably housed.
Highlighting early momentum, the administration pointed to several initiatives already in motion, including transit-oriented developments in Red Bank, Bayonne, and Linden; the launch of a new permitting dashboard tracking major projects; tripling hands-on municipal development assistance; fully funding veteran homelessness response systems; and cracking down on unfair practices driving rent hikes.
“A home is the foundation on which people build their lives and financial security, and I’m taking strong action to ensure New Jerseyans can afford to build their futures here,” Sherrill said.
Further details regarding the initiative are available at housingcouncil.nj.gov.
