Jackson Township, NJ – Jackson Township officials have approved an affordable housing plan to meet a state mandate requiring 1,000 affordable units by 2026, despite significant local pushback and mounting environmental concerns.
This is in addition to the town’s previous obligation to the state of over 1,700 units still owed under the third round of the Fair Share Housing Agreement and in addition to developments and projects already approved by the town’s zoning and planning board which are already in construction or planned for the future.
The new plan, approved 4-1 by the township council, allows the Tip Tam camping resort and the Pine Barrens Golf Course to be turned into affordable housing complexes.
The plan, finalized through a settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center, sets Jackson’s official affordable housing obligation at 1,000 units — the maximum allowed under the state’s current cap and a reduction from the township’s earlier requirement of 1,350 units. The approval follows months of contentious hearings, divided votes, and protests from residents opposed to large-scale development in environmentally sensitive areas.
At the township meeting, which lasted for hours, many residents objected to the council’s approval.
Under the agreement, Jackson will meet its obligation by creating new inclusionary zoning districts that allow developers to build market-rate housing, provided that 15% to 20% of units in each development are designated as affordable.
It is estimated that accommodating 1,000 affordable homes could ultimately bring 8,000 to 9,000 new market-rate homes across 17 identified sites, substantially expanding Jackson’s housing stock over the next decade, which would significantly increase the population of the township by 30% over the next ten years, again, not including the projects already in progress, which include over 1,200 new housing units already approved since 2020, according to the township Master Plan document.
Earlier in the year, Ocean County Commissioner Frank Sadeghi gave a grim forecast that Jackson’s population will nearly triple over the next 10 years, saying it could soon be a city of over 200,000 residents.
The Township Council approved the implementing ordinances in December 2025 following the Planning Board’s adoption of a revised Master Plan earlier in the year. The ordinances enable rezoning in multiple areas, including some tracts bordering the Pinelands, where environmental groups have warned of potential legal challenges over groundwater, habitat, and traffic impacts.
The vote was split, with Council President Mordechai Burnstein, Vice President Giuseppe Palmeri, and Councilmen Nino Borrelli and Ken Bressi voting in favor.
Councilman Christopher Pollak cast the only no vote against the plan.
Jackson’s “prospective need” for affordable housing — covering the 2025–2035 period — was calculated by the state at 1,000 units, part of a larger statewide housing initiative that requires towns to update zoning by mid-2025 and reach compliance by 2026.