The following is an editorial by Senator Sean T. Kean of New Jersey's 11th legislative district:

Last month's appeals court decision forcing a community to build affordable housing units beyond their legal obligation is the latest in a long line of grievances suffered by localities in dealing with the state's affordable housing regulations.

The latest drama in the tortured history of the state's onerous Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) rules came when a developer sued Eastampton Township in Burlington County to build affordable housing, even though the town already submitted an affordable housing plan that was approved by COAH itself.

Incredibly, in a ruling that defies both logic and common sense, the court sided with the developer, sending a message to towns throughout the state that compliance with COAH rules provides no protection from lawsuits. Further, local zoning decisions that were made as part of a good faith effort to comply with COAH regulations have been effectively nullified by this decision.

Without immediate action, every citizen faces the possibility of this happening in their community, resulting in overdevelopment, school overcrowding, loss of open space, and higher property taxes. That is why I've joined together with my colleagues in the Legislature to call for an immediate special legislative session to address the ramifications of the ruling.

The Legislative leadership in Trenton promised repeatedly that compliance with expensive state regulations would protect communities from builder's remedies lawsuits. Now, they need to say how they will keep that promise and protect communities from these lawsuits and attacks on their rights to enforce their own zoning laws to control sprawl and local taxes.

This isn't the first time we have asked the state to step in to help localities deal with unfair COAH regulations. Earlier this year, my colleagues and I expressed our concerns that the regulations were based on faulty data and unwisely eliminated Regional Contribution Agreements. These agreements prevent municipalities from over-developing by giving them the option to pay neighboring towns with existing infrastructure to assume a portion of their housing obligation. We also objected to a provision that placed an undue burden on property taxpayers by imposing a 2.5% tax on commercial development that certainly would be passed on to homeowners.

Fortunately, there has been some acknowledgment that COAH needed some type of reform, and we were ultimately able to make a bipartisan effort to enact new legislation that among other things, imposed a temporary moratorium on the 2.5% tax until July 1, 2010. It also eliminates towns' affordable housing obligations that may have accrued during the moratorium.

This was a significant step forward, but much more needs to be done. Unfortunately, last month's court decision has pushed us two steps back. Amid all the flawed methodologies used to establish affordable housing obligations, amid the inherent unfairness to local taxpayers, towns have done their best to comply with state law. Now, New Jersey municipalities expect the state to keep its promises and protect them from the legal assaults that led to last month's ruling.

With all the mistakes, inconsistencies, and, now, illogical court decisions surrounding our affordable housing policies, towns and taxpayers have lost confidence in how COAH has been managed. I am eager to work in a bipartisan manner to implement common sense reforms to improve the state's deeply flawed affordable housing law. But we need leadership and a sense of urgency to get it done.