Rumson Estates, Inc. v. Mayor & Council of the Borough of Fair Haven
Supreme Court of New Jersey
828 A.2d 317 (2003)
The Borough of Fair Haven (Fair Haven) (defendant) rezoned a block from a district requiring 7,500-square-foot lots to a district requiring only 5,000-square-foot lots but capping single-family dwelling floor area at 2,200 square feet, with the smaller of the floor-area ratio or the cap controlling, aiming to keep new houses proportional to existing ones and diversify the housing stock with more affordable homes. Rumson Estates, Inc. (Rumson) (plaintiff), which owned 27,000 square feet it wanted to subdivide into three lots, would have been allowed 3,600-square-foot houses under the floor-area ratio alone but was limited to 2,200 square feet by the cap. Rumson sued, arguing the cap violated New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL), which authorizes density regulation based on floor-area ratio, and the state's requirement of uniform regulations within a zoning district, since the cap affected only larger lots in the zone. The Appellate Division ruled for Fair Haven, and Rumson appealed.
Whether, under land-use law, a municipal cap on the floor area of single-family dwellings, combined with a limit on floor-area ratio, violates state laws authorizing regulation based on floor-area ratio and requiring uniformity of regulations within districts.