Southern Burlington County, NAACP v. Township of Mount Laurel
New Jersey Supreme Court
336 A.2d 713 (N.J. 1975)
Mount Laurel Township (defendant) zoned 29% of its land exclusively for industrial use, though only a small fraction was actually developed industrially, while imposing residential zoning restrictions that effectively limited housing to higher-income families — a scheme driven by the town's interest in attracting high-tax-revenue industrial and expensive residential development to cover its school funding costs. The NAACP of Southern Burlington County (plaintiff) sued, alleging the combined zoning regulations unlawfully excluded low- and moderate-income families from the town.
Whether a town may effectively prevent low- and moderate-income families from residing in the town through its system of zoning regulations.