Governor Sherrill Signs Executive Order Aimed at Addressing Housing Affordability
May 6, 2026 | Written by: | Share
Governor Sherrill signed Executive Order No. 17 on April 27, 2026 to address New Jersey’s persistent housing cost crisis. The centerpiece of EO 17 is the establishment of the Housing Governing Council, which comprises representatives from multiple state agencies. These agencies include the Governor’s Office, Department of Community Affairs (DCA), New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA), New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), New Jersey Transit (NJT), Department of Law and Public Safety, and Department of the Treasury. The Housing Council is tasked with reviewing policies and regulations to remove barriers to the creation of affordable housing, inventorying under-utilized state-owned properties, and proposing reforms to promote the creation of affordable housing.
In order to achieve these goals, the Executive Order requires each Executive Branch department or agency to submit a report to the Housing Governing Council by June 27, 2026, addressing initiatives to promote the creation of affordable housing, an inventory of state-owned land that is unutilized or under-utilized, and a list of existing or planned affordable housing projects on state-owned land. Utilizing the data collected in such reports, the Housing Governing Council will present recommendations within 150 days to increase the construction of affordable housing and preserve existing units.
Tara St. Angelo, Esq. concentrates her practice primarily in the areas of municipal and land use law. She was named to the NJ Super Lawyers Rising Stars list for State, Local and Municipal law by Thomson Reuters in 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022. Contact Ms. St. Angelo at Gebhardt & Kiefer, PC at 908-735-5161 or via email.
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