NJ HOMES Choice Tool
Interactive planning tool implementing A4/S50 affordable housing calculations for all 564 municipalities, supporting NJ HOMES grantmaking and municipal compliance.
The Problem
When A4/S50 established new affordable housing requirements for all 564 New Jersey municipalities, local officials faced an immediate challenge: how to understand their obligations and plan accordingly. The legislation created a new calculation methodology, but no tools existed to help towns apply it to their specific circumstances.
DCA needed a way to support the first cohort of NJ HOMES grantees while helping all municipalities understand their prospective need numbers under the new framework.
What I Built
Working with DCA’s policy teams, I developed an interactive planning platform that implements A4/S50 calculations for every municipality. The tool lets officials simulate different development scenarios, understand how various project types contribute to their obligations, and track progress over time.
The core features include a unit mix planner for modeling development scenarios, a credit calculator that applies the specific A4/S50 methodology, and a project tracker for monitoring municipal progress. A directory of Affordable Housing Trust Fund and National Housing Trust Fund projects gives towns visibility into available funding opportunities.
The interface prioritizes local control. Officials can select projects that fit their community’s character rather than accepting top-down mandates. This design choice reflected a core policy goal: municipalities should understand their obligations and have tools to meet them on their own terms.
Impact
The tool supported the grantmaking process for the first NJ HOMES cohort, providing consistent calculations and planning capabilities across participating municipalities. With all 564 towns now able to access the same methodology and modeling tools, local officials can plan for compliance rather than react to enforcement.
The platform reduced what would have been hundreds of individual technical assistance requests into self-service functionality. Municipal planners who previously relied on consultants for basic obligation calculations can now run scenarios themselves.
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