Sherrill signs Executive Order 17 creating housing council, requiring state land inventory in New Jersey

Gov. Mikie Sherrill on April 27 signed Executive Order No. 17, directing New Jersey executive-branch entities to inventory state-controlled land and certain “unutilized,” “underutilized,” or “surplus” property that could be used for housing, and establishing a new interagency Housing Governing Council.

The order also adds a temporary procedural condition on property dispositions. Until an executive-branch department or agency has complied with the order’s reporting directives, it may not dispose of property it owns without approval from the Governor’s Office Chief Operating Officer (COO). The governing council must deliver its initial recommendations to the Governor’s Office within 150 days of the order taking effect.

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What the order does and does not do

Executive Order No. 17 establishes an interagency process. It directs agencies to compile inventories and identify barriers, creates a council to coordinate that work, and requires the council to propose goals and recommendations on a defined timeline.¹

The order does not rezone land, appropriate funds, or require a specific number of housing units to be built. Instead, it frames housing production and preservation as priorities and directs executive-branch entities to identify opportunities and propose next steps.¹

Housing pressures cited in the order

In its findings, the order cites a range of housing and rent pressures. It states that more than one-third of households and more than one-half of renters in New Jersey pay over 30 percent of their income for housing; that housing costs rose by 30 percent between 2021 and 2023; that the median home price exceeds $500,000; and that the median monthly rent is more than $1,800, with average rents exceeding $3,000 in some parts of the state.²

The order presents these figures as “data showing” recent conditions but does not specify the underlying data source in the text reviewed.²

How the order frames affordable housing obligations

The order links its housing goals to existing affordable housing requirements, stating that New Jersey “must build and preserve tens of thousands of affordable units” to meet obligations under the New Jersey Supreme Court’s Mount Laurel doctrine and the state’s Fair Housing Act.³

These statements form part of the order’s rationale. The order itself does not create a new statute or court mandate.

Housing Governing Council timeline and membership

Within 45 days of issuance, the Governor’s Office COO must convene the Housing Governing Council.⁴

The order states that the council will be composed of representatives from executive-branch departments and agencies selected by the COO, “including but not limited to” the Department of Community Affairs (DCA), the New Jersey Economic Development Authority (EDA), the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency (HMFA), the Department of Law and Public Safety, the Department of the Treasury, and New Jersey Transit (NJT).⁴

Agency inventory and reporting requirements

The order directs executive-branch departments and agencies to provide information intended to identify housing-development opportunities and barriers. Required items include:

• an inventory of land owned by the department or agency;
• identification of “unutilized property,” “underutilized assets,” and “surplus property” that may be suitable for housing or mixed-use development;
• known or planned projects on agency-owned land; and
• identification of duplicative, outdated, obsolete, or conflicting rules, regulations, and requirements that “slow or hinder housing development.”⁵

The order references “stranded assets” in its findings when discussing expedited conversion into housing. Its definitions section, however, focuses on terms including “unutilized property,” “underutilized asset,” and “surplus property.”³

Temporary approval requirement for property dispositions

The order includes a conditional limitation on property dispositions while the inventory process is underway. It states that, consistent with applicable law, until an executive-branch department or agency has complied with the reporting directives, it “shall not dispose of property it owns without the approval of the COO.”⁶

The order defines “Executive Branch departments and agencies” broadly to include principal departments and executive-branch agencies, authorities, boards, commissions, and other instrumentalities, along with independent state authorities and agencies over which the Governor exercises executive authority, as determined by the Attorney General.¹

Recommendations due within 150 days

The governing council is tasked with presenting recommendations to accelerate housing construction across income levels, preserve existing units, and improve access to housing and homeownership opportunities.⁶

The order requires the council to issue its initial recommendations “not later than one hundred fifty days” following the effective date. It identifies priority areas including development of executive-branch unutilized or surplus property, coordination of funding and financing processes, and expanding access to existing affordable and workforce housing units.⁶

Operations, resources, and legal limits

The order authorizes the council to establish rules of procedure and to request data and assistance from executive-branch entities, which are required to cooperate “to the extent not inconsistent with law.”⁷

It also authorizes the acquisition of “technology systems, consulting services, and other resources” necessary to support the inventory process and related housing goals. The order does not appropriate funding.⁸

Finally, the order states that it does not create a private right of action, does not alter or limit existing statutory authority, does not require disclosure of confidential or privileged information, and takes effect immediately.⁸

Notes

1. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 3.
2. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 1.
3. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 2.
4. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 5.
5. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 6.
6. State of New Jersey, Executive Order No. 17 (April 27, 2026), p. 7.