Excludes environmentally sensitive and flood-prone land from designation as vacant or available for purposes of affordable housing construction.

This bill excludes environmentally sensitive and flood-prone land from being counted as "vacant" for affordable housing requirements under New Jersey's Fair Housing Act. It specifically applies to land regulated by agencies like the Highlands Water Protection Council (for Highlands Preservation/Planning Areas), the Flood Hazard Area Control Act, or the Freshwater Wetlands Protection Act. Municipalities must no longer count such land toward their affordable housing obligation, meaning they aren't required to use these areas for housing projects. The change clarifies that land under active state or federal environmental regulation - such as wetlands, flood zones, or conservation areas - is automatically excluded from housing calculations.