Affordable Housing Plan Approved In Basking Ridge To Meet State Mandate

BASKING RIDGE, NJ — The Township Committee approved its plan to meet its required New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) fourth-round affordable housing obligation on Tuesday night.

"This has really been a pathway to meet our fourth round obligation," said Committeewoman Ana Duarte McCarthy at the Tuesday Committee meeting.

The vote to approve the final plan followed the Township Committee's previous approval of three ordinances for development with Westgate, Ridge Oak, and Our House at its April 15 meeting. The plan was then presented before the Planning Board at the May 20 meeting. (See the presentation below)

"The housing element and fairshare plan adopted by the planning board is the best option to fulfill our constitutional duty for the fourth round of affordable housing. It will result in less development without having to develop one more site to achieve that goal. The acceptance of this plan is the best choice to minimize development, in my opinion," said Committeeman David Tancredi at the May 27 meeting.

"While I personally disagree with the notion of affordable housing mandates, it has been incumbent on all of us to figure out the best path forward and accept the law as it is and our options as they are, not as we would prefer them to be. It’s important that we take responsibility for these decisions rather than leave our fate to the courts," said Deputy Mayor Andrew McNally.

Duarte McCarthy, McNally, Tancredi, and Mayor Janice Fields all voted in favor of approving the plan, while Committeewoman Jennifer Asay voted against it.

"Residents are still very angry and very much disagree on what was approved," said Asay of the plan. "The state required affordable housing. The state did not require the particular proposals that this committee approved, and it woefully undermet the need of our community, which is housing for seniors. We very much need housing for seniors as well as adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities. So at the end of the day, we really needed to address that and it's still an unmet need," said Asay.

Fields disagreed with Asay, saying the plan does benefit the elderly and those with special needs.

"We’re meeting our obligation by helping the elderly and the people who need it the most. They look for affordable housing, they need affordable housing," said Fields. "We are working with Our House. We are doing units for adults with special needs. And I am telling you right now, my promise to all of you, is that I am still working on more housing for adults with special needs."

The Township Committee's previously approved ordinances include creating the SH-4 Senior Housing Zone, which increases the number of units from 308 to 337 units. It also increases the total square footage from 231,666 to 259,666 square feet.

The 29 income-restricted units for seniors would be built on the property connecting the Ridge Oak senior citizens complex on Manchester Drive.

The second ordinance calls to replace the Westgate Village Mixed Use Senior Overlay Zone within the E-3 Zone with the Westgate Village Mixed Use Zone. The zone would specifically change the zone to include family inclusionary housing, which means it is a mix of market and affordable housing units.

It also increases the density of housing units from 375 to 574 units, of which 115 units would be designated as affordable units. And it ultimately reduces the amount of nonresidential development by around 210,000 square feet.

The project would include a 150-room hotel of about 217,000 square feet and 20,000 for nonresidential space (down from the 230,000 nonresidential area previously allowed).

Additionally, a resolution was passed for the affordable housing project by Our House, Inc. located at 399 Mt. Airy Road, consisting of .71 acres, which will be operated as a group home consisting of four units for the developmentally disabled.

Duarte McCarthy noted that these sites are developable, compliant with the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection, and do not impact any historical sites.

She added that once the Township has well-developed engineering and architectural plans for Ridge Oak, residents will be invited to the community center to discuss project details and solicit their thoughts and suggestions.

"I think that is a terrific step. It’s positive. It’s important to engage the community as the project goes forward," said Duarte McCarthy. "The decision, which was a difficult one, was the right one."

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