Planning Board Ends Holmdel-Hazlet Affordable Housing Dispute

HOLMDEL, NJ — The Holmdel Planning Board voted to approve the settlement agreement on the Hazlet litigation, putting an end to the legal dispute over the 50-unit affordable housing project being on South Laurel Avenue and Middle Road.

The proximity to the Hazlet border led the township to file three separate suits after the development plan got approval from the Township Committee on July 2020.

Hazlet Mayor Mike Glackin objected last year to the zoning of the project, stating the unfit "suitability, site design and project location" of the plans.

"We are not saying don't build on this site, we are not saying do not put affordable housing on this site," Hazlet Township Attorney James Gorman said. "We are saying build what fits."

Over a year later, the settlement agreement had already got the green light from the Township Committee on the last meeting in August but it still had to go before the Planning Board for a vote on Aug 24.

READ MORE: Holmdel Township Committee Approves Affordable Housing Plan

READ MORE: Hazlet Officials Object To Holmdel's Affordable Housing Plan

"The settlement agreement will result in the dismissal of the three lawsuits," said Andrew Bayer, attorney for Township of Holmdel, in a recent meeting.

According to the attorney, the location of the development, which is close proximity to single-family homes, is one of the key points of the settlement agreement. The buildings and parking lots in the new development will have to be pushed further away from the Hazlet border, as much as 100 feet in some cases, compared to what was originally planned.

The total number of apartments will still be the same and 100 percent of them will be affordable housing.

READ MORE: Holmdel Affordable Housing Development Gets Tax Boost From State

Bayer also said that the settlement requires that Holmdel revise the zoning ordinance to match the new concept plan, which sets standards further back from the Hazlet border.

Before the final vote, Board Attorney Martin Pfleger said that the applicant will have to come back before the Planning Board with an amended plan and that there will be a public hearing on it.

The Middle Road affordable housing project is also part of a settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center, which sued several New Jersey townships and claimed that the state of New Jersey had not enforced affordable housing requirements in municipalities like Holmdel.