Whiplash!

You know that “wait… what?” moment when you reread something three times because your brain refuses to accept it? Congratulations — you now understand Holmdel’s affordable-housing strategy.

For months, the Township Committee has sold the Vonage redevelopment as the sensible way to satisfy Holmdel’s affordable housing obligations. Mayor Brian Foster called the reduction in our “Trenton‑mandated housing” a “huge win,” and the same April 2025 meeting approved both the affordable-housing settlement and the Vonage redevelopment agreement. Forty‑eight of the Vonage units are slated to be affordable — nearly half of the 106-unit obligation Holmdel publicly settled on. Foster also praised the Vonage plan as “a great plan” and “a positive for our town.” Two River Times

He’s repeated the theme elsewhere: in a June 2025 Patch interview, Foster described the Vonage plan as the town’s answer to overdevelopment and noted it includes “a small portion of state‑mandated affordable housing to fulfill our legal obligations.” Patch

So far, that’s a coherent message: the mandate exists, we don’t like it, and Vonage is the “least bad” way to comply while getting open space, trails, and other community benefits. Reasonable people can debate the plan — but at least the story hangs together.

Except… it doesn’t. Because Holmdel didn’t just grumble about the mandate — we joined the legal fight against it. In December 2024, Holmdel announced it had joined the Local Leaders for Responsible Planning (LLRP) lawsuit challenging the fourth-round affordable-housing framework. And by April 2025, Holmdel was still described as being involved in ongoing litigation aimed at bringing a stay against the mandates. Patch

Then comes the latest twist. On November 25, 2025, the New Jersey Globe reported that LLRP went to federal court seeking a preliminary injunction to “press pause” on New Jersey’s new affordable-housing mandates tied to the Urban Aid Classification, pointing to a March 15, 2026 deadline that could strip towns of immunity and invite builder’s‑remedy chaos. And Holmdel is specifically listed as a member of the LLRP coalition in the coalition’s April 24, 2025 federal-lawsuit press release. New Jersey Globe

Now here’s where my neck brace comes in: the coalition’s attorney quoted in the Globe article is Michael Collins. Yes, the Holmdel’s township attorney, the same person quoted explaining the Vonage redevelopment details and saying the agreement would “have a significant impact in assisting the township in complying with the fourth round.” New Jersey Globe

Let me translate the optics into plain English: Holmdel taxpayers are paying a lawyer to help us comply with the mandate… while (at the same time) paying into a coalition effort that is literally asking a federal judge to stop the mandate. That’s not “strategy.” That’s a two-sided coin being billed by the hour.

To be clear, towns can try to protect themselves on both fronts — comply for legal immunity while also challenging the system in court. But the Township Committee can’t keep using “we must do Vonage because of the obligation” as the sales pitch, while also being part of a coalition whose whole premise is that the obligation framework is unfair and should be halted.

If the Committee believes the mandate is so illegitimate that it needs federal intervention, residents deserve honesty about what Vonage really is: an economic-development and land-use choice the town wants — with affordable housing used as the convenient justification. And if the Committee believes the mandate is real and unavoidable, residents deserve honesty about why we’re spending local dollars fighting it anyway.

Because those dollars are real. In September 2024, the Globe reported that towns joining the LLRP lawsuit agreed to contribute $20,000 each over the next two years. Add in our local redevelopment legal work, planners, consultants, and all the “special” professionals that swirl around a project this size, and it starts to feel like we’re buying two different road maps — then paying someone to argue about which one is upside down. New Jersey Globe

Holmdel residents aren’t asking for perfection. We’re asking for one consistent narrative and one set of priorities — not affordable-housing whiplash.

If the Township Committee knows what it’s doing, it’s time to explain it like we’re the ones paying for it. Because… we are.

Prakash Santhana

Former Holmdel Deputy Mayor