After Affordable Housing Plan Hits Snag In Millburn, Emergency Meeting Scheduled

MILLBURN, NJ — As Millburn strives to meet its state mandate to provide affordable housing — a mandate for New Jersey municipalities that goes back to a 1980s court case — a proposed settlement has hit a road block. Growing opposition to an all-affordable housing complex at 9 Main St. means the town may have to provide an alternative.

On June 15, the town's Planning Board narrowly voted against a plan including that 75-unit complex. Now, the Planning Board has scheduled an emergency meeting for Wednesday to discuss matters related to the plan.

Residents and some officials have argued that the proposed building on Main Street would be too "segregated" and too dense. A petition to oppose the 9 Main St. proposal had amassed more than 1,300 signatures as of Tuesday.

The 9 Main St. proposal is part of a settlement approved by the Township Committee last year to satisfy their obligation to provide more than 1,000 units of affordable housing by 2025.

The petition argues that the 1-acre site will also cost millions of dollars to clean up.

An Alternative

The petitioners say they'd like the Town Council to tell the Fair Share Housing Center, a New Jersey nonprofit that has sued the town and others to provide affordable housing, that they'd prefer a mix of affordable and market rate housing on that site instead.

The town recently polled residents about the intended design of the building, saying they'd like to "develop a design for the 9 Main Street affordable housing project that best reflects community desires and existing Township character."

But residents and some officials want more than a change in design.

This week, Millburn Deputy Mayor Dianne Eglow, the Town Committee's representative on the Planning Board, said, "I have stated many times at Township Committee meetings that the 9 Main St., 75-unit, 100 percent affordable project at the DPW/ dump site is designed as a segregated building from the rest of the community. This is contrary to the intent of Fair Share Housing Council. To put all low, very low and very very low income families in one stand-alone building will absolutely stigmatize those residents and their children."

She also cited a lack of traffic studies, school impact studies, and results of environmental impact studies.

"The township must go back to Fair Share Housing and renegotiate this plan," she said. "We must ask for continued immunity from builder's remedy lawsuits. There must be a reexamination of the proposed settlement agreement ... There must be a puplic process and full transparency moving forward."

Wednesday's meeting will be held at 7:30 p.m. and can be attended virtually with the links below. However, a notice says that the Planning Board may go into closed session after the meeting opens.

The actual purpose of the session is "for the board’s attorney to provide legal advice and counsel to the board regarding matters related to the 2022 Third Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan ('2022 HEFSP') and other legal matters."

The Planning Board may afterward "continue the open session to discuss the 2022 HEFSP and other matters directly and indirectly related thereto. Formal action may be taken at the Special/Emergency meeting as to the contents and substance of the 2022 HEFSP and as to future actions of the Board related to the adoption of the HEFSP, including, without limitation, matters related to the Settlement Agreement."

To join virtually:

• Click the link below to join the webinar: https://zoom.us/j/92921863343?pwd=TFBJWkhZZHlWTThOMVVPWlNwRzR0dz09
  • Passcode: 501991
• Or iPhone one-tap :
  • US: +13126266799,,92921863343#,,,,*501991# or +16468769923,,92921863343#,,,,*501991#
• Or Telephone:
  • Dial(for higher quality, dial a number based on your current location):
  • US: +1 312 626 6799 or +1 646 876 9923 or +1 301 715 8592 or +1 346 248 7799 or +1 408 638 0968 or +1 669 900 6833 or +1 253 215 8782
• Webinar ID: 929 2186 3343
• Passcode: 501991 International numbers available: https://zoom.us/u/apnsKmWjS

Prior to the meeting, the applications and documents will be available on the Millburn Township website (https://twp.millburn.nj.us).