Tag: court forced over developement

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New Jersey Judge Upholds “Affordable Housing” Mandate in Big Win For Developers

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Montvale NJ, New Jersey’s affordable housing mandate will move forward in 2025 after a state Superior Court judge denied a motion to pause a new law aimed at enforcing the Mount Laurel Doctrine. The ruling, made on Thursday in Mercer County by Judge Robert Lougy, dismissed a legal challenge brought by over two dozen municipalities seeking to delay the implementation of the legislation enacted earlier this year.

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A Growing Battle: New Jersey Towns Challenge “Affordable Housing” Mandates

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Montvale NJ, a coalition of 25 New Jersey towns, and counting, has united to challenge the state’s affordable housing mandate. Their goal? To halt a court-enforced housing wave that could see the construction of 85,000 new units and the renovation of 65,000 existing residences over the next decade, largely in North Jersey.

The towns will present their case in Mercer County Superior Court on December 20, arguing that the state’s housing requirements are overreaching and could overwhelm small communities with increased development, traffic, and other burdens.

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Hackensack NJ: Controversial Apartment Building Proposal Halted by Planning Board

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

In Hackensack, NJ, a proposal for a large apartment building at the corner of Anderson and Linden streets has been halted following significant community opposition. The city Planning Board recently denied an application for a six-story, 345-unit apartment building with retail space on the first floor at 123 Anderson Street.

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Stop & Shop and the township of Teaneck release joint statement saying there are no plans to shut Teaneck’s only supermarket

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Teaneck NJ, Stop & Shop  in Teaneck at 665 American Legion Drive will not be closing anytime soon. In a effort to dispel persistent rumors, Stop & Shop and the township of Teaneck have released a joint statement saying there are no plans to shut Teaneck’s only supermarket. The memo posted on the township website states that Teaneck “never asked or pressured” the store to close and that Stop & Shop is not looking to close or move.

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Upper Saddle River Meets Affordable Housing Compliance

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Upper Saddle River NJ, a short sparsely attended 40-minute hearing was all the borough needed  to be declared in compliance with its six-year-old affordable housing agreement. The ruling on Friday by Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington provides the Borough of  Upper Saddle River with protection through 2025 against lawsuits arising from challenges to its affordable housing plan, part of a statewide initiative dating back to the 1980s requiring that each municipality provide its “fair share” of affordable housing.

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Reader suggests 24 affordable housing units in Saddle River will cost Taxpayers 30 to 50 million dollars for water and sewage

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“It does appear to be suspicious . The property at 78 Woodcliff Lake Rd. Saddle River, NJ that is supposed to have 24 affordable housing units built on it does not have a system in place for water and sewage. The quote that I heard was it is going to cost between 30 to 50 million dollars to put the water /sewage system in place. Something is not right…. Who is profiting here?”

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Saddle River Agrees to create nearly 150 new affordable homes in Court Forced Over-development Deal With Fair Share Housing Center

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Saddle River NJ,Resolving a lawsuit that alleged that one of the nation’s most exclusive towns had for decades enforced exclusionary zoning policies that excluded working families and people of color, the Borough of Saddle River agreed this week to create nearly 150 new affordable homes in a settlement with Fair Share Housing Center.

A 5-acre Bergen County estate formerly owned by legendary actress and comedian Rosie O’Donnell, and two adjoining lots, will be converted into a new inclusionary development with eight homes affordable to working families as part of a landmark fair housing agreement approved by local officials Feb. 10.

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Reader says , “It is our state courts from decades of liberal judges that have been forcing these stupid developments”

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“Don’t any of you realize the state of New Jersey. An and would force us to permit this type of construction or worse? Like them or hate them it is quite irrelevant who is in the town politics. It is our state courts from decades of liberal judges that have been forcing these stupid developments. The reason they are building giant apartments on top of train track is because the state has set tax incentives to do so : see Waldwick station and Allendale etc. The state of NJ thinks this will fight global warming (seriously). Also the developments are being forced on us ever since the mount olive decision in the 80s. See this as an example:

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Englewood Cliffs Forced to allow Hundreds of Affordable Homes after Violating Fair Housing Laws for Decades

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the staff of the Ridgewooed blog

Englewood Cliffs NJ, Englewood Cliffs is required to build hundreds of new homes affordable to working families and people with disabilities – after violating the state’s fair housing laws for decades, a Superior Court judge has ruled.

The decision by Bergen County Superior Court Judge Christine A. Farrington requires borough officials to provide a plan within 90 days to build 347 homes to satisfy the town’s fair housing obligations under the Mount Laurel doctrine – or be stripped of all zoning powers.

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Glen Rock Settles Affordable Housing status

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Glen Rock NJ, Glen Rock Mayor Bruce Packer announced the settlement of Glen Rock’s Affordable Housing status.

On a Facebook post Mayor Packer said , “There will be several more public meetings scheduled in coming months where the details will continue to be discussed. With the settlement behind us, we no longer have the same restrictions with regard to what we are able to talk about. In the meantime, please visit the link below where we have composed a FAQ as I had asked our Planner to answer many of the questions that have come to us over the past few weeks and he has taken the time to do so.”

https://glenrocknj.net/index.asp?SEC=C66C388B-270E-457D-AA59-15CA27F7E627&DE=F23D2A83-DC42-43D8-BE10-BB54B7878BC4&Type=B_PR&fbclid=IwAR2sYdASqvHD0saTmNgc7ycCpqdNx_HIjk5pwH1g6JvwwvaV9cT0Mxc46zs

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There is a constitutional obligation for municipalities in New Jersey to foster some degree of affordable housing

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, it seems many in Ridgewood are unaware of the so called Mount Laurel doctrine, the Mount Laurel doctrine is a controversial judicial interpretation of the New Jersey State Constitution. The doctrine requires that municipalities use their zoning powers in an affirmative manner to provide a realistic opportunity for the production of housing affordable to low and moderate income households.

The doctrine takes its name from the lead case in which it was first pronounced by the New Jersey Supreme Court in 1975: Southern Burlington County N.A.A.C.P. v. Mount Laurel Township (commonly called Mount Laurel I), in which the plaintiffs challenged the zoning ordinance of Mount Laurel Township, New Jersey, on the grounds that it operated to exclude low and moderate income persons from obtaining housing in the municipality.

In 1985 the New Jersey Legislature responded by passing the Fair Housing Act. Accepting the premise that there was some constitutional obligation for municipalities to foster some degree of affordable housing, this legislation created an administrative agency, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), to establish regulations whereby the obligation of each municipality in terms of the number of units and how the obligation could be satisfied.

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Valley Hospital Van Dien Campus and Affordable Housing

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, Part of that affordable housing plan involves an alternative approach to The Valley Hospital campus on Van Dien Avenue. Valley is moving its main hospital to a 372-bed facility on Route 17, expected to be completed by 2023. Its Ridgewood campus will then become a medical services hub. 

“It is our intent to maintain a vibrant campus that will include a walk-in care center and a range of outpatient services,” Megan Fraser, vice president of marketing and public relations for The Valley Hospital, said in an email.

I suspect everything that The Valley has at 1200 East Ridgewood Avenue will move to Van Dien after all is said and done.  The property at 1200 East Ridgewood would then go up for sale – High density housing with an affordable housing component is my bet for that location, just like their property on North Maple where the old Ford dealer was.

Also, I question whether the YMCA really needs to be physically located in Ridgewood any longer.  I would not be surprised if their property goes on the chopping block and gets sold to a developer who wants to build high density housing.  Properties within walking distance to the train station are, and will continue to be, in very high demand for luxury apartments, especially when Midtown Direct Service begins on the NJ Transit Bergen & Main Lines. 

I suspect that the YMCA might build a state of the art facility in the industrial section of Glen Rock – Harristown Road or maybe Fair Lawn – Pollitt Drive.

The Upper Ridgewood Tennis Club property will also be in play within the next few years.

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New Jersey Affordable Housing – Time to Make it Fair!

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New Jersey is….

1st in the nation for highest property taxes
3rd most expensive state to live in
5th in the nation for highest per student school spending
5th in the nation for highest state income tax
6th most expensive state to purchase a home
#1 most densely populated state in the nation with 1,216 people per square mile


Land is at a premium and developers want to cash in and develop every last inch

FACT: Renting or owning a home should be affordable to NJ residents who qualify, but not at the expense of local ordinance that is contrary to NJ municipal land use law.
FACT: NJ’s affordable housing (AH) mandates are not working and our government is not listening to the voice of the people – who support AH but want it to be implemented fairly, honestly and sensibly.
FACT: The current pace of proposed AH development is not reasonable or sustainable and will be catastrophic to towns, schools, volunteer emergency services, infrastructure and to NJ’s natural resources, ecosystems, waterways and environment.


What We Want
1) We believe municipal AH obligations should not be determined by the courts and that there should be clear, statewide guidelines to follow.
2) “Builder’s remedy” lawsuits should be eliminated as a mechanism used to satisfy a municipality’s AH obligations.
3) We believe the laws governing AH must consider the impact on our schools, roads, traffic and congestion, emergency services and the preservation of open space and our quality of life.
4) NJ’s environment must be protected from sprawl and overdevelopment; AH should not be built on environmentally-sensitive land or land that has been remediated from contamination.
5) AH that is built should not “expire” and should count towards all future AH rounds and obligations.
6) We, the residents of NJ, seek to disband the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) who takes our hard-earned tax dollars to enrich the wallets of lawyers and developers at the expense of NJ’s future.
7) We, the people, demand a bi-partisan review of AH and legislative reform to make NJ’s affordable housing fair.


We are calling for reasonable ways to address the current problems to enact clear legislative guidelines that will: 1) ensure that AH benefits those in need; 2) implement a regional or statewide approach; 3) expand the ways in which municipalities can address their fair share of affordable housing—FAIRLY!

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Prominent Bergen County Developer Indicted

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the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Edgewater NJ,  The former CEO of Mariner’s Bank and an accomplice both were charged today for their roles in a scheme to obtain nominee loans from Mariner’s Bank, U.S. Attorney Craig Carpenito announced.

Fred Daibes, the former CEO and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Mariner’s Bank, and Michael McManus, the CFO of Daibes Enterprises, a consortium of companies specializing in real estate development, were charged by a federal grand jury with one count of conspiracy to misapply bank funds and to make false entries to deceive a financial institution and the FDIC. Daibes, 61, of Edgewater, New Jersey, also was charged with five counts of misapplying bank funds, six counts of making false entries to deceive a financial institution and the FDIC, and one count of causing reliance on a false document to influence the FDIC. McManus, 61, of Madison, New Jersey, was charged with four counts of misapplying bank funds, one count of making false entries to deceive a financial institution and the FDIC, one count of causing reliance on a false document to the influence the FDIC, and two counts of loan application fraud. The defendants will have their initial appearances and arraignments at a later date.

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BREAKING NEWS: NJ DEP to Send Investigators to Toll Brothers Site in Upper Saddle River

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photo Derek Michalski of GreenUSR and CBS

May 25,2018

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Upper Saddle River NJ, On the one-month anniversary of the infamous discovery of the pumping of runoff consisting of a suspension of carcinogenic toxic soil by Toll Brothers directly into Pleasant Brook—a practice that has been apparently ongoing now for more than four consecutive months—at 6:19 PM tonight GreenUSR Attorney Gart Molander received the following text message from the NJ DEP:

“I work for the NJ DEP and have no information on what the locals did or how they have handled this issue. Today is the first time my office (Bureau of Emergency Response) was notified of this ongoing issue. As mentioned, I am sending someone from the County to investigate. They will advise me if there is any action necessary by the State. Thanks“

Apparently neither Mayor Minichetti, her Council, the Borough Administrator, nor Boswell Engineering deemed it necessary to report these ongoing erosion control problems, including the pumping of muddy runoff containing high levels of arsenic and lead directly into our precious waterways, from the biggest construction site in the history of Upper Saddle River to the NJ DEP Emergency Management Program.
We are now on the NJ DEP’s radar screen and let’s hope that finally reasonable minds will prevail to shut down this unprecedented environmental disaster.