The “Affordable Housing” Trap: Why Oradell Was Forced to Approve High-Density Zoning
the staff of the Ridgewood blog
ORADELL, NJ — In what many local residents are calling a “legalized scam,” the Oradell Borough Council has officially surrendered to state-mandated zoning changes. After what officials described as an “exhausting” and “emotional” process, the small Bergen County town has approved high-density rezoning to avoid the looming threat of even more “egregious” development lawsuits.
“Sign or Be Sued”: The Builder’s Remedy Threat
The decision wasn’t made out of a desire for growth, but out of fear. Oradell faced a strict March 15 deadline to comply with New Jersey’s affordable housing mandates. If the town didn’t “opt in,” it would have been left defenseless against “Builder’s Remedy” lawsuits.
Under these rules, developers can sue a town to bypass local zoning entirely, often doubling or tripling the number of units originally planned. Mayor James Koth III admitted the process was “disgusting” to many, but argued the compromise was the only way to “ward against” total loss of local control.
Historic Oradell Under Siege
The new ordinances target several key areas along Kinderkamack Road, turning quiet commercial and historic spots into high-density hubs:
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445 Kinderkamack Road: Despite being home to historic 1880s Queen Anne-style Victorians, this zone will now allow a three-story, 25-unit complex.
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The Former Subaru Dealership: Located at 66 Kinderkamack, this site is now zoned for mixed-use retail and multi-family apartments.
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The Office “Overlay” Zones: Areas from 690 to 800 Kinderkamack have been rezoned for up to 30 units per acre—a move forced by mediation with developers like Avalon Development, who were originally pushing for a staggering 59 units per acre.
The Math Doesn’t Add Up
Residents at the standing-room-only meeting at Oradell Public School expressed outrage over the “affordable housing” label. Local resident Anthony Boccia pointed out a glaring reality: of the 25 units at one site, only five are actually “affordable.”
Critics argue this is the core of the “scam”—developers use a tiny percentage of affordable units as a “Trojan Horse” to force high-density, market-rate luxury apartments into small towns, forever changing the scale and character of the neighborhood while straining local schools and infrastructure.
Is Your Town Next?
Oradell is just one of many New Jersey municipalities currently caught in this 10-year “affordable housing cycle.” As the state continues to mandate these quotas, residents are left wondering if “home rule” still exists or if the future of their communities has been sold to the highest bidder in a courtroom.
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Tags: #OradellNJ #AffordableHousing #NJRealEstate #BergenCounty #BuildersRemedy #HomeRule #SaveOurTowns #ZoningLaws
Pure and simple, it’s nothing other than NJ government-sanctioned extortion, and you have a 50 year Democrat-monopolized state legislature and Democrat-appointed activist judges to thank for every last high density unit squeezed into your neighborhood.
NJ has such as great history of developing beautiful nice, clean and safe, livable cities like Camden, Paterson, Newark, Trenton why shouldn’t we have the State force upon the suburbs that same demonstrated excellence and apply it to our wealthy suburbs?
Post of the day !
The grift that keeps on giving…to developers!
The State of NJ has kept zero records of how many affordable units have been built since the Mount Laurel decision
To add insult to injury affordable units remain in the affordable inventory for a short time (about 10 years) then roll into market rate making in perpetuity the so-called “need”
People moved out of the cities for a REASON.. Crime being the main reason
Its called ‘white flight’.
And now these assholes in the goverment will be forcing us to leave again… to Flordia
And then they will wonder why tax revenue is so much lower than they projected
all of my friends and neighbors who have retired ‘exile’ to FL for 181 days per year. They have LOTS of discretionary income to spend, and its spend here only 1/2 the year. It deprives businesses of profits (which they would be taxed on ) and deprives the state of sales taxes.
But you can’t fix stupid. We have a montclair liberal governor spending billions on benefits for illegal aliens, while ignoring those of us who contribute $$ to the state.
Most of the morons in trenton from big cities couldnt manage their own finance. All they ‘axe’ is ‘how much to it cost per month’. The kind of dopes who get a car from a buy here pay here lot.