ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS, N.J.—A trial in Superior Court over how many affordable housing units must be built in Englewood Cliffs—with up to 599 units possible—begins Oct. 11 following a Superior Court ruling in late August that found the borough “acted in bad faith and [was] determined to be constitutionally non-compliant” with its affordable housing obligation.
According to Fair Share Housing Center, an intervenor in most affordable housing litigation statewide, the borough is only one of three to go to trial on its obligations and also lose immunity from so-called “builder’s remedy” lawsuits, which allow a builder to sue to build market-rate and affordable units when a municipality is found non-compliant.
Superior Court Judge Chrstine Farrington denied the borough’s petition for immunity from a builder’s remedy lawsuit, opening the door for Normandy Real Estate Partners to sue the borough to construct up to 600 units of housing on a 20-acre parcel at 800 Sylvan Avenue, formerly owned by Unilever. Approximately 100 units would be affordable.
Following Farrington’s decision Aug. 27, Mayor Mario Kranjac said the borough would appeal the ruling telling reporters that the judge was wrong in her “understanding of the facts.”
He told news outlets: “It was always my goal to satisfy our requirements without any high-density residential development, and that remains my goal.”
The affordable housing ruling in late August followed a raucous July meeting where nearly 300 residents opposed strong recommendations from the town’s legal professionals to settle the affordable housing matter and not risk a court trial.
The borough has proposed an alternate plan involving construction of at least 57 affordable units on a 2-acre property where the borough’s municipal building, parking lot and Lions Club currently reside.
‘Hundreds of new homes’
“A recent court ruling in Bergen County has rejected longstanding exclusionary policies put in place by Englewood Cliffs and paves the way for the construction of hundreds of new homes affordable to working families, seniors and people with disabilities,” said Fair Share spokesman Anthony Campisi in an early September blog post.
While the borough has appealed for a stay of Farrington’s decision, it appears the trial is moving forward for Oct. 11.
According to Englewood Cliffs’ affordable housing counsel, Albert Wunsch III, the borough is committed to providing affordable housing with its plan.
However, Farrington’s ruling specifically cited the borough for failing to provide not even a single affordable housing unit in over 40 years since Mount Laurel was decided.
Special Counsel Albert H. Wunsch III told Northern Valley Press that “we just want to do it our way” and that the 599-unit “unmet need” was not realistic in a town with little available land for development.
Town ‘a punching bag’
Wunsch said if the Farrington decision is not stayed, it was likely they would appeal to the appellate division for relief prior to the trial.
“We are not a racist community…I feel that they are using us as a punching bag and treating us as a punch line,” said Wunsch.
He said that the town “was founded on progressive ideals” and features wide diversity with multiple races and nationalities residing there.
Wunsch said the town proposed a satisfactory answer to its affordable housing obligation and went to trial because of public support for a trial, with vocal residents opposed to high-density development at 800 Sylvan Ave.
He criticized Fair Share Housing Center for attaching “themselves to the sharks [developers].”
“These builders just want more and more” housing built,” he said.
Wunsch said a case management conference was planned to confirm details of the upcoming trial.
He called the affordable housing litigation “one of the most complex types of cases to be involved with.”
‘Poster child for obstruction’
Campisi, Fair Share’s spokesman, called out Englewood Cliffs for using “the legal process to delay affordable housing development” and said the borough “has been a poster child for obstruction.”
“Instead, the borough approved large-scale developments while failing to require a single home affordable to working families be created, worsening Bergen County’s housing crisis,” wrote Campisi following the ruling.
“And it approved a housing plan for judicial review that improperly excluded existing properties from consideration as affordable housing sites and failed to provide evidence that it could properly fund its plan to meet its 599-unit obligation,” continued Campisi.
‘Failing’ working families
“Judge Farrington rejected a July resolution approved by the Englewood Cliffs governing body that professed a commitment to affordable housing while decrying the Supreme Court’s process and failing to take any concrete steps toward constructing new homes for working families,” said Campisi.
The brouhaha over affordable housing has caused deep rifts among the mayor and council members, with a recall effort launched in July against Democratic Councilman Edward Aversa, who is opposing Kranjac for mayor on Nov. 5.
Also, Democratic Councilwoman Gloria Oh is targeted for recall.
In a recall petition filed by three residents, Aversa and Oh are accused of failing to do due diligence on affordable housing, a lack of transparency in the negotiations, failing to work with borough agencies to assess affordable housing impacts and failure to demonstrate that they are acting in the public’s best interest.
