MONTVALE, N.J.—The Borough Council has raised the spending cap for its special affordable housing legal counsel, King, Moench & Collins LLP, to $350,000. The firm is representing Montvale and other municipalities challenging the state’s Fourth Round affordable housing obligations, for 2025–2035.
Approved June 24, this marks the third such increase this year. The contract, approved in 2024, was capped at $30,000. That figure was raised to $250,000 earlier this year, and then most recently to $300,000.
Mayor Michael Ghassali has led the formation of Local Leaders for Responsible Planning (LLRP), a coalition comprising as many as 29 municipalities opposing the latest housing mandates.
Montvale retained King, Moench & Collins last summer to prepare litigation. Since then, the firm has filed three lawsuits in state court and one in federal court. So far, Superior Court rulings have denied the coalition’s motions to pause implementation of the rules.
Each participating municipality was asked to contribute $20,000 toward the legal effort.
While some LLRP materials list 27 member towns, legal filings and new public statements have referenced up to 29, including Montvale, Denville, Florham Park, Hillsdale, Mannington, Millburn, Montville, Old Tappan, Totowa, Allendale, Westwood, Hanover Township, Wyckoff, Wharton, Mendham, Oradell, Closter, West Amwell, Township of Washington, Norwood, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin Lakes, Cedar Grove, East Hanover, Holmdel, Wall Township, Little Falls, Warren Township, and West Caldwell.
In a recent email to residents, Ghassali wrote: “Our special counsel, King, Moench & Collins LLP, led by attorney Michael Collins, is taking a stand against mandates that undermine municipal authority and create untenable financial obligations. LLRP advocates for fair, responsible and constitutionally sound planning policies that respect local autonomy.”
Following the filing of the coalition’s first lawsuit in September 2023, Ghassali told Pascack Press, “This is about standing up for all New Jersey communities. We all want safe, welcoming, and vibrant neighborhoods, but the new Fourth Round mandates from Trenton go too far and will place unnecessary strain on our towns without providing any resources to make it work. Our priority is to fight so that local elected officials have the power to ensure our towns grow in a responsible manner, which this law (amended Fair Housing Act) prevents.”
We reached out to Ghassali for updated comment but did not hear back by press time.
Jag Davies, spokesman for Fair Share Housing Center, the Cherry Hill–based nonprofit that advocates for the creation of affordable housing across New Jersey, told Pascack Press when invited to comment, “It’s outrageous that Mayor Ghassali and other opponents of affordable housing are wasting such tremendous amounts of local taxpayer dollars on these far-fetched lawsuits.”
He said, “For decades, a small handful of towns have claimed that New Jersey’s affordable housing policies take away their ability to choose what is right for their town — but this couldn’t be further from the truth. Municipalities have a wide variety of options and significant latitude in deciding how they meet their affordable housing obligations. Municipalities can choose from a range of options — such as 100% affordable housing, supportive housing for seniors or people with disabilities, repurposing under-utilized commercial spaces, or mixed-income housing.”
Davies said, “Instead of flushing their local taxpayers’ money down the drain fighting affordable housing, towns like Montvale should follow the lead of other municipalities that are utilizing the state’s affordable housing policies to prioritize sensible and equitable growth, redevelopment, and infrastructure investments to foster healthy, resilient communities.”
Advocates slam NJ budget
Meanwhile, affordable housing advocates say the newly adopted $58.8 billion state budget, Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy’s last, fails to address New Jersey’s worsening housing crisis. According to the Housing and Community Development Network of New Jersey, the budget diverts $125 million from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund—leaving just $5 million, enough to subsidize about 40 homes.
In July 3 reporting by the New Jersey Monitor, Staci Berger, the network’s president and CEO, called the move “tone-deaf and irresponsible,” saying it undermines years of coordinated planning between the state and developers. Jag Davies of FSHC said the redirection comes at a critical time, as municipalities begin to submit their Fourth Round affordable housing plans, required through 2035.
The state faces a shortage of nearly 290,000 affordable homes, according to the network. Advocates note that the crisis disproportionately affects people of color and low-income families.
Although lawmakers approved a program authorizing up to $100 million annually in tax credits for affordable housing development or rehabilitation, advocates stress that this program does not replace the diverted trust fund dollars.
Ally in Township
Here at home, Township of Washington Mayor Peter Calamari updated residents on July 2 about two proposed development sites to meet the township’s housing obligation and reiterated his support for Ghassali’s legal challenge.
The proposed sites include:
- 660 Pascack Road at Washington Avenue, to be rezoned for 28 townhouses, including seven affordable units. 660 Pascack Realty’s prior application for a 17,100-square foot strip mall at the site was denied by the Zoning Board in 2023 and upheld in 2024 by a Superior Court judge. 660 Pascack Realty became an intervenor in the township’s fourth round affordable housing plan following the Superior Court’s appeal rejection. (See “Upheld: Judge backs ZBA in its rejection of strip mall at Pascack and Washington” by Michael Olohan, July 5, 2024, thepressgroup.net).
- 370 Pascack Road, the former Valley/Oritani Bank site, where a developer proposed 74 units. Calamari said the total may be reduced during site plan review to allow for larger buffers and setbacks. (See “Properties eyed for rezoning in state’s Round 4” by Michael Olohan, Pascack Press, June 30, 2025.)
Calamari said a midpoint review in five years will assess whether projects are proceeding. “If a site doesn’t get built as planned, a replacement will need to be identified,” he noted.
He said the township’s state-defined rehabilitation obligation is zero. “State-mandated future need was 184 units—this number was reduced to 11 units, thanks to strong past planning and limited buildable land,” he wrote.
“Washington Township was one of the first municipalities to join a coalition challenging these unfair state mandates at the federal level—an effort the council strongly supports,” Calamari added.
— With John Snyder