PARK RIDGE, N.J.—A petition drive to attempt to overturn the borough’s much-contested affordable housing settlement and individuals who oppose the settlement will likely be heard at the Jan. 15 fairness hearing before Superior Court Judge Gregg Padovano.
Residents can find information and a link to the hearing on the borough’s website.
The petition drive is being spearheaded by resident Burton Hall, who continues to appeal for residents to voice their opposition to the settlement.
“Each signature on the petition will help to call attention to an affordable housing mandate system that is dangerously out of balance. A large number of signatures by people who care enough to sign the petition can make a difference,” Hall said.
At its Nov. 23, 2020 public hearing when the settlement was approved, 4–2, a dozen residents had comments, mostly negative with some demanding the fight to continue, and most upset with the borough settling the long-running legal feud with a developer and Fair Share Housing Center.
Despite the borough’s five-year-plus legal battle against two intervenors pushing for high-density development to satisfy affordable obligations, the council voted to approve a settlement under pressure from the Superior Court and special affordable housing master Frank Banisch.
The settlement calls for 448 units on the Sony property with 68 affordable, a 100 percent affordable 51-unit development at Bear’s Nest, a $150,000 payment for Fair Share Housing Center legal fees, adoption of ordinances to rezone Sony property for affordable housing, plus affordable set-aside ordinances for future multifamily (five or more) housing.
Following several court decisions that went against Park Ridge, including Padovano barring its expert witness from testifying, disallowing its Bear’s Nest affordable agreement into the settlement, and the special master’s recommendation to increase Sony density to 35 dwelling units per acre from its long-discussed 12–15 DUA, borough attorneys said it was too risky to go to court and risk losing immunity to builder’s remedy lawsuits and be stripped of local zoning powers.
Possible court fines and legal costs were also cited as reasons to settle, with Mayor Keith Misciagna calling legal fees of 700,000 yearly for several years as “bleeding us” and delaying other capital needs. Following the Nov. 23 vote to approve, borough attorneys appeared before Padovano the next day to provide an update and schedule a fairness hearing.
The borough’s attorneys repeatedly noted Nov. 23 that there was a likelihood Park Ridge would lose immunity against builders’ lawsuits—as well as local zoning control—should it not agree to settle its long-running affordable housing litigation.