BY MICHAEL OLOHAN
OF PASCACK PRESS
MONTVALE, NEW JERSEY —— Montvale’s affordable housing settlement—which calls for 106 of 615 new homes being built to be set aside for low- and moderate-income families—was deemed satisfactory by a Superior Court judge Jan. 25 in fulfilling the borough’s affordable housing obligations through 2025.
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Judge Menelaos Toskos said the borough’s plan was fair to low- and moderate-income families seeking housing in Montvale. The plan comprises agreements with four interveners in the settlement—Fair Share Housing Center and three developers—ending almost two years of litigation and negotiation among all parties.
The housing developments will occur on three sites: the Mercedes-Benz USA site, owned by S. Hekemian Group; the Sony property, owned by Hornrock Properties, and the former A&P campus, owned by 2 Paragon Drive LLC, its purchaser.
The settlement calls for: 350 residential units planned on three Mercedes-Benz lots totaling 37 acres, with 53 affordable units for sale or rent; 80 townhouse-style homes on a 13-acre former A&P site on Paragon Drive with 16 affordable units; and 185 apartments over a parking deck planned for the seven-acre Sony property, with 20 percent affordable units.
In an emailed statement, Montvale Mayor Michael Ghassali said in anticipation of additional students from 615 new homes being built in upcoming years under the settlement, he formed a school planning committee “to plan ahead the infrastructure needed and to maintain the high level standards our schools are known for.”
He also said the state “should consider forgiving those towns who settle of their unmet need and allow them to focus on the realistic development numbers. Let us do what we have to do and do it right.”
Implement settlement
Borough Attorney Joseph Voytus said the affordable housing agreement met “all statutory criteria” to be approved.
“Most of what needs to be done at this point is administrative steps to implement the settlement,” he said.
These include amending the town’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan to be consistent with all developer agreements, and a spending plan for the borough’s affordable housing trust fund, said Voytus.
Voytus said via email that the affordable housing trust fund spending plan to be approved by the court will include an accounting of revenues, expenditures, anticipated future development fees and interest, and a plan to expend trust funds through 2025.
He said Montvale has 120 days from Superior Court approval to get its master plan changes made, as well as a trust fund spending plan approved.
He said required local zoning changes for multifamily housing developments were recently completed in line with the agreement approved Nov. 14 by the council.
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Residents have a voice
Voytus said as specific developments approved as part of the settlement agreement come before the planning board, residents can have input into the planning process. He noted the approved developments will enable Montvale to meet its “realistic development potential,” or RDP, of 181 affordable housing credits.
Voytus said to meet Council of Affordable Housing “round three” requirements—between now and 2025—the borough has nine mechanisms to get credit for its contribution to affordable housing opportunities.
In addition to required developments, other future developments may be used to fulfill Montvale’s obligations, including 10 age-restricted units and four special-needs units planned for a School 2 site, and overlay zones for future affordable housing at the Annie Sez site on Kinderkamack Road and two business districts near the train station.
To ensure future multifamily development of five units or more include affordable units, the council must pass an ordinance mandating such units in any multifamily housing, said Voytus.
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Rejected agreements
Since 2015 when Montvale filed a declaratory judgment in Superior Court to begin negotiations to satisfy its affordable housing obligations, the borough’s road to a settlement has been fitful: twice in 2017 the council turned down agreements.
It rejected an agreement in June with S. Hekemian for a “mixed use” development for 300 units on the former Mercedes-Benz site and a deal with Hornrock for 160 units of housing on the former Sony property. Hekemian then sought to intervene in the declaratory judgment to build up to 1,000 units of multifamily housing.
In late September, the council tabled a resolution 5-4, with Mayor Michael Ghassali breaking a tie, that would have allowed Hekemian to construct 350 multifamily units on the Mercedes site. Following its tabling, the council was ordered to court for mediation of the dispute.
On Nov. 14, the council voted 4-2 to settle its nearly two-year negotiation with Fair Share Housing Center, and three interveners, despite strong council opposition to settling.
“We had to minimize our exposure” to potential builder’s remedy lawsuits, said Ghassali then. “No one wants to change our town, [but] the options we had are limited.”