MONTVALE — The Montvale-led coalition of municipalities challenging New Jersey’s Fourth Round affordable housing framework has filed an appeal in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit and is seeking emergency relief to pause looming deadlines while the case is reviewed.
Mayor Michael Ghassali said the coalition is appealing after the U.S. District Court dismissed the lawsuit on standing grounds, a ruling he criticized in a Jan. 20 Facebook post.
“We are disappointed the District Court refused to consider our meritorious challenge to Mount Laurel by claiming its mandates do not harm taxpayers and elected officials,” Ghassali wrote. “We look forward to bringing this to the Third Circuit Court of Appeals.”
Addressing business leaders at Wednesday’s Greater Pascack Valley Chamber of Commerce mayors’ breakfast in Westwood, he said he would pursue the matter to the U.S. Supreme Court if necessary.
Court papers in the appeal — docketed as No. 26-1143 — include a notice of motion for emergency relief seeking an injunction pending appeal under Federal Rule of Appellate Procedure 8. The filings list numerous plaintiff municipalities, including Montvale, Hillsdale, Westwood, Norwood, New Milford, Washington Township, Wyckoff, Franklin Lakes, Hawthorne, and others statewide.
The filings also list several individual plaintiffs who are local elected officials, including Ghassali, and identify King, Moench & Collins, LLP as counsel.
In their preliminary statement, the plaintiffs frame the case as an equal protection challenge to a 2024 New Jersey law they say imposes rezoning obligations on certain municipalities while excluding others. They argue that, without emergency relief, key deadlines will trigger zoning changes that authorize higher-density development in ways they say would be difficult to unwind even if the plaintiffs ultimately succeed on appeal.
The filing states that the coalition’s emergency request is tied to a near-term statutory schedule leading to a March 15, 2026 implementation deadline. The plaintiffs also cite a recent U.S. Supreme Court decision — Bost v. Illinois State Board of Elections — as support for their argument that they have standing to bring the case in federal court.
Defendants listed in the appeal include Attorney General Matthew J. Platkin, Acting Administrative Director of the Courts Michael J. Blee, and officials connected to the state’s Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program.
As of the filing date shown on the Third Circuit documents, the appeals court had not ruled on the emergency request.