By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The township committee reorganized with new leadership at the helm, pledging to preserve open space while facing a stiff deadline to meet the state’s affordable housing obligations.
The five-member committee includes new mayor Brian Foster, outgoing mayor Rocco Impreveduto, Kimberley LaMountain, 2023 mayor DJ Luccarelli and Joe Romano. The group unanimously appointed Foster as mayor and LaMountain as deputy mayor for 2025 at the annual reorganization meeting Jan. 2 at the town hall.
Monmouth County Commissioner Director Thomas Arnone administered the oath of office for Foster. LaMountain was sworn in by Assemblywoman Victoria Flynn.
Foster’s appointment came on the same day that state Superior Court Judge Robert Lougy of Mercer County rejected the township’s request to delay the state-mandated affordable housing obligations set to begin later this year.
In New Jersey, municipalities must comply with a constitutional obligation to provide their fair share of affordable homes. Known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, it is recalculated every 10 years in cycles called rounds. Ahead of the fourth round of affordable housing obligations, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill in March 2024 that streamlined the affordable housing development process. The state-mandated affordable housing obligations set to begin later this year.
In New Jersey, municipalities must comply with a constitutional obligation to provide their fair share of affordable homes. Known as the Mount Laurel Doctrine, it is recalculated every 10 years in cycles called rounds. Ahead of the fourth round of affordable housing obligations, Gov. Phil Murphy signed a bill in March 2024 that streamlined the affordable housing development process. The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) calculates the number of affordable homes each municipality is required to provide over the next decade.
In Holmdel, the DCA calculated a need for 133 affordable housing units, which could require nearly 700 new homes, given a typical 20% set aside for affordable housing in developments.
In September, Holmdel Township joined 25 other municipalities in New Jersey in a lawsuit opposing the state’s fourth round of affordable housing obligations, citing several challenges that threaten the infrastructure and environmental well-being of their towns. That plea was rejected Thursday.
Another hearing is scheduled for Jan. 31, when Lougy will consider whether to dismiss the municipalities’ lawsuit altogether.
Municipalities must adopt DCA’s housing numbers by Jan. 31 or provide their own calculation consistent with New Jersey law. By June 30, municipalities are required to adopt specific plans for how to address that number.
As Foster takes the reins of the township under these deadlines, he promised “to continue to preserve and maintain as much open space as we can.” During his first mayoral address, he also acknowledged the “significant purchases” made by his predecessors, former mayors Impreveduto and Luccarelli to preserve open space in the last two years.
Protecting the bucolic nature of the township while exploring redevelopment possibilities to meet state mandates for affordable housing has been on the township’s agenda for years. In 2023, Luccarelli led the process to acquire the Holmdel Horn Antenna property on nearly 35 acres on Crawford Hill, now Dr. Robert Wilson Park.
At the outset of 2024, the township committee established an ad-hoc Redevelopment and Economic Development Advisory Committee helmed by Impreveduto.
The committee’s focus was largely the redevelopment of the former Vonage headquarters located on nearly 88 acres at 23 Main St. The largely vacant property had not been yielding full tax benefits to the municipality for years, opening it up for less desirable uses, such as high-density housing.
The property was approved last month for a 299-unit continuing care retirement community with an integrated affordable housing element, the “best option for this property,” Impreveduto said during a meeting last month approving the project. It will be developed by Bloomfield-based Community Healthcare Associates.
“We’ve shown how important this is in the last two years with Rocco and DJ both spearheading significant purchases. I would like to see if the town feels the same way and possibly look to increase our open space tax,” Foster said during his address. “Those (open space) funds are 100% earmarked to keep the look and feel of our town the way that we want.”
During public comments, resident Patrick Trischetta urged the township to take action to protect 77 acres of woodlands in Holmdel next to Monmouth County’s newly established Pleasant Valley Park, which lies along Route 34 on the Holmdel-Marlboro border. The land extends from the corner of Line Road and Van Brackle Road to the crest of Line Road and over to Route 34 where it joins the boundary with Marlboro. It is currently part of the New Jersey Forest Service’s woodland management program.
“Preserving this valuable land is critical,” said Trischetta. He noted that the current owner of the properties has submitted a proposal to the Holmdel Planning Board seeking to subdivide the preserved land into building lots for the development of “large residential estates.” Trischetta warned township committee members that, if approved, this plan would “irreversibly alter the landscape of these woodlands, turning them from an ecological asset into a site for development.”
In a conversation following the meeting, Foster, who also serves as a Monmouth County Board of Parks and Recreation commissioner, said the township may have to discuss the property with the other towns that are also part of that parcel. He mentioned additional acquisition of properties would also mean “possibly increasing” the township’s open space tax, “if that’s what the town wishes to get behind to help us secure more space.”
Foster has previously served on the school board and various community organizations. He was sworn in as a township committee member in 2023 and selected as deputy mayor in 2024.
Holmdel’s five-member committee is elected at large for three-year, overlapping terms, under the township form of municipal government. At the annual reorganization meeting, the committee selects one of its own to serve as mayor and deputy mayor for the year.
The article originally appeared in the January 9 – 15, 2025 print edition of The Two River Times.
