By Allison Perrine
HOLMDEL – The township planning board approved a resolution Tuesday morning clearing the way for the construction of 100 percent affordable residential units on Middle Road as part of Holmdel’s state-mandated affordable housing obligation.
The board granted preliminary approval for the project near the Hazlet Township border last year. But plans were soon paused after Hazlet filed a legal complaint which named the Holmdel Township Planning Board and project developer Holmdel Family Apartments, LLC, in state Superior Court seeking to “invalidate” the board’s decision and to set aside the Middle Road rezoning ordinance.
According to the settlement agreement, the parties agreed to several amendments, including that Holmdel adopt an ordinance that rezones the property with standards including a maximum of 50 units and three stories; a minimum setback of 50 feet from any parking lot to the municipal boundary; a minimum setback to Building A of 39.3 feet and all others 100 feet; and that the existing, naturally occurring vegetated tree line along the Holmdel/Hazlet border not be disturbed, among several other aspects.
“This is just a formality to approve the settlement to allow the lawsuits to be dismissed and to allow the applicant to come back under an amended ordinance that the township has already introduced,” said Martin Pfleger, board attorney. “Everyone has approved this now – Hazlet, Holmdel and the applicant. We’re the last party to approve it.”
Last year, the township established the AH-MF2 Affordable Housing Multifamily Zone 2 under Ordinance No. 2020-06, which the Middle Road property would fall under. In that zone, parcels could be subdivided into one or more parcels, and one or more buildings could be permitted on a single parcel. Permitted accessories in the AH-MF2 include clubhouses and community buildings; a management office; indoor and outdoor multifamily apartment building amenities such as a community room, fitness center, meeting room or playground; recreational facilities; patios, decks, terraces or balconies; parking facilities; and more.
The Middle Road affordable housing project is one of three underway to meet the township’s affordable housing mandate through 2025. In total, through negotiations with the court-appointed Fair Share Housing Center, Holmdel agreed with a settlement that calls for the construction of 280 new homes, 93 of which will be designated for families with low to moderate incomes.
The township’s initial obligation called for 297 credits, but with existing affordable housing already in place and because the township was eligible for family rental bonus credits, the number was scaled down to 93 new units. That obligation will be met through three projects on Middle Road, Palmer Avenue and behind the Kohl’s shopping center near Union Avenue.
Township officials have voiced some hesitation over the affordable housing plans in town. When the board approved the housing plan for Palmer Avenue, which calls for a four-story, 60-unit apartment building across from Target, board chair Serena DiMaso called the application “very difficult.”
“Nobody is comfortable voting ‘yes’ on this… but again, our hands are tied,” she said. “We denied this application in 2016 and it’s disappointing, but again, we will open the township up to builder’s remedy and the applicant has met the requirements put forth by the zoning.”
“I will not put the township in any further jeopardy,” DiMaso said.
Similarly, alternate board member Ron Emma highlighted that affordable housing action is mandated by the state.
“Our job is to ensure that the applicant has met all the applicable rules and regulations,” said Emma. “It seems now the applicant has met those requirements. As much as I am personally against this development, not approving it would expose us to builder’s remedy, which would then take all the control away from the township.”
This article originally appeared in the Aug. 26. – Sept. 1, 2021 print edition of The Two River Times.
