Holmdel committee member Greg Buontempo suggested the above hotel property for a 100% affordable housing development instead of the approved parcel located across the road behind Kohl’s Plaza. SUNAYANA PRABH
By Sunayana Prabhu
HOLMDEL – The township committee narrowly approved an ordinance to acquire a property behind Kohl’s shopping center on Route 35 for a 100% affordable housing development. The ordinance authorized the acquisition either by negotiated purchase or eminent domain.
While the majority voted to approve the measure to meet the township’s affordable housing obligations, some committee members and residents pushed back over the use of eminent domain and environmental concerns.
The site, previously approved for a roughly 170-unit mixed-use project, will now be developed with 80 deed-restricted affordable housing units.
At its Sept. 8 meeting, the governing body authorized the acquisition of the parcel for up to $1.86 million. The ordinance passed with a split 3-2 vote. Mayor Rocco Impreveduto and committee members Brian Foster and Eric Vanderham voted in favor. The two dissenting votes came from committee members Greg Buontempo and Joe Romano. While they all agreed on the need to satisfy affordable housing mandates, they were divided over the project’s suitability and scale.
Buontempo mainly objected to the site’s location, he said.
“I’m not a fan,” Buontempo said, adding that the township could potentially find other suitable sites. “I’d love to get rid of the Section 8 motel we have in town and replace it with affordable housing. I think there’s better options, in my opinion.”
“I don’t like the idea of having 100% affordable projects at this scale in Holmdel,” Romano said. “I think this would be the largest one we’ve ever built.”
Romano echoed Buontempo, adding the township could have clustered affordable housing elsewhere.
“I think this is a bad project,” he said.
ENVIRONMENTAL CONCERNS
Residents opposing the measure warned of long-term environmental and flooding risks associated with building near the East Creek tributary and adjacent wetlands.
Resident Gail Rubin argued that construction on the site could worsen flooding on Route 35 and surrounding neighborhoods.
“The problem with building near a creek tributary is that it can disrupt natural water flow. It increases flood risk due to altered drainage problems, and runoff from construction sites can introduce water pollutants into the water, harming aquatic ecosystems and nearby towns and their waterways,” Rubin said. “Construction can obstruct natural floodplains, increasing the likelihood of flooding in surrounding areas.”
She also warned of potential structural and legal problems. She said placing heavy construction on wetlands can lead to flooding and structural issues for the buildings themselves, such as cracked foundations and flooded basements. Rubin urged the committee to look for another option. “This side of town is heavily congested and overbuilt,” she said.
Another resident, Wendy Slutsky, thought the proposed development would cost the town “money and problems.”
Some of the residents supported the clustered affordable housing project to make the township more accessible to middle-income workers.
“Holmdel needs affordable housing,” resident Patrick Trischetta said. “The median price of a house in Holmdel is $1.1 million dollars, twice the New Jersey median price.” He said the 80 affordable units proposed for the site would help new teachers and police officers live in the community they serve.
“The 80 affordable housing units to be built at this property will allow a single person making less than $78,720 to rent a one-bed-room unit,” he noted.
Trischetta also added that failing to pass the ordinance would put Holmdel in noncompliance with its state-approved affordable housing plan.
In 2024, Holmdel joined more than 20 municipalities in a legal challenge seeking to pause implementation of the fourth round of the state’s affordable housing obligations under the Fair Share Housing Act. The fourth round covers a decade-long period from 2026 through 2035.
Under the state’s requirements, Holmdel must provide 106 affordable housing units over the next decade.
Township officials said this development and another already moving forward in the municipality will meet the obligation: the planned Azura at Holmdel redevelopment at 23 Main St., a senior residential community where 48 of the 299 planned units will be designated as affordable housing.
The property adjacent to Kohl’s has undergone several zoning changes over the years. According to township attorney Michael Collins, the parcel was originally commercially zoned before being rezoned during the state’s third round of affordable housing requirements for a mixed-use, inclusionary development with both market-rate and affordable units.
Addressing residents’ environmental concerns and the township’s affordable housing obligations, Collins said that although the township does not yet own the parcel, officials are aware of the property’s environmental constraints.
“We’re well aware of the topography of the property and some of the environmental constraints, and I think that was one of the considerations by this committee trying to reduce the number of units being developed on it from approximately 170 to 80,” Collins said. “There’s been plenty of due diligence done associated with the property.”
IN OTHER BUSINESS
To handle major zoning and planning applications, the township committee introduced an ordinance last week to create a Land Use Public Advocate.
According to the town- ship’s Sept. 24 release, the committee would appoint an attorney with municipal land-use experience through a formal Request for Proposals process. “By establishing a dedicated Land Use Public Advocate, we are ensuring that our residents have a strong, qualified legal voice in their corner whenever major projects of significant public interest come before our boards,” Impreveduto said in the release.
Foster said the position would provide residents with legal and technical expertise to scrutinize complex applications and advocate on development proposals.
The ordinance is scheduled for a public hearing and final vote during the township committee meeting Oct. 13.
This article originally appeared in the October 1-7, 2026 print edition of The Two River Times.
