by Sean Ruppert, Staff Writer
The township is moving forward on preliminary plans to build a senior affordable housing complex on Georges Road in Monmouth Junction.
Mayor Frank Gambatese said the town has submitted a plan to the state Department of Environmental Protection for remediating an approximately 7-acre piece of between Ridge Road and Route 522, near Fresh Ponds Village. The township purchased the land, known as the Stover Property, earlier this year for $1.75 million with plans of having the Department of Housing and Urban Development build between 100 and 300 affordable senior apartments.
The land has tested positive for arsenic, and must be remediated before any construction can take place. Mayor Gambatese said the town is awaiting DEP approval of the township’s remediation plan, and that the town will not know how much the cleanup will cost until the approval comes.
”It could be anywhere from $10,000 to $3 million,” Mayor Gambatese said.
He said that the town would be able to pay for the cleanup through grants.
The mayor added that if the remediation is unable to be done because of cost, the township could re-sell the property to a private entity.
The development would be a part of South Brunswick’s effort to meet its Council on Affordable Housing round three obligation. According to Mayor Gambatese, the township’s obligation for new units under the current rules would be approximately 950 units.
The third round COAH rules, which more than double the number of proposed affordable housing units in the state from 52,000 to 115,000 in the next 10 years, are opposed by local officials and municipal governments throughout the state. The opponents say the added housing could increase the population so much that it would lower residents’ quality of life and strain schools, while placing the burden of paying for the units on taxpayers.
The state League of Municipalities filed a notice of appeal with the Appellate Division of Superior Court in July challenging the validity of the new rules. So far, 237 towns in the state have joined the effort, including South Brunswick.
Michael Cerra, a senior legislative analyst with the league, said he expects briefs to be filed in January, and oral arguments could begin as early as spring 2009. He said that the COAH land survey overestimated the amount of land by counting backyards, parks, protected open space and cemeteries as available and developable.
The fight over COAH’s round three rules began in 2006, when the state Supreme Court tossed out COAH’s original round three rules, saying that they did not meet the need for affordable housing in New Jersey. In December 2007 COAH released new third round rules, increasing the number of units required.
Under the original round three rules, South Brunswick’s obligation would have been approximately 600 units. Under the revised rules, the obligation was about 1,200 new units.
The rules have been amended several times since being introduced, bringing South Brunswick’s total down to about 950 units.

