HAZLET — The Township Committee unanimously, but unwillingly, introduced an amendment to the zoning map, a change forced by a lawsuit over the township’s affordable housing plan.
The ordinance will make a 4-acre plot of land on Poole Avenue a Builders Remedy Zone. A related resolution will issue Elegant Properties a soil removal permit for the site.
The zoning change is part of a court-approved mediation between the township and Elegant Properties. The developer pressed and won a lawsuit against the township after the Township Committee rejected a zoning ordinance requested by the developer in March 2008.
Elegant Properties successfully argued in court that the township, which did not have an affordable housing plan at the time, did not give builders a reasonable opportunity to build affordable housing in the township. Municipalities in New Jersey are obligated to provide low- to moderate-income housing under the 1985 Fair Housing Act.
By winning the lawsuit, Elegant Properties won the right to negotiate more housing at the location than would have been allowed under existing zoning. The builder originally requested a zoning change to build 26 homes on a property zoned for 11.
After winning and negotiating with the township through a court-appointed master planner, the property will be zoned for 48 multifamily stacked dwellings. Ten of those units will be affordable housing. As part of the proposed ordinance, at least 25 percent of the property will remain open space.
The Township Committee made it clear that their hands were forced in introducing the zoning ordinance. Committeeman Joseph Marques said he and the members of the committee followed the public’s will when they voted against the Elegant Properties’ request in 2008.
“We did everything we could. People in that area pleaded with us to vote against that project,” he said. “I have no regrets having fought them [Elegant Properties].”
Marques railed against the court ruling and any additional housing in the township. Hazlet is already 97 percent developed, and further building is unwise, he said.
“It’s not appropriate to have any further building. It’s totally irresponsible to have that many units on a property of that size,” he said.
Jeffrey Tiger, owner of Elegant Properties, said his company would begin making applications for the project in January. Once the ordinance is passed, the project will go before the Planning Board, which will have limited control over the project. According to the ordinance, the Planning Board’s rolewill be limited to determining the spacing between the buildings.
Michael Muscillo, the township administrator, said the township has accumulated 151 credits for it affordable housing plan. The Council On Affordable Housing mandated that Hazlet must reach 565 credits for its third round obligations.
In most instances, a municipality receives a credit for each affordable housing unit that is zoned for. In some instances, towns can receive extra credits for housing designed for seniors or the disabled. Rental units can also receive extra credits.
Hazlet’s last draft of its affordable housing plan was written in July 2008, said Sharon Keegan, the zoning enforcement officer. A new plan must be submitted in March 2010.
In other news, the Township Committee unanimously approved a $450,100 bond ordinance to purchase an ambulance, vehicles and other equipment.
The bonds will purchase an ambulance for the township first aid and rescue squad and two dump trucks, a pickup truck, three lawn mowers, a landscape trailer and a snow pusher for public works. The bond authorizes the township to spend no more than $152,380 for the ambulance and no more than $276,220 for the public works equipment. The remaining $21,500 will be used as down payment.
All the purchases have an expected, useful lifespan of five years, according to the ordinance.