A developer who is proposing to build 71 affordable housing rental units is expected to detail those plans at the 7 p.m. Oct. 29 meeting of the Howell Planning Board.
A notice issued by the municipality states that Howell Family Apartments LLC, a wholly owned affiliate of the Walters Group, is seeking to construct 71 affordable rental family housing units (no age restrictions) and one manager’s unit in nine buildings, plus one office building, one maintenance garage building, a basketball court, parking lots and roads on property at West Farms and Fort Plains roads, Howell.
Affordable housing in New Jersey is defined as housing that is sold or rented at below market rates to individuals and families whose income meets regional guidelines.
Public comment on the application will be taken at the Oct. 29 meeting. Howell Director of Law McKenna Torcivia addressed the application and said, “Howell has not met its affordable housing obligation. The task of calculating what the municipalities are required to provide is now in the hands of the courts.
“… there is a possibility that Howell would need to provide 1,000 affordable housing units. … Let me be clear, I am using approximate numbers. The bottom line is that Howell has not satisfied its affordable housing obligation.
“The project on West Farms Road and Route 9 is to be used solely for affordable housing. The number of bedrooms will be determined by affordable housing guidelines.
“A 90-day time frame will be allowed specifically for Howell residents only to apply. … In order for residents to qualify for this preferential treatment, they must submit proof that they sus- tained damage as a result of (superstorm) Sandy (new roof, flooding, etc., the guidelines are not specific on this),” Torcivia said.
“Applications are submitted to the Walters Group … there is a determination made in looking at the applications if they are income qualified — the Walters Group will look at what was submitted and validate the application and attachments.
“Thereafter, a pool of applicants is created — from that pool of applicants, a criminal background check is done — if anything is revealed, they are removed from the pool of candidates. A credit check is then done by a third party who determines if the applicant is in fact credit worthy.
“…The Walters Group has successfully developed and managed several projects in New Jersey. The state and now its judiciary is determining what Howell’s obligation of affordable housing will be. Rather than allow a developer to come in and pick a site and develop it in a way that would not best suit Howell, we are taking a proactive approach to our constitutional obligation,” Torcivia said.
— Contact Jennifer Ortiz at [email protected]