More New Jersey towns are poised to join a growing lawsuit seeking to overturn the state’s affordable housing law, Gothamist has learned.
Town officials from Woodland Park, Little Falls, and Warren Township confirmed that they have passed local resolutions to join 26 other New Jersey municipalities that claim the state is unfairly requiring them to build more and more housing without accounting for how much development they can support.
“I think that the burden that’s going to be placed on small municipalities is just far too overwhelming,” said Little Falls Mayor James Damiano.
Damiano said his town, which is only about 3 square miles and has a population of 14,000, has been asked to build 285 new affordable homes by 2035 – which he called “beyond overwhelming.”
“We don’t have any vacant land. [In] Little Falls … 90% of developable land [is] developed. Where is this supposed to go?” he said.
The lawsuit was initially filed in Mercer County Superior Court by nine towns in September. Since then, several amended complaints have been filed with 17 other towns officially joining the case so far. The coalition is led by Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali, who told Gothamist earlier this month that other town officials are calling him “four or five times a week” to inquire about the lawsuit and how to join it.
The lawsuit is playing out in court as cities and towns around New Jersey are preparing for New Jersey’s next 10-year round of state-mandated affordable housing development under the Mount Laurel doctrine, which states that all municipalities must contribute their “fair share” of low-priced housing.
In October, New Jersey officials released ambitious target numbers to develop more than 84,000 affordable homes in the state’s suburbs by 2035. Officials are also hoping to rehab another 65,000 affordable apartments in urban municipalities around New Jersey.
These calculations were derived from guidelines spelled out in a new affordable housing law passed by the Legislature and signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in March. Each town is being asked to generate about 150 affordable homes on average between June 2025 and 2035, according to an analysis of the data by Gothamist, though some towns are being asked to develop more.
Woodland Park is obligated to develop 346 for the next round, according to data released by the state’s Department of Community Affairs.
Mayor Tracy Kallert said she thinks those calculations were “flawed,” adding that she felt obligated to join the lawsuit to “protect the town.”
“Not from affordable housing, but from changing the landscape of what our town is,” she said.
Kallert added that she thinks the state misidentified certain areas of Woodland Park as potential sites for affordable housing because they’re near rivers or reservoirs and include steep slopes that can’t be developed.
“They’re just flying over these towns, taking aerial pictures, but they’re not really seeing what’s in our neighborhoods,” she said.
Warren Township is being asked to build 262 new units during the next affordable housing round, according to state data.
Daniel Croson, an incoming Warren Township Committee member who was elected in November, said the township wanted to join the lawsuit because of concerns with “high-density overdevelopment” that could come with trying to meet its obligation.
Croson and Deputy Mayor Lisa Lontai noted that in order for Warren to meet its requirements by building market-rate apartment buildings with either 15% or 20% set aside for affordable housing, it would have to build over 1,000 new apartments.
“And it’s unfortunate that oftentimes folks that utilize the affordable housing units are getting the blame here because it’s really not them driving the density here, it’s the market rates,” Croson said.
None of the three towns that confirmed they will join the lawsuit are officially part of it yet. But the officials said they’ve agreed to contribute $20,000 to the legal fund. The towns currently listed as official plaintiffs in the case are: Montvale, Washington Township, Norwood Borough, Parsippany-Troy Hills, Franklin Lakes, Cedar Grove, East Hanover, Holmdel, Wall, Allendale, Westwood, Hanover, Wyckoff, Wharton, Mendham, Oradell, Denville, Florham Park, Hillsdale, Manningham, Millburn, Montville, Old Tappan, Totowa, Closter, and West Amwell.
Attorneys for the towns and the state attorney general’s office clashed in Mercer County Superior Court on Friday in the first official hearing since the lawsuit was initially filed. Judge Robert Lougy heard arguments from the towns regarding their request to halt the state’s next round while the lawsuit plays out.
At the hearing, attorney Michael Collins said the state’s deadlines for towns to plan to meet their affordable housing obligations were unrealistic. He said a Jan. 31, 2025 deadline for towns to either accept their quota or present an alternative for the state to review puts “a gun to their head.”
Levi Klinger-Christiansen from the AG’s office told the judge the law’s guidelines present a tight, cost-effective and efficient plan “so we can get to work” on the next round of affordable housing development in New Jersey.
The judge said he would decide that motion by Jan. 1.