Submitted by Evamarie Hode
After an extensive search, the Warren Township Committee is close to identifying developers for two properties that will include affordable housing units. The decision will culminate months of due diligence, research, and negotiations to ensure the developers will adhere to the strict guidelines Township officials have put into place to minimize the impact of development on our schools, traffic, emergency services and neighborhoods.
“Our goal is to ensure that new development in town not only meets the State’s Affordable Housing mandate, but is a good fit,” said Mayor Victor Sordillo. “New developments must seamlessly become part of the community. We expect that ten years from now, it will seem they’ve always been here.”
After 15 years of state directives and judicial rulings, municipalities across New Jersey are now facing mandates requiring the constructing of affordable housing. Warren Township initially joined with other New Jersey towns to contest these mandates in court, but a 2015 ruling that reinforced the state mandate has moved the initiative forward.
To the credit of our Township Committee, Warren Township had already begun proactively and responsibly to develop plans to integrate affordable housing into appropriate neighborhoods throughout the town. Other municipalities that avoided the looming mandate are now scrambling to accommodate it.
“I am proud that the Township Committee has proceeded in a thoughtful and deliberate manner to identify responsible developers who recognize that the needs and concerns of our residents must be measured alongside their own goals,” said Deputy Mayor Gary DiNardo. “That’s really the only way to succeed.”
Under discussion with one developer is an agreement to include twenty-five affordable housing units as part of a 106-unit development adjacent to the Racquet Club on Mt. Bethel Road. The Township Committee has designated PIRHL Developers, Hamilton, New Jersey, as the developer of eighty to ninety affordable housing units being built on Township-owned property off Lindbergh Avenue and near Stirling Road.
“Over the coming months, we will continue to provide more information about the Township’s Affordable Housing plan.”
