Latest news with #MountLaurelDoctrine
New York Post
19-05-2025
- Business
- New York Post
Billionaire NFL owner wants to build affordable housing on a pristine NJ hilltop — and locals are mad as hell
Locals in West Orange, NJ aren't just shouting from the rooftops — they're shouting about what might be built above them. A billionaire's bid to transform a pristine hilltop with Manhattan skyline views into a nearly 500-unit apartment complex is the latest drama in a decades-old land use battle in the tony town — and this time, the argument involves affordable housing. Owned by the family of Minnesota Vikings co-owner Zygmunt 'Zygi' Wilf, the 120-acre wooded parcel in the Watchung Mountains will be developed by Wilf's Garden Homes, a real estate firm, reported. 6 A controversial plan to build a 496-unit apartment complex—100 of which would be affordable housing—on a pristine 120-acre hilltop in West Orange, NJ, has reignited local opposition. West Orange Planning Board Besides clearing roughly 30 acres of woodland, the developer's vision includes a four-building, four-story complex with amenities like a clubhouse and pool. Of the 496 units, 100 are designated as affordable housing. While the plan goes to help satisfy the township's state-mandated housing obligations, locals say the environmental and public safety risks are simply too steep. 'Public safety and irreparable environmental harm trump, if you will, affordable housing,' said Joseph Pannullo, president of grassroots group We Care NJ, in an interview with The roots of the current plan trace back to New Jersey's controversial Mount Laurel Doctrine — a series of court rulings requiring municipalities to provide their fair share of affordable housing. West Orange, like many other towns, has faced pressure to comply. 6 Spearheaded by billionaire Zygi Wilf's Garden Homes, who owns the Minnesota Vikings, the project stems from a 2020 settlement aimed at helping the township meet its affordable housing obligations under the Mount Laurel Doctrine. Getty Images The saga began back in 2006, when the Wilf's proposed a less inclusive project for the property, which was rejected over similar concerns — including flooding, steep slopes, and limited emergency access. Finally, in 2020, local officials struck a court-approved deal with developers — Garden Homes got the go-ahead, so long as it introduced an affordable component that helped the town meet its mandate. 'It's a situation where the law is very coercive from a municipality's point of view,' West Orange Council President Joe Krakoviak told 'Municipalities' hands are very much tied because they have little, if any, influence over how many units of affordable housing to approve.' 6 While the developers argue the plan supports housing goals, residents and environmental advocates say it endangers public safety and exploits affordable housing as a loophole. Lithium6ion via Wikipedia Despite the legal issues, Krakoviak has remained outspoken in his skepticism of the Wilf proposal, citing the project's remote location and complex terrain. 'I have a tremendous amount of concern about the environmental ramifications of this proposal, as well as the appropriateness of placing lower-income residents in the proposal so far away from all of the things they need to reach,' he said to noting distance from public transit and basic services. The project has already cleared several regulatory hurdles, including receiving a stormwater permit from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. 6 Critics—including township council president Joe Krakoviak—cite concerns over flooding, isolation from public transit, and limited emergency access on the hilly, forested site. Google Maps Opposition is mounting, however. In July, the West Orange Environmental Commission asked for a delay in site plan review, raising red flags over potential damage to state-protected wetlands and two tributaries of the Canoe Brook. A November report by environmental consulting firm Princeton Hydro also stated that the site plans did not comply with state stormwater regulations, according to 6 Grassroots groups argue the land, untouched and far from basic amenities, is unsuitable for development, regardless of income level. Lithium6ion via Wikipedia Rachel Klein, a local resident and We Care NJ member, accused the developers of using affordable housing as a 'guise' to push through a plan that has previously been deemed unsafe. '[They] thought we'd be afraid of being accused of NIMBYism,' she told 'If it was unsafe for 136 homes that would have been worth $1 million at the time, why is suddenly throwing poor people into it making it safe? That makes no sense to us.' Klein, who has lived near the mountain since 2016, emphasized that her objection is not to affordable housing itself, but to the placement. 6 The plan is under review by the West Orange Planning Board. Lithium6ion via Wikipedia 'The need is there, for sure, and the town is working on it. But the problem is West Orange is already exceedingly overdeveloped,' she said. 'This is just not the appropriate place for it.' As part of the plan, the remaining undeveloped acreage would be preserved as green space and recreational trails, and developers have proposed replanting trees lost to construction. But critics remain unconvinced that mitigation measures can reverse the impact of clear-cutting a mature forest. According to the median list price in the surrounding area is $599,725, underscoring the contrast between market-rate housing and the proposed affordable component. While Garden Homes has not commented publicly, the township planning board is still reviewing site plans, with the next public hearing scheduled for Wednesday. For now, the mountaintop remains a flashpoint — caught between the urgent need for affordable housing and the equally pressing calls to preserve what locals see as one of the last untouched natural spaces in Essex County. 'I fully expect opposition to the project to grow well beyond the board's decision,' Krakoviak told
Yahoo
12-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Billionaire NFL Owner Wants To Build Nearly 500 Homes on an Untouched Mountaintop—but Some Say It's Not Safe
A decades-long battle over a development on an untouched New Jersey mountaintop, with sweeping views of the Manhattan skyline, has bubbled to life again, with furious locals saying it's simply not safe and it is being pushed through under the guise of providing affordable housing. Plans to turn a 120-acre wooded area in West Orange into a 496-unit residential development have been given the green light. Around 100 of the units will be designated as affordable housing. The current median list price in the neighborhood is $599,725, according to data. The project is spearheaded by Garden Homes, a real estate company run by billionaire property developer and Vikings chairman and co-owner Zygmunt (Zygi) Wilf and his family. Garden Homes owns a portion of the land on the Watchung Mountains, which has views of New York City. The expansive proposal includes a large apartment complex and extras such as a pool and a clubhouse. Around 30 acres of property, which is also owned by Wilf and his family, will be cleared for the development. However, local opposition groups say the proposal is dangerous and is being snuck throughunder the pretense of affordable housing—a hot-button issue in New Jersey. The development is the result of an April 2020 settlement to ensure the township of West Orange fulfills its affordable housing obligations. Local municipalities are entering their fourth round of obligations under the '70s-era Mount Laurel Doctrine, which requires them to provide a reasonable share of affordable housing. The West Orange Town Council recently voted to approve its own affordable housing obligation of adding or rehabbing 1,000 units between 2025 and 2035. The pressure on local municipalities to make suitable arrangements to get the job done is considerable—if they don't, developers can turn to legal tools, like builder's remedy, which could ultimately allow them to bypass local zoning ordinances. This can be done on the grounds that the municipality is not making its best effort to meet its obligations. Joe Krakoviak, president of the West Orange Township Council, tells that affordable housing rules could lead municipalities to support developments they would otherwise oppose, given they effectively represent the lesser of two evils. 'It's a situation where the law is very coercive from a municipality's point of view,' he says. 'Municipalities' hands are very much tied because they have little, if any, influence over how many units of affordable housing to approve, and also because they can't utilize many local zoning ordinances that the rest of the township, and developers, are required to comply with.' Krakoviak adds that he holds considerable reservations about Wilf's development and its potential impact on the surrounding community. 'I have a tremendous amount of concern about the environmental ramifications of this proposal, as well as the appropriateness of placing lower-income residents in the proposal so far away from all of the things they need to reach, especially if they do not have access to public transportation or regular transportation,' he says. The development would sit significantly far away from the local public bus, as well as other necessary amenities, like a gas station or a shopping center. 'It's hilly terrain to navigate, both coming and going, and it's one road in and one road out. The fact that this is at the top of the mountain means the drainage is going in every direction. … It's very complex,' Krakoviak says. There have been numerous attempts in the past to develop the mountaintop, with plans to install housing on the site being mooted periodically since at least the 1990s. A previous proposal, which included 136 units, was denied in 2006 over concerns around the environmental impact and safety. Local grass-roots organizations, such as Our Green West Orange and We Care NJ, have been at the forefront in opposing the latest development. Similar to Krakoviak, their reservations include concerns over flooding and debris in the event of storms, and a lack of facilities. Some opponents view the affordable housing component as little more than a ploy to finally making Wilf's development a reality. The developers 'thought we'd be afraid of being accused of NIMBYism,' Rachel Klein, a local resident associated with WeCare NJ, tells 'We said no: If it was unsafe for 136 homes that would have been worth $1 million at the time, why is suddenly throwing poor people into it making it safe? That makes no sense to us.' Klein, who has lived next to the mountain since 2016, says the issue lies with the site itself—not the wider need for affordable housing. 'We could go into a long, deep dive on why this is an inappropriate place for fair share housing. The need is there, for sure, and the town is working on it. But the problem is West Orange is already exceedingly overdeveloped,' she says. 'Nothing's ever been built on this land. It's in the furtherest part of town, miles away from schools and public transport. 'There is a need for affordable housing, but this is just not the appropriate place for it.' Affordable housing advocates have been measured, with some pointing to the proposed 100 units earmarked for lower-income earners as important in West Orange fulfilling its obligations. Garden Homes declined to comment when approached by The development is currently before the West Orange Planning Board. Buyers Now Need To Earn 70% More Than They Did 6 Years Ago To Buy a Home Hamptons Home Prices Reach Record High as Playground for the Rich and Famous Courts 'Middle' Buyers Seniors in This State Could Get a Tax Break—Will Younger Residents Pay for It?
Yahoo
12-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
NJ builders group will sue dozens of towns trying to cut affordable housing obligations
The New Jersey Builders Association is pushing back against more than a quarter of the state's municipalities that have tried to lower their state-mandated affordable housing construction quotas by submitting their own alternate calculations. The NJBA is in the process of filing legal challenges against 159 municipalities that the trade group says have filed complaints with the state Department of Community Affairs seeking to lower the housing obligations the agency released last year. The DCA calculations represent each town's current needs for more affordable dwellings, as estimated by the state, and the total units they need to build over the next 10 years. In a statement, the builders group said litigation was "necessary as this is matter of statewide importance and imperative that we continue in our opposition to the municipal playbook of obfuscation and delay." Municipalities had a deadline of Jan. 31 to accept the DCA numbers − which would provide them immunity from developer lawsuits − or to submit their own versions if they object to the state's calculations. A nonprofit entity, the NJBA works in support of residential and commercial builders, developers, remodelers, subcontractors, suppliers, engineers, architects, consultants and other professionals in "the shelter industry," its website states. "We feel compelled to respond in order preserve the nearly 14,000 low- and moderate-income units that these municipalities would seek to simply eliminate despite New Jersey's established and pressing need for such affordable housing opportunities," the association said in announcing the legal challenges. It's just one more legal battle in the state's long-running fight over affordable housing requirements rooted in a landmark set of court decisions known as the Mount Laurel doctrine. Two dozen towns, including several in northern New Jersey, are also in court trying to block a new law intended to remove barriers to such projects. Another interested nonprofit party, New Jersey's Fair Share Housing Center, said that law is having the desired effect so far. 'We're pleasantly surprised that many more municipalities are participating in the process than at any time in the 50-year history of the Mount Laurel Doctrine,' FSHC Executive Director Adam Gordon said. 'This process validates the intent of New Jersey's new affordable housing law − making the process more transparent, reducing litigation costs, and ultimately encouraging more municipalities to participate.' It was a motion filed by the Fair Share Housing Center that led to a 2015 state Supreme Court decision that determined the state's enforcement of the housing mandate had failed. The decision returned primary jurisdiction over affordable housing matters to the trial courts. It also granted the FSHC "interested party" status in all litigation involving affordable housing. Many towns, especially in the more densely-populated communities in North Jersey, have objected to the state's housing dictates and the DCA calculations, which said towns need to open up land for 85,000 affordable units over the next decade. The new law compels towns to address what some say is an affordable housing crisis in New Jersey − state sources estimate the deficit is as high as 200,000 dwellings. But critics say the process fuels overdevelopment, with developers empowered by the courts to build huge residential complexes that commit only 15-20% of their units to affordable housing. For example, a 100-unit apartment may only reduce a town's affordable housing obligation by 15 units "The new mandate places an undue burden on our local budgets, infrastructure, and services," Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali said after the DCA released its numbers last year. He said Montvale's new target of 348 units, "will increase our population by almost 50%." More: Which North Jersey towns met affordable housing deadline? Which are fighting? See the list Ghassali responded on social media to the announcement of the NJBA lawsuits, calling them "a misguided effort driven by self-interest and a lack of understanding of local planning realities." Montvale is one of 26 towns whose joint lawsuit seeks to bring the current court-enforced wave of affordable housing construction to a halt. But a Mercer County judge has ruled against them twice to date. Allendale Bogota Closter Demarest East Rutherford Emerson Englewood Fairview Fort Lee Franklin Lakes Harrington Park Hackensack Hasbrouck Heights Haworth Hillsdale Leonia Lyndhurst Mahwah Montvale New Milford North Arlington Northvale Norwood Oakland Old Tappan Oradell Park Ridge Ramsey Ridgewood River Vale Rutherford Teaneck Tenafly Upper Saddle River Waldwick Boonton Chatham Township Denville East Hanover Florham Park Hanover Harding Jefferson Lincoln Park Montville Morris Township Morristown Mount Olive Mountain Lakes Netcong Parsippany Randolph Rockaway Township Roxbury Washington Bloomingdale Hawthorne Little Falls Pompton Lakes Totowa Woodland Park Franklin Green Hardyston Hopatcong Sparta Stanhope Vernon This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: NJ builders group will sue towns over affordable housing rule
USA Today
06-02-2025
- Business
- USA Today
Parsippany demolished 2 million square feet of office space. Here's what will replace it
Parsippany demolished 2 million square feet of office space. Here's what will replace it Show Caption Hide Caption Drone video of ParQ, development of over 600 residential units: Video ParQ residential community in Parsippany consists of over 600 units, including luxury apartments, townhomes and affordable rental units. PARSIPPANY — While the controversy − and legal battles − heat up over New Jersey's affordable housing mandate, an explosion of construction work is already transforming the landscape of Morris County's largest municipality. A tour of township sites in early February found demolition and site clearings underway at several vacant office properties, while new buildings rise on land already razed. Around Parsippany, no less than a dozen developments are proceeding, including several at the former Mack-Cali campus off routes 10 and 202. More than 2 million square feet of office space in the township has fallen to the wrecking ball over the last two years, according to tax assessment records. In its place, almost 2,300 housing units have either been planned or added, with several warehouses and other commercial properties under construction as well. Parsippany leaders see progress in the building boom: It's replacing dormant facilities with revenue-generating projects, according to Mayor James Barberio and his allies on the township council. Critics − including Councilman Justin Musella, who's challenging Barberio in this year's Republican primary − worry about added density, traffic and student enrollments in a town that has already warned about overcrowding in the schools. The five largest residential redevelopments already under construction in town total 1,799 new units, with two more approved projects representing 489 units. The town also has approved warehouses at six other sites. Town officials note that type of redevelopment should generate more tax ratables without adding more students, though some caution about potential impacts on traffic and pollution. Affordable housing debate continues A portion of the construction is the result of the town's need to fulfill the Mount Laurel Doctrine, a landmark set of court rulings that require New Jersey towns to provide their "fair share" of low- and moderate-income housing. Last month, a state Superior Court judge in Mercer County denied a request by more than two dozen municipalities, including Parsippany, to pause implementation of legislation passed last year to speed enforcement of the mandate. The plaintiff towns vowed to continue their appeals. Meanwhile in Parsippany, the knocking down and building up is in full gear. Here's a look at major projects in town nearly completed, underway or on the drawing boards: This mixed-use housing and shopping development replacing two buildings along Route 10 South recently erected an electronic sign on the highway announcing leasing is underway and the first occupants will be "arriving early 2025." The sign also advertises retail opportunities. Expect the first residents to move in later this year, while construction on future phases continues. Monthly rental rates listed on the project website for units available next month range from $2,552 for a one-bedroom studio apartment to $4,143 for a 2-bedroom, 2-bath apartment 500 PARQ The first phase of this massive project replacing seven office buildings in the Lanidex Plaza off Parsippany Road opened in June. 500 PARQ consists of 276 apartments on six floors. Future phases should bring the total to 600 more units, including townhomes, plus a small retail component. Rents range from $2,700 to $4,200 monthly with extra fees for utilities, parking and pets. Citizen Parsippany Both of the two four-story buildings off Upper Pond Road in the Morris Corporate Center were slated to open last year, with a total of 325 residential units. But the property remains under construction. Developer Accurate Builders did not return messages seeking updates. Mack-Cali Campus Construction is underway for two residential developments just off Route 202 in the former Mack-Cali corporate campus. Both are replacing demolished office buildings. The project at 2 Campus Drive will have 138 units. A larger building at 3 Campus Drive will have 238. More: North Jersey's development boom is expected to continue into 2025. What's in store Parsippany warehouse projects While a national warehouse boom fueled by the rise of e-commerce appears to have plateaued, construction continues in Parsippany. A January report from the real estate services firm Cushman & Wakefield put the warehouse vacancy rate in northern and central New Jersey for the end of 2024 at 9%, the highest since the first quarter of 2013. The report cited the surge of new building combined with economic uncertainty over the impact of President Donald Trump's proposed tariffs on Canada, Mexico and China. 2 Hilton Court: A 113,000-square foot office building last occupied by Daiichi Sankyo in 2016 was demolished last year to make way for a new 103,000-square-foot warehouse. Site clearing continues to progress at the 10.1-acre property ahead of construction. No completion date was available. Lanidex LLC warehouse: The town council last year approved a project to replace a long-vacant building in the Lanidex West office park off Parsippany Road, despite vocal objections from neighboring residents worried about truck traffic and the warehouse's proximity to an elementary school. Demolition was ongoing as of February 4. Pomeroy Road: The town approved a developer deal in 2023 to replace vacant office space on this 9.1-acre site abutting Route 287. The planning board in December unanimously approved a preliminary and final major site plan, clearing another hurdle. 299 Jefferson Road: Another redevelopment project was approved in 2023 for the office building corridor along Jefferson Road, which is slated for a 106,00-square-foot warehouse. A website for the project states occupancy will begin in the fall. Projects still to come Additional Parsippany redevelopments awaiting or recently approved include 489 more residential units, another warehouse and a fitness center. 6 Sylvan Way-7 Campus Drive: A redevelopment plan for these abutting properties covering 19 acres in the Mack-Cali campus was approved in late 2023. Initial demolition work recently began for the mixed-use project, which will include 239 residential units, a Lifetime Fitness facility, 114,000 square feet of warehouse space and about 6,000 square feet of offices. 1500 Littleton Road: The former headquarters of pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline, across the road from the Mack-Cali campus, was demolished in 2023. Work to build 250 age-restricted units there is in progress. State housing mandate The development and redevelopment wave in New Jersey is driven largely by the state housing mandate, which dates back to the original Mount Laurel ruling in 1975 and has been upheld by the state Supreme Court in subsequent legal battles over the years. The latest calculations by the state Department of Community Affairs estimate that municipalities, many of them in North Jersey, need to allow for the construction of 85,000 more units over the next decade, along with the renovation of 65,000 existing residences. Parsippany's "present need" commitment calls for refurbishing 138 affordable homes. Its "prospective need" requires the construction of 553 additional units, according to the state. Failure to accommodate developers willing to commit 15% to 20% of their proposed new units to low- and moderate-income tenants can expose a municipality to a "builder's remedy" lawsuit in which the courts could permit the developer to build as they wish. A new bill in the state Senate, sponsored by Sen. Troy Singleton, would authorize the conversion of certain office parks and retail centers to mixed-use developments, which can include residential units, if the vacancy rate drops below 40%.
