Affordable housing requirements have developers dreaming big. Builders are closely monitoring how West Windsor and Plainsboro will handle the state’s new approach to affordable housing, and a few have even proposed higher density residential zoning as a means to build more affordable units.
For example in West Windsor: Atlantic Realty proposed 545 units on a Route 571 site near McCaffrey’s that currently is zoned for roughly a dozen single family homes. The Howard Hughes Corporation emerged from its winter hibernation and proposed zoning for 642 units on a 100-acre site subdivided from the company’s 658-acre property on Clarksville Road and Quakerbridge Road.
For the past several months both townships have received letters from developers and attorneys. Builders are responding to the state Supreme Court ruling last March that shifted affordable housing jurisdiction to the judiciary. The state constitution mandates fair share housing obligations, and municipalities previously seeking guidelines and housing plan approvals from the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) now must go before county-level judges.
In July both townships submitted petitions for declaratory judgment, a preliminary affordable housing plan that requested legal immunity while the towns prepare a fair share housing plan. The plan is due December 7 and will detail how the townships will meet the required number of units, which has yet to be determined. The housing plans cover the next 10 years of affordable housing requirements, also known as Round III obligations. Failure to attain affordable housing certification from the courts exposes municipalities to “builder’s remedy” lawsuits.
Such litigation could lead to high density residential development, which developers argue would satisfy a town’s affordable housing obligations. In 2002 West Windsor lost a lengthy builder’s remedy suit against Toll Brothers. The company successfully argued the town engaged in exclusionary zoning and attained court-ordered zoning that ultimately became the 1,165-unit Estates at Princeton Junction.
When builders plan a residential development, 20 percent of the housing is usually allotted for money-losing affordable units. In other words, for every affordable unit built, four market rate units can also be built.
“If the obligation is close to 2,000 units, that would mean 10,000 units built,” says Jean Jacobsohn, chair of West Windsor’s affordable housing committee chair. “With three additional people per unit, that would be 30,000 more people. It isn’t you don’t want more affordable housing units, but if the number is too high and the municipality balks and goes to court, then nothing is built.”
Each township’s actual obligation is under contention and will be determined in court. Both townships are participating in a statewide study by Robert Burchell, a planning expert from Rutgers who will calculate affordable housing obligations. The Fair Share Housing Center, based in Cherry Hill, put the obligation at exactly 1,000 units for both Plainsboro and West Windsor, a figure officials in both townships believe is too high. The Center has calculated the same obligation of 1,000 units for Hopewell, Lawrence, Princeton, and Robbinsville townships.
West Windsor affordable housing attorney Gerry Muller says the township will submit to the court an affordable housing obligation number based on Burchell’s report. A trial will be held to evaluate township submissions, and he expects the number will be contested by the Fair Share Housing Center and developer interests.
In letters to the township, developers have made clear their interest in the eventual fair share housing plan that is due in the courts by December 7, and in any potential litigation brought against the towns. Officials from both townships say they have not engaged companies in affordable housing-related rezoning and are focusing on completing the housing plan.
According to Plainsboro administrator Anthony Cancro, the township has received letters relating to affordable housing from three developers: Toll Brothers, AvalonBay, and Onyx Equities. The letters requested notification for any public meeting related to the township’s fair share housing plan, as well as inclusion on service lists for all court communications regarding affordable housing litigation.
A June 4 letter from AvalonBay, which currently does not own any property in Plainsboro, states: “AVB is interested in constructing an inclusionary development within your community.” A July 8 letter from Onyx, which owns Plainsboro Plaza, named the company an “interested party” in the township’s compliance with affordable housing obligations and requested a meeting with “the appropriate Township officials to discuss the opportunity.” Toll Brothers owns the 195-unit Cranbury Brook age-restricted community.
With several prospective sites suited for residential development, West Windsor has received even more attention, and multiple developers have even included rezoning concept plans.
An April 2 letter on behalf of Garden Homes and Garden Commercial Properties includes a residential concept plan for a 64-acre parcel currently zoned for a hotel and office use. The parcel is located off Old Meadow Road and it depicts 135 rental apartments, 113 “for sale” townhomes, and 44 affordable units. The company owns the Square at West Windsor, the shopping center anchored by Lowe’s, and the 200-unit Windsor Woods Apartments adjacent to the center on Old Meadow Road.
The proposed residential development would adjoin the existing shopping center and apartment complex. In the letter, the developer estimates West Windsor’s affordable obligation is 1,650 units, based on calculations by former COAH executive director and professional planner Art Bernard, whom the company has on retainer.
“It is clear that the township must rezone additional sites to meet its third round obligations,” the letter states, before proposing a rezoning to “an inclusionary development containing both lower income housing and market rate housing.”
Garden Homes and Garden Commercial requested a meeting with municipal officials and staff to discuss proposed rezoning, reiterating the request in letters dated April 15 and June 3.
After no correspondence since the winter the Howard Hughes Corporation broke its silence in a May 7 letter from Mark Solomon of the law firm Pepper Hamilton, in Carnegie Center. The company owns 658 acres on Quakerbridge and Clarksville roads that is currently zoned for research and commercial use. The letter requests “the township consider the properties for a substantial inclusionary development.”
To satisfy affordable housing obligations, Howard Hughes proposes subdividing 100 acres for 642 residential units, 128 of which would be affordable. The breakdown would be 256 apartments, 260 townhomes, and 126 single-family homes.
Another developer, Ben Zaitz, cited the 1,000-unit calculation by the Fair Share Housing Center. A July 9 letter from Zaitz’s attorney also included a concept plan for a 13.74 acre parcel on Village Road East near Grover Middle School. The land is currently approved for 220 assisted living units, and Zaitz is instead requesting 80 market rate townhomes and 52 age-restricted affordable rental units in a three-story apartment building.
Atlantic Realty proposed rezoning for three separate parcels in West Windsor. The company owns the 465-unit Princeton Terrace apartment complex on Clarksville Road, and in a May 18 letter requested a meeting with township officials to discuss expanding the Terrace development to add roughly 70 additional rental units. The land adjoining Princeton Terrace and sought by Atlantic Realty for the expansion is a 6.5 acre preserved open space parcel. The developer is offering to swap the township land for a 25.6-acre parcel across Clarksville Road adjacent to the Windsor Athletic Club.
However, in a July 1 letter, this time by attorneys representing Atlantic Realty, the developer requests the township consider the same 25.6-acre Clarksville Road parcel for inclusionary residential development. It is currently zoned for office and recreational use.
On the other side of town, Atlantic Realty proposed rezoning a 54-acre parcel on Princeton Hightstown Road east of McCaffrey’s. The parcel is being developed in coordination with Tri-State Petro, which owns half the site, and the developers are requesting zoning that would allow for more than 545 units, which includes 120 affordable units. The site is currently zoned for roughly a dozen single family homes. As part of the proposal, the developers would pay $10,000 per market rate unit to build a 3.5 mile sewer line. The companies request the township pay $1 million as well as shoulder the balance of the sewer costs. Tri-State Petro sent a letter dated June 23 reiterating the proposal.
