Council was caught in taxi traffic.
After a quick West Windsor Council meeting December 7 that included discussion on affordable housing, a Council held a 2.5 hour work session to hear from local taxi company owners losing business to “transportation network companies” such as Uber (see story, page 13).
At the start of the business session, Council president Bryan Maher asked township attorney Michael Herbert to provide an update the township’s affordable housing status. Council members were surprised by recent reports that West Windsor’s fair share obligation is higher than neighboring towns such as Princeton and Hopewell.
The court appointed planning specialist, Richard Reading, estimated West Windsor’s obligation number at 1,000, which is currently the maximum figure. Hopewell township’s obligation is 891 while Princeton’s is 424.
While providing affordable housing is mandated by the state constitution, the actual fair share obligation for the period from 1999 to 2025 is currently being litigated. December 7 was also the deadline for Mercer County townships to submit preliminary housing plans, or summary matrices, to Mercer County Superior Court outlining how municipalities will fulfill their fair share obligations.
It is common state practice for municipalities to rely on developers to build four market rate units for every affordable unit, also known as a 20 percent set aside. In other words, affordable housing obligations can be tied to more overall development.
“There’s a concern why West Windsor has to shoulder an unfair burden relative to other towns in Mercer County,” Herbert said. “The answer is the court does not have a bias against West Windsor. They are purely using mathematical calculations to come up with that number. The way they do that is what is the amount of the developable land. They take that into account and assign us a higher number. Towns like Hamilton and Ewing are already built out, pursuant to Dr. Reading’s calculations.”
Added Herbert: “Commercial ratables are also factored in. Compared to other towns, West Windsor is a victim of its own success.”
Herbert emphasized the obligation number has not been finalized. The township is participating in an expert report by Philadelphia-based Econsult Solution, which will be due by the end of the year and provide another fair share number analysis.
The judiciary has been overseeing affordable housing as result of a March state Supreme Court ruling. Previously, the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH), an executive state agency, administered affordable housing.
There may be a few more rounds of litigation before anything is determined.
“Nothing is set in stone until we put forth our application and even then it is not set in stone until the court rules,” Herbert said. “And then the way affordable housing has been going through the state, most likely there will be appeals, and it will be going like this for the next three four years all the way up to the Supreme Court.”
Added Herbert: “It’s kind of crazy right now because each county judge is figuring out their own fourth round rules, which I think is insane. I represent towns in four different counties and I have four different sets of rules that I have to be guided by. I would have liked to have more direction from the Supreme Court and I think all county judges would have agreed with that.”
With respect to the current obligation number of 1,000, Herbert said the township’s previous affordable housing plan had already planned for an obligation nearing 900.
To make up for the current gap, the township provisionally included two sites in the summary matrices it recently submitted to the court. One property, currently zoned for hotel and office use, is the 64-acre Garden Homes site located off Old Meadow Road. Property owner Garden Commercial Properties is proposing 628 multi-family units, 142 of which will be affordable rental units. The owner owns the Square at West Windsor and the adjacent 200-unit Windsor Woods Apartments.
The second site is the 61-acre American Properties parcel adjacent to the Institute of Islamic Studies site on Old Trenton Road. Most of the property is wetlands and is currently zoned RO-1, and the developer has presented a concept plan of 140 townhomes, 35 of which would be affordable units.
The township’s summary matrices did not include other potentially developable properties, such as the Howard Hughes site.
Any potential change to the affordable housing element in the township’s master plan requires planning board hearings and approval.
EMS building update. The township Fire and EMS Services will occupy their new Everett Drive facility by the beginning of the new year. The former Twin W Rescue Squad headquarters was purchased by the township earlier in the year.
Council also approved a $17,205 purchase of computer and office equipment from NETQ Multimedia Company for the new station.
Operation Santa festivities postponed. The West Windsor Fire Department’s Operation Santa activities scheduled for December 17 have been rescheduled to Sunday, December 20, from 6 to 9 p.m.
In other news, Council approved a two-year HVAC repair and maintenance contract with Princeton Air Conditioning Systems for $97,009; the purchase of a Public Works dump truck and spreader from Bucks County International for $121,669; the purchase of a Public Works Kubota RTV utility vehicle and plow for $22,578; and a renewed shared services agreement to provide public health services to Robbinsville and Hightstown through 2018.
The township also endorsed Princeton Junction volunteer firefighter Mark Nicholas G. Sitek for membership in the New Jersey State Firemen’s Association.
