Somerville Joins Fight Against Bridgewater, Files Lawsuit Over Affordable Housing Plan

BRIDGEWATER, NJ — Somerville has joined the fight against Bridgewater Township and its controversial rezoning of a property on Route 202/206 for affordable housing.

The Borough of Somerville initially filed the lawsuit in Somerset County Superior Court on Jan. 30 and then filed an amended version on Monday against Bridgewater Township.

The lawsuit is in opposition to the Township's ordinance, approved on Dec. 17, 2025, that rezones the 1.52-acre wooded, vacant site on Route 202/206 and Cornell Boulevard, next to Time To Eat Diner, to allow for affordable housing.

• Previous Reporting: Bridgewater Rezones Land On Route 202/206 For Affordable Housing Despite Opposition

"Both Somerville and Bridgewater are actively providing high density housing to meet their affordable housing obligation; but Bridgewater in locating a portion of it’s obligation so close to Somerville and even routing access through Somerville is akin to putting this project in Somerville," according to the lawsuit referring to the Township using Somerville's Cornell Boulevard to access the housing.

"It appears that Bridgewater created the AH-3 Zone because it was isolated and would have the least impact on its community. Sandwiched between the state highway and Somerville must have seemed an ideal location," according to the lawsuit.

Bridgewater's affordable housing plan for this lot is to construct 11, 100 percent affordable multi-family residential development units and four disabled veteran housing units. This will contribute to the Township's New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA) fourth-round affordable housing obligation of 421 units.

Prior to Somerville's lawsuit, a lawsuit was filed in Somerset County Superior Court by Somerville residents Jennifer Fleischer, Jason Rodker, Brian Reilly, and Bridgewater residents Richard Cash, George Cook, and Barbara Cook — who live near the site.

The group refiled their lawsuit on Jan. 30 naming just Bridgewater, instead of the developers as previously filed. The residents' lawsuit claims the zoning change will impact the character of the area and called the ordinance "arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, and unlawful."

Somerville is seeking that Bridgewater's zoning ordinance for the property be set aside as "arbitrary and unreasonable." The Borough is also seeking to prohibit Bridgewater's access from the property to Cornell Street in Somerville.

Bridgewater Township told Patch, "The Township does not provide comment on ongoing litigation."

See Somerville's lawsuit below:

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