Hearing Date Set For Chatham Post Office Plaza Redevelopment Case

CHATHAM, NJ — A hearing date has been set to discuss the Affordable Housing Compliance/Redeveloper Intervention request after SV Chatham PO LLC filed a brief in Morris County Superior Court requesting an intervention.

Superior Court Judge Michael C. Gaus has scheduled a "Motion Hearing In-Person" for 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 25 at the Sussex County Courthouse.

In a brief filed in Morristown in mid-June, SV Chatham PO attorneys requested court intervention in the matter, after not being selected for the redevelopment project. According to the brief, "SV Chatham PO JV LLC, is the owner of property in Chatham that is part of the Post Office Plaza Redevelopment Area. SV has been the designated redeveloper of the Post Office Plaza Redevelopment Area since 2019."

SV Chatham, whose plan was originally rejected by the Borough of Chatham Council when it voted 4-3 to go with an all-affordable housing 15-unit project for Post Office Plaza, filed an intervention brief in Morris County Superior Court in June.

The hearing, which was first scheduled for June 24, has been rescheduled for Aug. 9 after two adjournments.

"The Borough has routinely cited this Post Office Plaza Redevelopment Plan and the designation of SV as redeveloper as a defense to other challenges to the Borough’s compliance with its affordable housing obligation. However, while it was using the Post Office Plaza Redevelopment Plan and SV redeveloper designation as a shield, the Borough has been behind the scenes attempting to severely limit the amount of residential density and affordable housing produced as part of any redevelopment," said the brief.

Many residents have spoken out during the project's various special meetings, criticizing the borough's lack of transparency throughout the redevelopment project, which has been a source of contention for many.

"There will be an appropriate time and place to potentially have further discussions and disclosures and that decision is best made in consultation with our expert affordable housing attorney and our redevelopment attorney," said Steven Kleinman the Chatham Borough attorney.

According to the council, the future development will be a 15-unit, single-building affordable housing complex on borough-owned land at the southeast corner of Post Office Plaza along Bowers Lane.