Township Wins Suit Against Riverfront Developer

The township won a major case against a riverfront developer that called for residential segregated housing and a payment in lieu of taxes arrangement.

Kaplan Companies had petitioned Superior Court to approve a PILOT program for its Delaware River properties, and also to subsidized low- and moderate-income homes in one area.

The township fought both proposals and came out on top.

“We couldn’t be more pleased,” said Committeeman Anthony Minniti, director of economic development. “That tax abatement is not going to make those apartments any more affordable. That tax abatement [would have] lined the pockets of the developer. We felt it was wrong.”

In 2002, Cinnaminson Harbour was court-ordered to comply with a state mandate to offer low- and moderate-income housing to residents. About 150 units were to be built for that purpose.

Kaplan, the developer, wanted separate units for the new apartments. Cinnaminson fought to keep them interspersed throughout the development.

“We couldn’t allow that to happen,” Minniti said, adding that residential segregation risks the creation of a ghetto.

Two years ago, Kaplan asked the township to institute a PILOT, a payment in lieu of taxes program that would offset the taxes they would pay to Cinnaminson. When the township refused, Kaplan sued.

“It launched into a full-scale lawsuit,” Minniti said.

Facing the loss of millions of dollars in taxes, the township also won that part of the case.

“Our double victory in court is monumentally important for township residents and taxpayers,” Minniti said.

Minniti, who has fought for years against court-ordered affordable housing, said he and township committee are “ecstatic” over the results.

“There’s a certain stigma that comes with affordable housing,” Minniti said. “What we didn’t want, what the township didn’t want, was for the rest of the community to look at one building and say ‘That’s where the low-income housing is.’”

The 151 units are part of Cinnaminson Harbour’s Camelot community, off Broad Street in Cinnaminson. A was held in May to choose tenants based on a variety of factors including family size and income level.