Letter to the Editor: Settlement Partly Relieves Housing Obligation

Editor's Note: This piece was written by Republican candidate for Township Committee Andis Kalnis regarding the 555 South Avenue East settlement. It has not been edited.

This is a very unfortunate situation that we are in as a town.  

One reason that we are in this situation is because several years back previous town councils choose not to certify the affordable housing plans with the State.  In June of 2000 the town signed and submitted an application for phase II of the COAH certification. A few years later, the state came back looking for additional information on the application.  The township committee failed to authorize the additional work by the township planner to complete the application, and it expired on December 20^th, 2005.

The door was then opened for developers to purchase property in Cranford and "help" us make our affordable housing requirement, by filing the builder's remedy lawsuits.  Two lawsuits to date have been filed.  One at 555 South Ave East, and one on Birchwood Ave (by the conservation center).

At this point, we have in effect lost the 555 South Ave suit – just for clarity – the Birchwood suit is alive and well.  In the 555 South Ave case, the court has ruled that Cranford's zoning laws are unconstitutional due to the lack of a certified affordable housing plan.  A court appointed "special master" has been appointed and has provided an opinion that 180 units are appropriate for this size property in Cranford.  This is the same "special master" who had recommended 240 units on a similar size property in Roselle Park, which was then approved by the court. The decision of the court in COAH cases is binding. 

The settlement at 555 South Ave East accomplishes two things:  it actually reduces the number of units which will be built on the site from over 180 down to 163 (24 of which will be COAH certified affordable housing units).  It also spreads out the certified affordable housing requirement units throughout the development instead of having them clustered together like the developer originally proposed.  If the court rules on the case, Cranford will loose all control over the design, look and size of the project.

Also by settling this property, the majority of the COAH affordable housing requirements have been met, which will help with the current and any future lawsuits.  A housing plan was submitted as part of the Cranford Master Plan last year, but COAH certification cannot be achieved while under litigation. 

Several people say that the state should not dictate what is built in Cranford. Although I agree with that statement, because of the NJ Supreme Courts rulings on the Mt. Laurel case, which in effect created COAH, and actions (or inactions) in the past we are in a court battle over the future of our town.

During this same timeframe, the Cranford Crossing, directly under township control, opened with 0 affordable housing units.  Twin Oaks at Cranford was also approved with zero certified affordable housing units assigned.  It is hard to make a case that the township was making a good faith effort for meeting their obligation.

This settlement makes a bad situation a little bit better.  It will, in effect, also save us money by reducing our legal fees on this and the future lawsuits.  It will also allow us to get back on the path of getting a certified plan of our making.

Andis Kalnins

Republican Candidate for Cranford Township Committee

Cranford, NJ