How We’re Addressing the Scourge of Trenton-Mandated Housing

In towns like Holmdel, preserving community character while meeting state mandates is not an abstract policy debate - it is a responsibility we take seriously every day.

New Jersey’s affordable housing mandates are among the most aggressive in the nation. Municipalities are required – under court-enforced obligations stemming from the state’s Mount Laurel doctrine – to re-zone properties for affordable housing development.

Due to the egregious nature and overreach of this law, including its new unfair formula that imposes obligations for every decade into perpetuity, we felt we needed to take a bolder approach than Holmdel has ever taken before.

This approach was two-pronged:

1.Aggressively challenge the latest mandate through all available legal channels

2.Work to negotiate the mandate down while pursuing legal challenges

Simply put, we have asked the courts to stop the unfair treatment of the suburbs, while maintaining a failsafe to minimize the damage Trenton’s mandates could do to our town.

On the legal front, we joined 25 other towns in lawsuits challenging the 2024 Fair Housing Act (FHA). This effort began in 2024 and included Deputy Mayor Foster testifying in court on our behalf in 2025.Over the past several months, the coalition pushed for an injunction against the March 15 deadline to complete re-zonings.

Regrettably this request was rejected by the federal courts – all the way up to the United State Supreme Court. While this outcome was disappointing, we know that we took this to the highest court in the land before moving forward. It’s my job to fight for you and our town and we took this fight as far as the law allows.

While we were fighting the 2024 FHA in the courts, we simultaneously executed our plan to reduce the mandate. The state wanted us to add 133 new affordable units to Holmdel AND we had to account for another 31 that were left over from the previous mandate. For those that don’t know the particulars, when the state demands 164 affordable units, that basically means 820 new homes. This is because, for developers to make money (yes, you’re reading that right), they must build 4 market-rate homes for every 1 affordable.

So, we had quite a task in front of us.

Through aggressive negotiations, strategic planning, and extraordinary coordination amongst our team of lawyers, planners, and engineers we reduced the new mandate by 20%, down to 106 units.

That was the plan we just approved. And, due to the expertise that our town brought to those negotiations, we will NOT have to approve 4 market-rate homes for every 1 affordable. The mandate will be contained to two specific areas.

1.Within the new retirement and assisted living community at 23 Main Street, Holmdel will satisfy part of our obligation through Medicaid “credits” and some single-family townhomes dispersed within the development.

2.On Route 35 – in the area behind Kohl’s, we’ll be using land designated by a previous Township Committee for 80 units that are 100% dedicated to Trenton-mandated housing. This is a substantial reduction in density from the past Township Committee approval of 170 mixed market-rate and affordable units for the property.

If we do not take these steps right now, we would cede control of our town’s landscape to the state and developers – which is currently on display in two of our neighboring municipalities.

Holmdel has long been known for careful stewardship and thoughtful growth. That tradition continues today. We have fought where fighting was necessary. We negotiated where negotiation produced results. And we are planning responsibly to preserve what makes our town special.

As always, I encourage residents to stay engaged, attend meetings, and review the materials we share. Your input strengthens our process and improves our decisions. Together, we will manage Trenton’s mandates and protect the character of Holmdel for generations to come.