Maplewood’s Affordable Housing Plan Is In Jeopardy, Changes May Be Needed

MAPLEWOOD, NJ — Maplewood may have to circle back on its affordable housing plan after legal challenges and a recent vote from the planning board, town officials say.

In 2024, state officials released the affordable housing numbers that New Jersey towns and cities will have to meet over the next 10 years, including Maplewood. The quota for Maplewood included 20 “present need” units and 216 “prospective need” units.

Towns and cities don’t have to create the housing themselves, but must ensure that the threshold is met – often by requiring affordable housing units as part of local real estate development projects. Along with other towns, Maplewood was required to submit a plan to the state that outlined the ways it would meet this goal.

Maplewood’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan was adopted and submitted to the court for approval in June 2025. The plan included a combination of inclusionary development in various redevelopment areas, as well as a “100 percent affordable” project proposed by a leading affordable housing developer.

However, that plan is now up in the air – and the town may need an updated version to avoid legal risk from builder’s remedy lawsuits.

LEGAL CHALLENGES

In September 2025 – like many other communities across New Jersey – Maplewood received legal challenges to its plan.

One was from the Fair Share Housing Center. Another was from 161 Maplewood Investors LLC and its affiliate Greenpoint NJ, LLC: the owners of 161 Maplewood Avenue and 11 Inwood Place.

The township reached a settlement with the Fair Share Housing Center in December 2025 as part of a state-required mediation program. A major stipulation of the agreement was to identify more sites for “inclusionary developments” in Maplewood – which the town did, officials say:

“One of these sites was 11 Inwood Place (its neighboring property, 161 Maplewood Avenue, was already included in the 2025 Housing Element), which is part of the ‘movie theater block’ in Maplewood Village. In order that the two adjoining properties could be developed with one project, the settlement agreement required the township to include 11 Inwood Place in a redevelopment area, and to adopt a redevelopment plan for the two properties.”

A wrinkle in that plan developed last week, town officials said.

On Feb. 10, the Maplewood Planning Board voted that 11 Inwood Place should not be added to the redevelopment area. As a result, the township needs to immediately enact an amended Housing Element and Fair Share Plan and revised zoning ordinances that do not include 11 Inwood Place in order to meet statutory deadlines in mid-March.

Now, the town’s amended plan includes two changes:

• EXCLUDE 11 INWOOD PLACE – A draft amendment to the Township’s Housing Element and Fair Share Plan which does not include 11 Inwood Place, and as a result proportionally reduces the number of units to be developed by 161 Maplewood Investors, LLC from 65 units (including 13 affordable units) to 50 units (including 10 affordable units), has been prepared for the Planning Board’s consideration at its upcoming special meeting on Feb. 26.
• NEW PROJECT – On Feb. 11, township representatives met with a property owner who is seeking to build 25 units, including five affordable units, on a vacant parking lot. This project has been added to the draft Housing Element and Fair Share Plan amendment.

There’s yet another twist in the ongoing saga, Maplewood officials noted.

“Late in the day on Feb. 11, the township received a copy of a settlement recommendation issued from the state mediation program to the judge overseeing affordable housing challenges in Essex County,” municipal officials reported.

“That recommendation still included 11 Inwood Place and 65 total units to be developed by 161 Maplewood Investors LLC,” officials said.

“The court will ultimately determine if the revised Housing Element and Fair Share Plan is in compliance with the Fair Housing Act,” town officials continued. “If the court determines that the plan is not in compliance, the township would lose its protection from exclusionary zoning lawsuits, including builder’s remedy lawsuits.”

Town administrators have reached out to the Fair Share Housing Center and to 161 Maplewood Investors to notify them of the proposed changes.

WHAT COMES NEXT?

The Maplewood Town Council introduced several ordinances related to the revamped affordable housing plan at their meeting on Feb. 17. Watch footage here, or view the video below.

The new plan is on the agenda for a special planning board meeting on Feb. 26, and the township committee meeting on March 3.

Click here for more information about affordable housing in Maplewood, including copies of the executed agreement between the township and Fair Share Housing Center, the draft Housing Element amendment, and the settlement recommendation issued on Feb. 11.

• See Related: Maplewood Gets Its New Affordable Housing Quota From State
• See Related: Maplewood Approves PILOT For Affordable Housing Project

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