Millburn Affordable Housing Hearing Rescheduled, Again

MILLBURN, NJ — Residents and officials have wrangled for years over how Millburn can best comply with a state requirement for each town to include affordable housing, a mandate that has roots in a 1980s New Jersey court case involving the town of Mount Laurel.

A year ago, the Millburn Township Committee approved a settlement with the Fair Share Housing Corporation, a non-profit activist group, to meet their affordable housing obligations by the end of 2025. But the plan has proved controversial.

Residents (and some officials) particularly objected to a proposed all-affordable housing development at 9 Main St., with 75 units for families. A petition from residents protesting the building has amassed 2,076 signatures.

Some said that the building should have a mix of incomes, while others said they had environmental concerns. READ MORE: Affordable Housing Building Draws Debate At Meeting

On Friday, the town announced that a scheduled Affordable Housing Compliance Hearing about the settlement — initially scheduled for this Friday — has once again been rescheduled, this time for Jan. 13, via Zoom.

The meeting will now be held at 10 a.m. A link will be added when one is available.

Updates

Residents have been writing letters to the judge in the case, saying more public input is needed into the plan.

Last month, a local group tasked with recommending new attorneys to represent the town in the matter proposed an attorney to begin working with the township. At the Township Committee meeting, the committee members voted to hire Jarrid Kantor, who had served as Livingston's town attorney.

Resident and former Township Committee candidate Jeff Feld this week emailed Kantor a list of 91 questions, several pertaining to a lack of public participation in the settlement.

"Did the method of approval of this global fair share housing settlement violate our state’spublic policy in favor of robust informed civic participation?" he asked.

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Read prior reporting and see links to more background here.