Millburn Group Launches Petition Against Proposed Affordable Housing Building

MILLBURN, NJ — How much and what kind of affordable housing should be built in New Jersey towns? This issue has spurred debates for more than 40 years, and Millburn is no exception. Now that the town recently approved plans for a fully affordable housing complex at 9 Main St., the topic is still causing heated discussion.

Last week, a resident posted an online petition to oppose the 9 Main St. proposal, which is to include 75 units of affordable housing.

The petition had amassed 289 signatures by Tuesday, with an aim of reaching 500. It's titled, "stop the high-density, income-segregated housing project on Main Street" and was filed by a person or group calling itself Concerned Millburn Residents.

The petition argues that the 1-acre site will cost millions of dollars to clean up and will "segregate" residents from other neighborhoods in town.

The petitioners say they'd like the Town Council to tell the Fair Share Housing Center, a New Jersey nonprofit, to pause the project and instead work on a complex that has a mix of affordable and market rate housing.

"We would like the TC to pause, reconsider, and advise the Fair Share Housing Corp that we wish to meet our obligation with an alternative plan in keeping with Millburn’s Master Plan," the petition reads, "with our shared vision of our exceptional suburban town and that maintains the integration of mixed-income market rate and affordable housing as we have with every other development."

The settlement including the plan occurred after years of discussions.

The town recently polled residents about the intended design of the building, saying they'd like to "develop a design for the 9 Main Street affordable housing project that best reflects community desires and existing Township character."

Apparently, some residents don't think a good design will be enough.

A representative of the group said Tuesday that the opposition to the plan is a bipartisan effort, explaining, "The Township Committee worked behind closed doors on the FSHC settlement and residents had no say at all in the outcome. The petition was just launched and was only posted to social media today. This effort has just begun and we hope you will follow the story."

The petition reads, "This building will also obviously segregate its residents from the rest of the Millburn community on the basis of income and other factors. No feasibility studies have been done regarding this project's effect on infrastructure, schools, flooding, and traffic. RPM, the developer and proposed buyer and manager of the property, has asked to purchase this prime property in the center of downtown Millburn for $1. Qualifying Millburn residents, workers, and seniors will not receive preference when these units are allocated."

See previous Patch stories about Millburn and its affordable housing plans here.

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