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Hawthorne council schedules special meeting to object to state affordable-housing allocation
Summary
Town attorney said the borough will ask the council to adopt a resolution challenging Department of Community Affairs numbers and will file suit; a special meeting was scheduled to consider the objection and related resolution.
Hawthorne officials said they will seek to challenge the Department of Community Affairs(DCA) allocation of the borough—s affordable-housing obligation and could file suit after the council adopts a resolution.
At the council—s Jan. 22 meeting municipal Attorney Michael Pasquale said outside counsel John Sabo is preparing an objection to the DCA—s assigned number and that the borough intends to adopt a resolution and then file within the 48-hour window required to press the challenge. "What we've seen in the DCA numbers is reliance on old maps," Pasquale said, adding that parklands, ball fields and extreme slopes are appearing as vacant land in the DCA mapping.
The mayor and Pasquale said they will call a special meeting to consider the resolution. Council members were asked to check calendars for a meeting the following week; the mayor stated he is "planning on the a special meeting next Wednesday, the 20 ninth at 7," to approve the resolution and authorize filing.
Why it matters: The DCA allocation determines how many affordable units the state says a municipality must plan for under New Jersey—s fair-share rules. Pasquale said the borough believes the DCA relied on outdated aerial and DEP-derived maps that overstate buildable vacant land, which inflates Hawthorne—s obligation and could force local planning actions the borough would contest.
What officials said and next steps: Pasquale described a two-step process: adopt a resolution to contest the assigned number, then seek a certificate of compliance after subsequent planning work. He said the statewide need was first estimated using a methodology derived from prior court rulings and then allocated to municipalities using aerial data that the borough contends is inaccurate. John Sabo, the outside attorney Pasquale said is preparing the submission, was described as assembling alternative calculations for the borough to adopt.
No final vote on the housing allocation occurred at the Jan. 22 meeting. The council scheduled the special meeting to consider the resolution and any authorizing motion to file; the borough plans to follow the timeline Pasquale described, including filing within 48 hours of adopting the resolution.
The council did not adopt any housing plan or change zoning at the Jan. 22 meeting. Pasquale and the mayor said further steps including drafting a housing element and fair-share planwould follow the legal challenge if the council moves forward.
