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Edison officials say legal action will preserve immunity from builders'remedy lawsuits until June
Summary
Residents pressed the council about missed deadlines for adopting affordable-housing numbers. Township officials said they will file a declaratory-judgment action to preserve immunity under the amended state affordable-housing law while Edison finalizes its plan and numbers.
Residents and council members at Edison Township's Feb. 24 meeting pressed officials about the town's approach to the state's revised affordable-housing rules and whether the township is vulnerable to Builders'Remedy lawsuits.
Joel Bassoff, a resident, said Edison missed a Jan. 31 statutory deadline to adopt Department of Community Affairs (DCA) numbers and warned the lapse could expose the township to Builders'Remedy litigation. "Why didn't Edison follow a strategy like that," he asked, referencing neighboring towns that adopted lower obligations than the state assigned.
Town officials told the council and the public the township still has a path forward and described a legal strategy intended to protect Edison while officials work through ownership of the calculations.
A township attorney explained that the town retains temporary protection from Builders'Remedy lawsuits through June. "No builder's remedy lawsuits can be filed prior to June; we still have that immunity," the attorney said. The attorney added the township plans to "file our own declaratory-judgment action, which will extend that immunity while the courts decide what is the appropriate plan." The attorney said the administration intends to present its own numbers and plan together rather than simply adopting the DCA'provided figures.
Council members and administration officials emphasized that DCA'provided numbers do not, in their view, reflect Edison's local developable land and that the administration prefers to seek a locally calculated obligation that it argues would be more accurate for the township.
The discussion did not produce a formal vote. Council members said they will continue work with the law department to prepare the declaratory-judgment filing and a plan to present to the courts and the public.
Why it matters: The township's choice of approach determines whether developers can seek court relief to build projects that meet state-assigned affordable-housing obligations, potentially bypassing local zoning review. The attorney's plan to file a declaratory judgment keeps the township protected while officials formulate a response to the new state law.
What happens next: Officials said Edison will file the declaratory judgment before immunity ends in June and will present numbers and a plan together to the appropriate court or DCA process. No dates for filing were given at the meeting.
