Clark council endorses Planning Board housing element, directs affordable housing council to seek compliance certification

The Township of Clark council voted to endorse the planning board's housing element and fair share plan, and directed the township's affordable housing council to file the documents necessary to seek compliance certification.

Mayor Sal Albanese said the planning board adopted the plan on June 5, 2025, and that the filing is time-sensitive: "it is due on June 30." He also said the township's attorney had briefed the council in private session because of the plan's "litigious nature." The mayor thanked Planning Board staff Paul Rickey and attorney Jeff Sirinian for answering public questions at planning board meetings.

Council members moved and seconded the resolution and adopted it by roll call. The resolution directs the township's affordable housing body to submit required paperwork to seek a compliance determination; councilors did not vote on specific zoning changes at the meeting.

No public speaker at the council meeting spoke in opposition during the recorded public-comment period, though one resident asked whether the planning-board materials were available online; the mayor and staff said planning board documents are posted online and available in Town Hall. The council recorded the motion and carried it by roll call.

The council's action is a municipal step toward compliance under New Jersey's affordable housing framework; the filing initiates the administrative process for a court or relevant agency to grant a compliance certification. The council did not adopt any implementing ordinance or change zoning at this meeting.