Monroe Township planning board backs zoning change to allow affordable housing, limits warehouse access to Route 33

The Monroe Township Planning Board unanimously recommended the Township Council find Ordinance No. 2025-021 consistent with the township's 2022 master plan and forwarded a resolution memorializing that recommendation.

The ordinance would amend Chapter 108-6.18 (Highway Development District) to remove wholesale distributive and storage establishments from the list of directly permitted uses and place them under conditional uses with a new condition: any wholesale/distributive/storage operation that requires tractor-trailer access would need a direct driveway connection to Route 33. Planner Mika Abdi told the board the change is intended to keep heavy truck traffic on Route 33 instead of smaller residential roads.

The amendment also creates a new RA-2 (residential affordable housing) district to rezone the site identified in the ordinance (Block 3, Lots 31 and 32). Abdi said the RA-2 language would allow a maximum of 158 dwelling units on the tract and requires a minimum of 65 family rental units to be designated as affordable. "It is, in my opinion, that this proposed changes, amendments to the ordinance are in compliance with your master plan," Abdi said during the presentation.

Staff and board members described the ordinance as the outgrowth of a previously denied warehouse application at the corner of Butcher Road and North Disbrow Hill Road and subsequent litigation. "The township has negotiated a settlement of that litigation, which would include that property into our affordable housing plan," said a staff presenter, explaining the rezoning proposal and how it relates to the township's upcoming affordable housing round.

Board members who spoke in favor said the Route 33 access requirement would protect neighborhood streets and align with the master plan's goals to maintain a balance of land-use types and ensure appropriate development. One member described the change as helping to "attenuate situations where not just school children may be on buses ... but it takes a lot of the truck traffic off of there."

During public comment, resident Michelle Arminio asked the board to identify precisely what language was changed in Chapter 108. Planner Abdi walked through the primary edits: deleting wholesale/distributive/storage as a permitted use, shifting it to the conditional-use list, and adding the direct Route 33 access condition. Resident Charles Stapiro and other commenters urged stronger enforcement mechanisms and questioned past developer compliance with affordable housing obligations.

The RA-2 provisions presented to the board include: a gross density cap of 7 dwelling units per acre for the tract, a maximum of 158 units for the site, a minimum of 65 affordable family rental units (the presenter said those 65 units could be built on- or off-site but are required to be provided to the township), a minimum lot area of 3 acres, building-height limits (three stories or 50 feet for apartments), and standard setback, lot-coverage and parking requirements. The draft ordinance also describes how bedroom mix and unit counts translate into the 65-unit affordable requirement.

Action and vote: The board moved to close public comment on the ordinance recommendation, then moved to recommend the ordinance is consistent with the master plan and approved a prepared resolution memorializing that recommendation under the municipal land use law's 45-day review provision. The roll-call recorded affirmative votes from board members including Mister Rothman, Miss Brodsky, Mister Weiner, Mayor's representative Mister Patel and Chairman Gaffrey. The resolution will be forwarded to the Township Council for final action at its next meeting.

What the board did not decide: The planning board's role here was limited to a consistency review with the master plan. The board did not adopt the ordinance itself; that decision rests with the Township Council. Several members and public commenters asked questions about enforcement and about tying construction of affordable units to developer permits; those implementation details will be set by the council or through subsequent approvals.

Next steps: The ordinance is scheduled for second reading and possible adoption by the Township Council at the council meeting referenced by staff.