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Hawthorne council advances package of resolutions and agrees to consider joining affordable‑housing lawsuit
Summary
Council listed and advanced resolutions including grants and contract awards and agreed to a resolution authorizing the borough to join a challenge to recently enacted affordable‑housing regulations; actions were moved and passed as part of the resolutions package on July 23.
The Hawthorne Borough Council advanced a cluster of resolutions at its July 23 meeting covering grants, contract awards and legal action. During the attorney’s report Michael Pasquale described a proposed resolution to authorize joining a lawsuit challenging recently enacted affordable‑housing regulations; the council included that measure (R132‑25) among a package of resolutions the body moved and passed that evening.
Council recorded resolutions on a number of items: installation of a handicap parking space (MR05‑25), extension of a tax grace period (R124‑25), adoption of a distracted‑driving grant into the 2025 budget (R125‑25), redeeming tax sale certificates (R126‑25 and R127‑25), contract awards for tree trimming (R128‑25) and large‑vehicle maintenance (R129‑25), and approval of a change order and project closeout for a local aid cleanup (R130‑25). The resolutions package was moved by Mili and seconded by Bennett and carried by roll call.
During debate councilmembers raised practical concerns about one resolution: creating a handicap parking space near the Lafayette sidewalk/roadwork area. Members worried the space could remove needed parking while construction staging remains in place; the council amended the resolution to make the effective implementation date Oct. 1 to allow ongoing construction and staging to finish, and the amendment passed.
Pasquale described the affordable‑housing matter as part of a broader litigation effort initiated by Montvale and others to challenge the validity of recent regulations; the attorney characterized the challenge as alleging the regulations run afoul of law, due process and equal‑protection principles. The council agreed to include the measure in the resolutions package to authorize joining that litigation.
What’s next: Resolutions passed as recorded in the meeting minutes; the handicap parking resolution was passed as amended with an Oct. 1 effective date, and the borough attorney will process the paperwork for joining the affordable‑housing litigation if the resolution is finalized.
