Attorney: Hawthorne settled one affordable-housing case; another was dismissed; council has March 15 to adopt implementing ordinances

Borough attorney Michael Pascual updated council on several housing and legal developments, saying the borough settled litigation with Fair Share Housing and Dugan Development and that a separate Montvale case was dismissed at both the state and federal level.

Pascual said court dismissals turned on standing and speculative harm questions. “The standing issue is that technically, a municipality cannot sue for a violation of equal protection rights,” he explained, and he described the courts’ view that the asserted harms were not imminent enough to meet legal standards. He characterized the statutory and case-law landscape as constraining municipal options and said the borough’s attorneys named individuals as plaintiffs in subsequent filings to address standing questions.

Pascual told the council they have until March 15 to adopt all implementing ordinances required by the settlement with Fair Share Housing and Dugan Development and warned there will be follow-up ordinances and rezoning proposals related to the former Pan Chemical site.

Council members pressed for background on the reasoning behind the dismissals and expressed frustration with state-level changes that limit municipal remedies; Pascual urged council members to prepare for the work required to implement the settlement terms if they wish to finalize it.

No vote was taken on the settlement at this meeting; Pascual said the administration will deliver ordinances and additional details in the coming weeks for council consideration.