Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Hawthorne council members and residents spar over a multi‑lot development, stormwater protections and federal legal challenge
Summary
Council members, the mayor and residents spent substantial time on a contested planned‑unit development on Gothal Hill Road, stormwater controls, and the borough’s participation in a federal challenge to state affordable‑housing rules; the borough emphasized engineer oversight, escrow protections and limits on local control of tenant selection.
Council members and residents devoted the bulk of their meeting to a pending multi‑lot development on Gothal Hill Road and the borough’s broader obligations under state affordable‑housing rules. Councilwoman Leosa, who said she had testified repeatedly before the zoning board as environmental‑commission chair, described negotiations that reduced unit counts and secured a sewer lateral to serve neighboring homes, and stressed that stormwater and buffer protections were part of the negotiated approvals.
"We really pushed very hard on that property," Councilwoman Leosa said, describing a settlement that she reported limited the affordable set‑aside to 17 units while reducing total unit counts from earlier proposals. She told colleagues the developer agreed to install a sewer line so nearby homes would not need new septic systems.
Residents urged clarity and transparency about the project. Resident Bruce Melie said the site comprises multiple lots and warned that towns lose leverage when developers sue. "When a developer takes the town to court because they want what they want, we lose any say," Melie said, and thanked council negotiators for securing stormwater protections.
Mayor Lane and Borough Attorney Michael Pasqu updated the council on litigation and oversight. Pasqu said the borough joined a multi‑town federal lawsuit challenging state affordable‑housing regulations after a state‑court effort was dismissed; the federal action remains pending and the borough filed a certification in support of injunctive relief. Pasqu and the mayor also described oversight steps at the one Washington site, saying borough engineers and escrow requirements are being used to monitor erosion control, grading and daily site conditions and to ensure remediation costs are borne by the developer, not taxpayers.
Council members and staff outlined how applications for the affordable units are handled. The borough explained that an outside agency (identified in the meeting as Piazza and Associates) administers lotteries and the drawing, and that the borough does not control the selection process. Council members noted past lotteries attracted large applicant pools — in one example the body discussed more than 1,000 applications for fewer than 20 units — and clarified that deed restrictions and affordability time limits (examples cited during the meeting included 30‑year deed restrictions) are used to preserve unit affordability for a defined period.
Stormwater compliance attracted repeated attention. Council members said developers must meet pre‑ and post‑construction stormwater requirements, and borough engineers will review plans and hold developers to the stated containment specifications. "They have to minimize water going off the property," a council member said, adding that the borough will insist on engineering specs and escrow to cover compliance.
What happens next: council and administration said they will continue to monitor the site through regular engineering inspections, escrow enforcement and planning‑board review; litigation challenging state rules will continue at the federal level. The council did not take a new formal vote on the development at this meeting.
