Lambertville committee adopts proactive mission statement, accelerates fourth-round housing work

The Lambertville Affordable Housing Committee voted to adopt a mission statement that stresses a "proactive, holistic" approach to meeting the town's affordable-housing obligations and outlined an accelerated timeline to have a draft fourth-round housing plan ready for planning-board review.

At the meeting the committee's lead staff member summarized the legal timeline established by the new law and warned that the town must have a planning-board-adopted housing plan by the end of June. The staff member told the committee that a draft must be on file 10 days before a planning-board public hearing and said the committee's goal is to have a draft available for public review in mid-April so the planning-board hearing could be held as early as May 7 (or May 21 if necessary). The staff member added that ordinances implementing overlay or inclusionary zoning can be reviewed by the planning board now but are not required to be adopted until March 2026.

The committee was also told that state land-capacity data currently show "the number for Lambertville is zero," a staff summary of a state GIS layer used to calculate realistic development potential (RDP). The staff explanation emphasized the difference between RDP and "unmet need": the town's third-round RDP was previously calculated as 88 units (down from the 137-unit third-round obligation after analysis), while the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) fourth-round figure to which Lambertville has stipulated is 39 units. The staff warned that if the fourth-round realistic development potential is confirmed as zero, the town would need to meet a larger share of its obligation through unmet-need strategies rather than on-site development.

Committee members reviewed a public, living spreadsheet and map of candidate properties that staff compiled to generate realistic opportunities or unmet-need strategies. The list includes commercial and municipal parcels discussed as potential mechanisms: several Rego Auction properties (including 333 North Main and 245 North Main), a Pon Farm parcel being explored with Habitat for Humanity for six homes, the former Wells Fargo bank building (a property currently on the market), Canal Studios and other Maxwell holdings, a multi-lot complex around Spokes Works, and a number of small downtown parcels where adding stories was discussed as a way to generate units. Staff reported that about 40 letters went to property owners inviting dialogue; several owners have already responded and follow-up meetings are scheduled.

The committee also directed staff to pursue several next steps: finish the vacant-land analysis and confirm the state GIS findings; circulate a detailed timeline that aligns committee, planning-board and governing-body deliverables; produce a draft of the FAQs and the housing-plan text for public review; and ask the City attorney to draft an ordinance to de-restrict the library's family apartment for a 40-year period, a matter the governing body supports.

During public comment, resident Jeff (33 Wilson Street) urged the committee to explore combining the town's third and fourth rounds and to move quickly to prepare an alternative plan and legal defenses. He warned that builders or intervenors could file aggressive challenges (so-called "builders'remedy" or intervenor actions), arguing that rapid deliverables and clear site analyses would be necessary to defend the town's plan.

Two formal procedural actions were recorded during the meeting: a motion to approve the February minutes (moved by Brian Kelly and seconded by Paul Stevens) was approved, and the committee voted to adopt the selected mission-statement language (recorded as ayes by the members present).

The committee agreed to reconvene and refine shared language about the third round at the next meeting, to coordinate with counsel on legal framing and challenge risk, and to continue outreach to property owners. Members referenced a tentative next meeting date described in the meeting as "the 10."