Council says Hawthorne reduced fair-share obligation to 28 units, points to two redevelopment sites

Council members on July 9 described a substantial reduction in Hawthorne's state fair-share housing obligation and identified two redevelopment sites the borough says can accommodate the lowered total.

Council member Michael summarized the borough submission to the state, saying the town's original assessed need of 405 units was reduced in the final filing to 28 units and that rehabilitation obligations fell from 105 units to six. "We only have to rehab six units of housing," Michael said, adding that the 23 new-construction units could be developed on the Pan Chemical and Hawthorne Chevy sites without overdeveloping those properties.

Michael and other council members emphasized that the town focused on redevelopment parcels it believes are defensible against legal challenge. "We did not put in a number that is subject to easy challenge," he said, noting other municipalities may face challenges if they omitted obvious developable sites.

On the timeline and remediation requirements, officials explained the redevelopment property is privately owned and would need a negotiated redevelopment plan, site-plan approvals and environmental cleanup to a residential standard. The council said cleanup at the Pan Chemical site is estimated at about $1.2 million and that remediation and periodic groundwater testing would be overseen by a licensed site remediation professional.

Council members took the comments as an update rather than a final decision on any specific redevelopment plan. Michael said the process includes negotiation with developers, creation of a redevelopment ordinance, planning-board site-plan approvals and state/local cleanup oversight; the council cautioned that litigation remains a possible outcome if parties cannot agree.

Council members encouraged patience and said they would continue to provide public updates as redevelopment negotiations progress.