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Planning board finds two housing ordinances consistent with master plan, clearing path for affordable sites
Summary
The Bridgewater Planning Board voted to deem two council‑introduced zoning ordinances consistent with the town master plan, removing a procedural barrier for an R10A amendment to allow a 5‑bed group home and for a new AH3 zone to permit an 11‑unit affordable multifamily building plus a 4‑unit disabled‑veterans rental building.
The Bridgewater Planning Board on a voice‑recorded vote deemed two council‑introduced zoning ordinances consistent with the township master plan, a step required under NJSA 40:55D‑26 before the council may act.
Planner Catherine Somard told the board the first ordinance (25‑08‑07‑196) would amend the R10A single‑family zone to permit a five‑bed group home at Whitney Court (Block 511, Lot 3). Somard said the site is specifically listed in the township’s fourth‑round housing element and that the zoning changes modify bulk standards so a group home could proceed as‑of‑right and qualify for federal and state funding. “This ordinance helps that along, and I do think it is consistent for those reasons,” Somard said.
The second ordinance (25‑08‑07‑197) would create an AH3 zone on Block 406, Lot 2.01 (Cornell Boulevard) to permit an 11‑unit multifamily rental building for families and a separate four‑unit rental building for disabled veterans, all income‑restricted. Somard said the site is also identified in the housing element and that the change is intended to enable financing and to advance the township’s fourth‑round affordable‑housing obligations.
Board members asked for clarifications on the precise parcel locations and whether both structures were required. Somard and other professionals pointed to the housing element’s site notes (page 28) and the plan’s expectation that the site would provide the specified unit mix; the planner recommended the resolution language be explicit about permitting “affordable multifamily residential development and affordable disabled veterans housing.”
After discussion the board adopted resolutions deeming each ordinance consistent with the master plan; the vote was recorded in the affirmative by the attending members. The consistency findings do not adopt the ordinances — they are the planning board’s report to the council under state referral law; the council must still hold its public hearings and votes.
The planner said the master plan update and related housing‑element work have priority and that staff is working to meet notice deadlines so the board can consider final adoption of the larger master plan by the end of September.
