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Verona board reviews amended housing element, sets March adoption as state deadline looms
Summary
Verona planning staff reviewed an amended fourth‑round housing element and settlement outcomes that change site allocations and bonus credits; the draft will be posted tomorrow and the board expects to consider adoption March 3 so the township can meet a state March 15 requirement.
The Verona Planning Board on Feb. 19 reviewed an amended fourth‑round housing element required by the state and directed staff to post the draft publicly and forward it to county and state agencies. Dan Havin of TNM Associates, Verona’s affordable housing planner, told the board the state is requiring adoption of the amendment by March 15, which compresses the timing for public review and council action.
Havin said the town settled mediation with Fair Share Housing Center and developers to revise the municipality’s realistic development potential (RDP) from 58 to 67 units. “We settled with Fair Share Housing Center to get the township’s affordable housing obligation to 155 units,” Havin said, and described negotiated site agreements that yield bonus credits and set aside affordable units at specific properties, including 885 Bloomfield Avenue and a JMF Properties site on Grove Avenue.
Under the settlement, 885 Bloomfield will be re‑zoned for 28 townhouses (including a small number of affordable and special‑needs credits) and an agreement with JMF reduces an earlier assisted‑living proposal to 84 family townhouses with 17 affordable units. Havin said those changes, plus bonus credits for transit proximity and redevelopment, produce a plan that covers the RDP while leaving a small carryover of units that would be counted in a future round.
Board members asked for specifics on how senior units at the Hillwood development were being counted and how the municipality protects itself if a redevelopment project fails. Havin explained state rules cap the fraction of a plan that may count as senior units and noted a 2030 “look‑back” process could require replacement if projects do not realize. He said the town currently has a modest surplus of seven credits but acknowledged the RDP would fall if active projects drop out.
Several appendices — the spending plan, the affirmative‑marketing plan and operational manuals handled by the affordable housing administrative agent — were not included in the draft being circulated but Havin said they will be made available before adoption where possible and that certain elements require council action. He also confirmed the draft would be posted to the township website and sent to county and state officials the day after the meeting.
The board discussed stormwater and other site engineering issues; staff and Havin reminded members that individual redevelopment and site‑plan applications will be subject to Verona’s standard stormwater and zoning reviews, and that developers must demonstrate compliance during the site review process. Havin reiterated the compressed schedule and urged staff to coordinate with the council on accompanying ordinance changes (including updates to the affordable housing and development‑fee ordinances) that must be acted on in time to meet state deadlines.
The planning board did not take a final vote on the housing element at the Feb. 19 meeting; Havin said the board is scheduled to consider formal adoption on March 3 and additional ordinance actions will go to the council before March 15.
