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Mayor: Clark assigned 166 more affordable units; council must map sites by June 30, 2025
Summary
Mayor Sal Bonacorso told the council Clark was assigned 166 additional affordable-housing units (bringing the town’s cited obligation to 336), said the council must work with planners to designate potential sites by June 30, 2025 to retain municipal protections, and highlighted a state-funded free preschool grant for ages 3–5.
Mayor Sal Bonacorso told the Clark Township Council on Oct. 21 that the State of New Jersey assigned the township an additional 166 affordable housing units on top of an earlier 170-unit obligation, a figure the mayor said totals 336 units. He said the township must work with its planner and engineer to prepare a plan by June 30, 2025 that identifies where units could be built so Clark preserves its municipal protections from court-ordered developments.
"By June 30th of '25 the mayor and the council is going to have to work with their planner and engineer to come up with a plan," Bonacorso said. He warned that failing to file an adequate plan could expose the township to court-ordered placements like those other municipalities faced. The mayor said he personally opposed the way the state’s allocation applies to Clark but emphasized the council’s duty to protect the community while complying with state requirements.
Bonacorso described the town’s immediate task as identifying properties that might be designated for housing if they were sold, and repeatedly cautioned that the state obligation does not mean construction will happen overnight. "Some of us here in this room may never even see it," he said. He also invoked a recent example in which a municipality lost its planning protections after not filing a plan, saying that judge-led outcomes can dictate both number and location of units.
At the same time, the mayor credited the school district and superintendent Ed Grande for securing a state grant that will provide free preschool for three-, four- and five-year-olds for an initial five-year period. He said locations within Clark were being evaluated and described the program as an early-learning investment intended to help families and to make the town more attractive to prospective homebuyers.
The council did not take a final vote on any zoning changes or specific redevelopment designations at the meeting. Bonacorso said the administration and council will meet with the planner and engineer to develop options and that public meetings will follow as needed.
Next steps: council and staff will prepare a draft plan for review and public discussion before the June 30, 2025 deadline; no specific properties or zoning changes were proposed at the Oct. 21 meeting.
