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Market Street project draws traffic concerns as council says court process cut town's affordable-housing obligation
Summary
Residents worried a Market Street development's 60 units would overwhelm Market Street; town officials said initial Fair Share numbers were contested and reduced through a court-sanctioned settlement and engineers said traffic impact would be negligible.
Residents at the meeting raised traffic and density concerns about a Market Street development that they said included 60 units and would bring additional cars onto Market Street.
"They say that 120 cars will be coming into Saddle Brook and will improve the traffic of Market Street," said Omar Rodriguez, a mayoral candidate who urged more public debate about high-density housing.
Town officials disputed the arithmetic and described the legal process that produced the municipality's affordable-housing obligation. Township administration and legal counsel said an initial Fair Share figure (cited by opponents as 279 units) was contested by special counsel and a special master and that the final settlement used to obtain immunity from builder's-remedy lawsuits reduced the township's prospective obligation to a much smaller number (stated by officials as 17).
The township also offered a fiscal counterpoint: administrators said the developer provided 40 underground parking spaces valued at about $1.2 million, which increased the per-unit valuation used in town calculations. Officials added the developer did not receive a PILOT and would pay full property taxes, generating an estimated $325,000'$340,000 in revenue on the property compared with its prior tax-exempt status.
On traffic, the project's traffic engineer and the township engineer told the council the incremental impact would likely be negligible because not all units generate two daily auto trips at the same time and some residents work remotely or use transit. County engineering staff described a related bridge-replacement plan for the Saddle River with preliminary construction estimates around 2030'032 and said interim work would improve some legs before bridge replacement.
The council encouraged residents to attend upcoming county and township meetings on traffic and planning and said official notices are mailed to property owners within 200 feet and published in required newspapers when applications are filed.
