Tag Archives: Affordable housing

Will you help preserve one of Chatham’s few natural resources?

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Incredible but true: Our elected officials aim to sacrifice the little, green, wooded, Borough-owned lot at 58 North Passaic, right next to our Memorial Park, for two buildings, with four apartments and a parking lot.

“It’s as green as Kermit the Frog. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/as-green-as-kermit-the-frog

Google Maps58Download

On June 18th, the Planning Board will approve that development unless enough residents start emailing questions today to mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org, and go to the Planning Board meeting this Wednesday, June 4, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, Chatham.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/government/articles/chatham-residents-question-green-space-borough-land-being-used-on-north-passaic-for-affordable-housing-without-public-input?fbclid=IwY2xjawKodJZleHRuA2FlbQIxMQBicmlkETFaTjZNZ29aUVBUZ0w0OWV2AR575-CbLahYMja40NtUXgzske9a8WfO-byB44GylTHMZOZ-LCYsTULE4Fwnrw_aem_foI7DuyJVPFQ7WiMQ7RJgg

The Borough bought that nearly 0.3-acre site for recreation, not housing. Check out this clip from the November 15, 1981 issue of The Chatham Press.

Borough taxpayers shelled out $68,000 to acquire that land by deed dated March 31, 1982.

58 N Passaic deedsDownload

Today, it’s officially deemed a tax-exempt playground.

That’s exactly the kind of property Chatham has long tried to preserve.

https://chathamborough.org/government/documents/plans-reports/recreation-and-open-space/1298-2010-chatham-borough-open-space-recreation-plan/file#:~:text=Recreation%20Areas,Milton%20Avenue%20Woods%20are%20located.

What’s more, the site is at the intersection of TWO official Wellhead Protection Areas:

https://chathamborough.org/government/documents/forms-documents/maps/1263-chatham-borough-well-head-protection-area-overlay-zone/file

Now the Council is trying to steamroll the Planning Board into sacrificing that green lot by cramming in a 4-unit housing project and parking lot, to satisfy 4/6 of the Borough’s new affordable housing quota.

Screenshot

That project would be set back only six feet from the sidewalk, establishing a precedent that would haunt the Borough forever.

The Borough needs to consider other ways to satisfy its housing quota so that we can preserve that green, grassy, treed, Borough-owned lot.

You can help! Attend the Planning Board meeting on June 4, 7:30 pm, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. Chatham Borough. Use the north entrance and take the elevator to the upper level.

Showing up shows you care, even if you arrive late and leave early. Speaking is optional. Please bring a friend.

You won’t be able to ask questions if you Zoom the meeting, but it’s far better than not attending at all. Log in following the directions on the Borough home page www.chathamborough.org. Don’t log out even if you can’t pay attention.

Really tied up on June 4? Email the Mayor & Council right now:

mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org

Cdempsey@chathamborough.org

Jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

Kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

Itreloar@chathamborough.org

Jstrickland@chathamborough.org

Bhargrove@chathamborough.org

Khay@chathamborough.org

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/what-is-happening-to-lovely-historic-charming-chatham

Myth vs. Reality

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Hearing conflicting claims about affordable housing? Like to separate the facts from spin & fiction?

Free ice cream at Scoops, a slice at Bucky’s, or coffee at Fleur de Sel for the first person who can find a factual error in the following post.

MYTH: Chatham Borough has a history of shirking its affordable housing obligations! 

REALITY: Not so. The Borough has met its affordable housing quotas so far.

MYTH: Before June 30, Chatham must agree to build affordable housing on the green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot at 58 N. Passaic, right next to Memorial Park, or else the Borough will risk lawsuits that would destroy the town! 

REALITY: Not so.  Like virtually all other NJ municipalities, Chatham Borough has until the end of June to revise the Housing Element of its Master Plan to meet a new quota, but the Borough is NOT required to build anything on that particular green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park, and the Borough cannot be held liable for declining to let a developer build there.

MYTH: The Planning Board must have had a good reason for choosing to develop that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park!

REALITY: No, the Planning Board did NOT select that lot for development. Only a few political bosses even heard about it before May 7, when a non-resident expert told the Planning Board about a proposal to change Borough policy by changing the Housing Element of the Master Plan, an amendment they won’t see until at least June 6, but will be steamrolled into adopting on June 18. Start approx. 46:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=368

MYTH: The Borough Council must have had a good reason for choosing to develop that green, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park! 

REALITY: The Council did NOT vote to select that lot for development. Half the Council never heard about it until a few days before the Planning Board first heard about it on May 7. The Council never even mentioned it in public until the May 12 Council meeting, when residents started asking questions. The Mayor said they couldn’t talk about it, but the reason, if any, was not clear. If the Council can’t discuss a change in Borough policy, who can?

MYTH: There must be some explanation. Nobody would sacrifice a green, wooded, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park without having determined that it was the best – or only feasible – option. 

REALITY: So far nobody’s shown any evidence that anybody considered any alternatives before targeting that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park. The expert who presented the idea to the Planning Board said essentially, we owned that lot, and the developer wanted it, so we made a deal. Start approx. 1:09:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=368

MYTH: The Environmental & Shade Tree Commissions must have approved targeting for development this green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned location right next to Memorial Park!

REALITY: No, neither Commission was even consulted. The Environmental Commission members who aren’t also political bosses didn’t hear about it until residents broke the news to them at the May 14 meeting. The only person on the Shade Tree Commission who knew about it was Council member Karen Korenkiewicz, who kept mum about it until a resident shocked the Shade Tree Commission with the news at its May 22 meeting.

MYTH: This wasn’t a secret, back-room deal, so there must be some record as to who chose that green, woodsy, vacant, Borough-owned lot and why!

REALITY: On May 7th the expert told the Planning Board the proposal was the work of a certain “advisory committee.” But the committee she credited with developing the proposal has NO public meetings, NO agendas, NO minutes, and takes NO public input. It isn’t even on the list of advisory committees on the Borough website as of yesterday.

MYTH:  They’re going to do what they’re going to do. You can’t make any difference! 

REALITY: Yes you can make a difference. You did it with the rolling reassessment, the peddler curfew, Post Office plaza, and the Middle School Arts Center. You can do it again. Our local leaders tend to consider their actions far more carefully when faced with strong public interest in an issue.

So whatever your views:

  • Talk to friends on the Council, Planning & Zoning Boards, and the Environmental & Shade Tree Commissions.
  • Write mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org and shadetree@chathamborough.org. 
  • Attend or Zoom the Council meeting on Tuesday, 5/27/25 and Planning Board meeting on 6/4/25, both at 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level.
  • Encourage everyone you know to do the same.

Who did this?

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Who is responsible for the Master Plan amendment our Planning Board won’t see until June 6, but is under pressure to adopt on June 18, setting Borough housing policy for the next ten years?

Why did our Borough Council let someone concoct such a plan 100% behind closed doors, without any public input?

Why does that plan include developing a vacant, green, woodsy, Borough-owned lot right next to Memorial Park?

58 N. Passaic Avenue

Was it ok for our Borough Council to skip presenting that plan in public, skip voting on it, skip running it by the Shade Tree Commission or Environmental Commission, and instead simply pay a hired planner to present a summary to our Planning Board?

Did the Council have an obligation to explain, release, or disclose the actual plan BEFORE turning it over to the Planning Board?

Did having the planner tell the Planning Board about the plan really muzzle the Borough Council as claimed?

Is the Planning Board required to approve the plan, which it won’t even see until at least June 6?

If the Planning Board is required to rubber stamp the never-before-seen plan, which the Council has never voted on or even discussed in public, then who is responsible for the policy decisions that will guide local decision making for the next ten years?

Why does the Council President say answering questions like that would expose her to “legal risk”?

Ask her: Jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

Ok with you if the Planning Board votes to develop that green, vacant, Borough-owned lot right next to the park without having justified or explained that choice?

Share your views:

mayorcouncil@chathamborough.org

shadetree@chathamborough.org

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/government/articles/chatham-residents-question-green-space-borough-land-being-used-on-north-passaic-for-affordable-housing-without-public-input

The secret plan

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Have you heard about the Borough’s proposed affordable housing plan for 2025-2035? The Planning Board heard about it last night.

They’re going to vote on it on June 18, and after that it will be the heart of our Master Plan for the next ten years.

Of course, Borough residents and other taxpayers will have to pay for it in taxes, traffic, and quality of life, but you aren’t allowed to actually SEE the plan until June 6, nearly a month away.

And after that, you won’t have a chance to ask questions or comment until the June 18 meeting where the Planning Board votes to adopt the new plan.

Your only real chance to ask questions or comment before then is at the Council meeting this Monday May 12th, 7:30 pm, Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue.

eCourts Civil Case JacketDownload

You’ve been warned

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You first heard about the Ivy on River Road and the new building on Main Street too late to make your opinion count?

Love it or hate it, the time to weigh in is BEFORE they break ground.

Consider the NEXT two big decisions facing Chatham Borough:

First, how will the Borough satisfy its affordable housing quota (RDP) for the next ten years?

That’s something the Planning Board must decide before the end of June. So far they haven’t let us in on their thinking.

What are the options? What do they have in mind? How many new apartments can we expect? Where might they be built? What will they cost us in higher taxes, more traffic & environmental issues, and lower quality of life?

https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-23-1745879400

Second, what about the Council’s upcoming Redevelopment Plan for River Road, a 500-unit project, TWICE the size of the Ivy, and almost certainly property tax-free?

https://chathamchoice.org/2025/02/things-fall-apart/

Why would the Mayor & Council pursue such a thing, knowing the project is NOT needed to satisfy the Borough’s RDP affordable housing quota and would NOT count toward the quota?

Of course the project would enrich the lucky redevelopers, but would it benefit Borough residents in any way? If so, how exactly?

If you care about the future of your hometown, you will start asking those questions before it’s too late, or at least observe a meeting to show you care.

Go to the Council meeting at 7:30 pm this Monday, April 28 at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue, upper level. You need not speak or even stay to the end.

https://d3n9y02raazwpg.cloudfront.net/chathamborough/ebc52815-bc91-11ef-ab4b-005056a89546-87c420e4-d6a2-4396-b701-70ff66871099-1745605307.pdf

Can’t be there in person even for 15 minutes? It’s easy to Zoom in and watch: https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-23-1745879400

Email the Mayor & Council:

Cdempsey@chathamborough.org

Jmathiasen@chathamborough.org

Kkoronkiewicz@chathamborough.org

Itreloar@chathamborough.org

Jstrickland@chathamborough.org

Bhargrove@chathamborough.org

Khay@chathamborough.org

Get the facts, so you can decide for yourself.

Mum’s the word

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On Monday night, the Chatham Borough Council unanimously deemed “excessive” and “unrealistic” the 181-unit affordable housing obligation the State has assigned to the Borough, but then the Council unanimously resolved to accept that number anyway. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=332 Minute 1:33:44

The explanation residents managed to extract from the Mayor & Council was inadequate at best. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php? view_id=1&clip_id=332 minute 1:50: 45 and fell far short of the one volunteered by the Chatham Township Committee the following night. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mPvZ8ODrCfQ minutes 1:33 and 30:09

The Borough’s flimsy explanation also came far too late, considering that they had known about this issue since last spring, https://chathamchoice.org/2024/06/deadlines/and had had the State’s “excessive” and “unrealistic” number since last October. https://chathamchoice.org/2024/10/this-just-in/

It didn’t have to be that way. A better explanation was available in the attached documents.

CB DJ Complaint 4th RoundDownload

Also on Monday night, the Mayor was vague about the funds available to fulfill the Borough’s obligation to build a 15-unit, 100% affordable apartment house at Post Office Plaza, when in reality the numbers were readily available, showing that Borough taxpayers must pay more than $1 million to build the project.

CivilCaseJacket 5Download

Why are our Mayor & Council so reluctant to be candid with the public about such simple matters of fact?

Thank you!

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Looks like Chatham Borough will meet its January 31 deadline for raising $6 million to build a 15-unit, all-affordable apartment house at Post Office Plaza. https://www.chathamborough.org/government/news/691-5-million-state-award-to-complete-funding-for-post-office-plaza-affordable-housing-project

A perfect outcome? No.

We’d be better off meeting our housing quota by converting existing, market rate apartments to affordable units that would blend into the community. But the 15-unit affordable project was the best option on the table in 2022. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/guest-column/articles/it-s-time-for-smart-downtown-development-to-move-forward-in-chatham-borough-developers-post-office-plaza-design-update?fbclid=IwAR2gYb0jslMJl2qDmmrk7nYYONwmFOI2oxjxdwJfSUPyv9Mr2Z5hKu0UgLo

What’s more, it is a far better choice than the option advocated by Council members Jocelyn Mathiasen, Karen Koronkiewicz, and now Mayor Carolyn Dempsey: a huge, 100+ unit, 85% luxury, tax-exempt Kushner project that would have clogged up Main Street and eliminated all of the public parking at Post Office Plaza. https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=80 (Go to 3:32:39)

That’s exactly what we’d be stuck with today if not for the courage of then Chatham Borough Mayor Thad Kobylarz, former Council members Len Resto, Frank Truilo, and still Council member Irene Treloar, who achieved a political and legal miracle with the help of lawyer Jonathan Drill, Esq. https://chathamchoice.org/2022/05/close-call/ https://chathamchoice.org/2022/11/

When you happen to see Kobylarz, Resto, Truilo, or Treloar around town, there’s no need to say anything except “Thank you.”

Pitiful

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Our Mayor & Borough Council are plunging ahead with a Redevelopment Plan for another massive, 500-unit River Road apartment project that:

  • is NOT REQUIRED by affordable housing law; and
  • will NOT COUNT toward meeting the Borough’s RDP affordable housing quota!

Why would they do THAT? They offer two justifications, both flimsy.

  • First, they’ll tell you a Redevelopment Plan is the only way to “control” what gets built on RIver Road: Absent a Plan, they claim, the property owners can do whatever they want. That’s nonsense.

All Chatham property is subject to countless federal, state, and local laws and regulations. A Plan would actually make matters worse by providing for at least 500 rental apartments to satisfy setaside rquirements.

  • Second, they’ll tell you that with a Redevelopment Plan they can make the developer throw in some public goodies – such as a free riverside park. More nonsense.

Nothing is free. Whether or not the Mayor & Council manage to negotiate for any decent public benefits whatsoever, the rest of us will pay dearly in the form of a stealth tax increase triggered by the corporate welfare PILOT tax exemption the developer will demand and get, just as happened at the Ivy project.

The good news is that there’s still time to change all that.

Tell the Mayor & Council to put this project on ice until they’ve done their homework and considered their options.

Or better yet, shelve this massive Redevelopment project. Concentrate on urgent matters, like finding a way to meet the Borough’s affordable housing obligations without overwhelming our roads and schools, depleting our water supply, polluting our environment, or cheating taxpayers.

Context: https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/letters-to-the-editor/articles/blind-faith

Stealth tax: https://chathamchoice.org/2024/10/a-slick-infomercial-for-corporate-welfare/

What about our water supply? https://chathamchoice.org/2024/11/water-water-everywhere/

This just in

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So what is Chatham’s affordable housing quota for 2025-2035?

See p. 33 of the October 18 report: https://nj.gov/dca/dlps/pdf/FourthRoundCalculation_Methodology.pdf

Word is that our planners will adjust the numbers shown in that report to allow for the scarcity of vacant land in Chatham Borough, and then try to persuade the State to accept its adjusted numbers as the quotas.

That analysis will probably be similar to that used in 2022, as shown on page 5 of the current Housing Elements, linked here:

https://www.chathamborough.org/government/documents/meeting-documents/planning-board-meetings/2022-planning-board-meeting-documents/2022-planning-board-agendas/2108-2022-05-16-hefsp-amendment-final4/file

The State says the Borough Council has until the end of this January 2025 to negotiate the final quota, and to adopt a binding resolution accepting it. https://www.njlm.org/civicalerts.aspx?aid=2924

For a list of deadlines facing the Borough Council, click here: https://chathamchoice.org/2024/06/deadlines/

The big lie: Myths about future development at River Road

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You’ve heard what the politicians always like to say:

To get any control over what gets built at River Road, we need a redevelopment plan, they insist.

Unless we have a redevelopment plan, the developers can build whatever they want, they wail, evoking the specter of towering , tacky, monstrosities.

But is that true? No.

Absent a redevelopment plan, any new, private development is subject to many federal, state, and local requirements, including plenty of Borough building, affordable housing, and zoning regulations that apply all over town, and some that apply to the Gateway Overlay Districts of River Road in particular.

For a new, private project at River Road, those requirements include the following detailed rules that set strict standards for almost every aspect of a development:

Affordable Housing §69-4A: https://ecode360.com/27401603#31809708

Land Development §165: https://ecode360.com/29899377#29899377

Gateway Overlay District 1 §165-35: https://ecode360.com/6793137?highlight=sidewall&searchId=5252782375618825#29899351

Prohibited: §165-5: https://ecode360.com/6792677#6792677

Health §274-§308: https://ecode360.com/11763943#11763943

Fire Code §136 https://ecode360.com/6792430#6792430

Keep that in mind next time someone tries to tell you that – unless we adopt a redevelopment plan – the developer “can build whatever he wants” or that adopting another plan is “the only way to control what happens at River Road.”