Tag Archives: Mayor Dempsey

Things fall apart

Redevelopment, River Road, Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

Last November 11, our Borough Council commissioned a draft Redevelopment Plan for a massive, 500-unit apartment project on River Road, next to the huge, 245-unit Ivy complex.

https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/2972429/RESOLUTION__24-333_AUTHORIZING_DMR_TO_PREPARE__A_DRAFT_REDEVELOPMENT_PLAN.pdf

Since then, it’s come to light that the new project would be risky for Chatham Borough in at least six ways, as follows:

First, this new River Road project is NOT required by affordable housing law, and it would NOT help fulfill the Borough’s new affordable housing RDP quota either.

The new apartments would be in addition to the Borough’s affordable housing quota, which the Council must figure out how to satisfy before the end of June 2025.

Go to minute 1:31:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=197

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

Second, the alleged risk associated with NOT adopting that 500-apartment Redevelopment Plan for River Road is totally imaginary.

Our Council President insists that, absent the new Plan, current zoning allows private property owners to develop up to 707 new apartments on River Road and the Borough would have NO say in the matter. That sounds scary, but it is NOT true.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/chatham/borough-supporting-another-massive-development-river-road-nodx?fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAAR3WyQLIJjRrA656yOFZhCsqROaE5baV9gYZ9WzT4wwfflvk8LfY5WYe4j0_aem_POd3z1AP3xU68-EadQWMWw

In fact, about 40% of the Redevelopment Area is Borough-owned. Private property owners can’t touch it without the Council’s consent.

DRAFT Gateway Analysis – Copy – Copy – Copy 1 – Copy – Copy – Copy 2Download

Also, the part of the Redevelopment area that’s privately-owned is mostly dozens of small lots, all subject to many federal, state, and local rules and regulations.

P. 14  https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1399493/2022-05-27-HEFSP_amendment.finaladopted.pdf

As such, the owners of that private property would NOT be able to build anywhere near 707 new apartments without Borough approval.

Third, if the Borough Council tries to prevent such private development by adopting a Redevelopment Plan, then we’ll actually end up with far more apartments on River Road. That’s because a rental Plan would have to provide for at least 500 new apartments – more than twice the number at the Ivy.

The new Plan would have to be that big is to satisfy the legal requirement to provide for at least 75 affordable units, which must be at least 15% of the project.

P. 13 https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/1399493/2022-05-27-HEFSP_amendment.finaladopted.pdf

That’s also the usual ceiling for developers of rental projects. So to induce a redeveloper to provide the minimum 75 affordable rental units, the Council would have to permit construction of a 500-unit project, twice the 245-units now at the Ivy.

Fourth, our Mayor & Council are well aware that the Redevelopment Plan would allow construction of 500 apartments. They heard it directly from Borough Planner Fran Reiner last March. Go to minute 1:06:00 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=197

Some believe the Mayor & Council could persuade a developer to provide MORE than 15% affordable rental units. But how?

Would they give away Borough land? Allow the redeveloper to build extra stories? Grant the redeveloper an even more lavish PILOT tax exemption? All three? How would that impact the Borough?

Fifth, some Council members don’t seem to realize that such a Plan would also almost inevitably involve granting the redeveloper corporate welfare, at the very least a total PILOT exemption from paying property taxes, same as the Ivy.

Sixth, the Mayor & Council President claim that adopting a Plan would enable them to get the redeveloper to throw in a “free” riverside park and other so-called “amenities.” But the fact is that nothing is free.

To get those goodies, the Borough Council would have to accept an even worse a deal for residents and taxpayers. They’d probably need to give away even more Borough land, allow the redeveloper to build even more extra stories, and grant the redeveloper an even more lavish PILOT tax exemption.

 https://chathamchoice.org/2024/08/welcome-back/

Before spending any more time or money on another Redevelopment Plan for River Road, our Mayor & Council need to tell us how they would avoid getting stuck with a huge, 500-unit rental project that would clog up our roads, and would almost certainly demand an exemption from property taxes, forcing the rest of us to make up the difference.

https://chathamchoice.org/2024/12

Better yet, tell the Mayor & Council to set aside this ill-conceived scheme and concentrate on urgent business, including meeting our affordable housing quota without overburdening our wallets and infrastructure, improving the master plan, and figuring out if there’s a way to turn the Stanley Church into an asset instead of a money pit.

What gives?

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At Monday’s meeting, the Mayor & Council intend to accept the huge affordable housing Prospective Need quota imposed by the state last October 18. https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3106163/RESOLUTION__25-87_COMMITTING_TO_COMPLY_WITH_AFFORDABLE_HOUSING_OBLIGATIONS.pdf

https://www.njcourts.gov/sites/default/files/administrative-directives/2024/12/dir_14_24.pdf

To fill that quota with inclusionary rental housing, Chatham Borough would be forced to make space for more than 1,200 additional families, putting at least 2,000 additional cars on our busy streets.

Why haven’t the Mayor & Council demanded an adjustment for the lack of vacant land in the Borough?

If they go ahead and accept the number, will they have another opportunity to demand an adjustment?

When will they make that demand? What are the chances they’’ll get it?

At the same meeting, the Mayor & Council are also poised to adopt a resolution to amend the state’s affordable housing law to do away with “unrealistic burdens” on municipalities. https://legistarweb-production.s3.amazonaws.com/uploads/attachment/pdf/3106150/RESOLUTION__25-85_RESOLUTION_SUPPORTING_NJILGA_LEGISLATION.pdf

Here’s the proposed amendment: https://www.newjerseyhills.com/west_morris_reporter/news/bucco-calls-for-responsible-growth-in-regard-to-affordable-housing/article_55dad006-d8f7-11ef-b37f-3fee22524221.html

But the Mayor & Council have yet to announce any efforts toward advancing that amendment or reducing the unrealistic burdens on Chatham Borough. https://www.njcourts.gov/courts/civil/affordable-housing?fbclid=IwY2xjawIA3-pleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHQVmSy-JmZvt7OZupIHS4SES1HwsPN3zxvm1FyKEeeRSuHAlm8D8HCvO_w_aem_ndPSSH2i6leLkR2aqu3RHw

When are we going to get some answers?

Pitiful

Redevelopment, River Road, , , , , , , , ,

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/

A slick infomercial for corporate welfare

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Back on September 23, Council President Mathiasen promised to level with residents about the crucial differences between PILOT payments of the kind the Borough gets from the Ivy, and the normal property taxes the rest of us have to pay.

Instead, she used our tax money to hire a slick financial consultant to do an hourlong infomercial for corporate welfare.

That’s the only way to describe her consultant’s presentation at the October 15 Council meeting. He made his best case for continuing to waive property taxes on big, new apartment buildings for decades, so that the Council can get its hands on a cut of the revenues, which they call PILOT payments.

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=298

Those PILOT payments are actually our money. And it’s a lot of money. With the Ivy, for instance, the consultant says the PILOT payments will average $1.7 million per year for three decades. That’s ten percent of the Borough’s current budget, and 13% of the municipal tax levy. 

Does that PILOT revenue reduce the property tax burden on the rest of us, as a new taxable development would? No. The Council can spend it all and go right on raising taxes every year as usual.

In effect, PILOTs take money out of the pockets of the rest of us, by depriving us of the automatic tax break we’d get if the Ivy paid property taxes.

PILOTs also deprive us residents of the right to vote on how to use those extra public funds. 

Ms Mathiasen’s consultant actually touted PILOTs as a way to use public funds for projects that are politically unpopular. Check it out here:

03:00:17 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=298

Huh? Why does the consultant think spending taxpayer funds to thwart the wishes of voters is a good thing? 

Now the Mayor & Council are ready to plunge ahead with a second, luxury redevelopment project on River Road –  one that’s twice the size of the Ivy, with 500 apartments, and will require taxpayers to subsidize it with yet another PILOT tax break.

Demand that before taking another step, the Council first:

  1. Identify the alternatives.
  2. Do its due diligence.
  3. Present a timely, thorough matrix, comparing the costs, benefits, and other implications of that 500-unit PILOT project with other alternatives, including the normal, wait-and-see approach.
  4. Hold a timely, robust public discussion.

“By using PILOT agreements, local governments can essentially raise revenue and finance public services in ways that sidestep the constraints of tax caps or spending limitations.”

– Chat GPT

While the cat’s away….

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While you were relaxing on LBI, our walkable little Borough was changing into to a less attractive place, with motor bikes on crowded sidewalks and higher property taxes for all.

“Higher taxes?” you may wonder. “How could the Council raise our taxes in the middle of the summer? Did they do that to pay for the new fire trucks we so desperately need?”

Nope. The. Council used a taxpayer asset to make an outright gift, depriving Borough taxpayers of an automatic tax break, and the chance to choose to use those funds for some urgent municipal need, like new fire trucks.

It was not consensual. How did that happen? Here’s how:

Given certain caps on local taxes and spending, the Borough Council’s annual budget is only about $17 million. All other things being equal, a new, taxable development automatically triggers a little more revenue to the Borough, along with lower property taxes for all of us, unless residents vote to spend more instead.

But the Council can take away our right to that tax break, and free up far more spending money for itself, far above the normal limits, simply by designating the new development exempt from property taxes, and allowing the developer to pay smaller, negotiated amounts known as PILOTs.

PILOT payments aren’t subject to the normal spending limits, and the Borough Council isn’t required to share the PILOT money with residents in the form of lower taxes. The Council doesn’t even need to ask voters before spending the PILOT money.

WIth a PILOT, the Council can simply plunge ahead and spend 95% of the revenue however the Council members please. They can spend it on urgent necessities like fire trucks. They can spend it on luxurious pet projects like the Stanley church. They can even spend all the PILOT money on outright gifts, and still go right on increasing the Borough budget and raising our taxes every year.

That’s exactly what the Council did at its August 12 meeting. The Council voted to give part of the Ivy PILOT payments to the Joint School District of the Chathams, a separate entity with its own $90 million budget and its own sources of funds, to cover expenses that would otherwise be shared with Chatham Township. That’s a gift.

That gift would be acceptable if the Borough Council had made it with the informed consent of Borough residents, for instance if residents had voted for it. But in this case, the Council approved the gift on the spot, the same night the public learned about it.

Why would the Council make such a gift when the Borough is in desperate need of at least two fire trucks, according to the experts the Council paid $18 thousand to evaluate the situation? Ask the Council members.

Won’t that gift help curb our school taxes? Not one bit. The School District is still legally entitled to the same annual increase in its share of our property taxes, which taxpayers had already voted to increase permanently in 2023. https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/vote-no-on-public-question-1-which-will-permanently-raise-property-taxes-for-an-expenditure-already-in-the-school-district-budget

In fact, the effect of that gift is to raise the school tax burden on the Borough, because it’s on top of the Borough’s fair share of the cost of running the schools as determined by a longstanding formula.

https://chathamchoice.org/2023/06/why-should-chatham-borough-pay-more-than-its-fair-share/

Isn’t the Township also kicking in more money to the School District? No.

Most of the members of the Township Committee are too smart to throw away assets as the Borough Council has, done, if only for fear of getting voted out of office. Instead of giving more than its fair share to the School District, the Township Committee is buying TWO new fire trucks right away, to save money.

https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/sections/government/articles/chatham-township-committee-votes-to-bond-4-8-million-to-buy-fire-trucks-police-cars-study-for-expanded-police-headquarters

Why didn’t the Council ask us first? Good questions for the Borough Council.

https://chathamchoice.org/2023/06/why-should-chatham-borough-pay-more-than-its-fair-share/

Will Borough voters ever wise up and rein in Council abuse of our PILOT funds? You tell me.

See for yourself at 2:55 here: https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=263

No explanation at all

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At their August 12 meeting, the Mayor & Council invited a Borough tax lawyer to address a mystery:

Why had the lawyer called off a property tax proposal, claiming in writing that “the Borough Council has decided not to proceed with the request this year,” when, in fact, the Council would not even vote on the matter for another week?

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=256 starting around 2:06:00, and reported at https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/categories/news/articles/chatham-residents-question-whether-borough-council-vote-on-rolling-reassessment-was-a-sham-vote-after-letter-revealed

The lawyer must have had some reason for saying that. Instead of revealing the reason, he seemed determined to fall on his sword, claiming full responsibility for the debacle. “It is my fault,” he insisted. “I just should have said that the Governing Body has not yet given me that authorization.”

So, why didn’t the tax lawyer say that? Why did he tell the Tax Board otherwise? The Mayor & Council never asked that key question, and the lawyer never volunteered an explanation.

https://chathamborough.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=1&clip_id=256 reported at https://www.tapinto.net/towns/chatham/articles/chatham-borough-tax-lawyer-offers-mea-culpa-for-canceling-hearing-that-preceded-sham-vote-on-rolling-reassessment-plan;

When will the Mayor & Borough Council get to the bottom of this situation and reveal what prompted the lawyer to notify the Tax Board that the Council had decided something, when in fact it had not?

When will the Mayor & Council tell us what they’re doing to make sure nothing of the sort ever happens again?

Check out this transcript of the CBC meeting on 8 12 24Download
Tax Board agendaDownload

How did this happen? Find out on August 12th!

Uncategorized, , , , , , ,

“It was not a sham vote,” insisted Chatham Mayor Carolyn Dempsey at the July 8th Council meeting.

That was the Mayor’s reaction to proof that the Council had voted on a property tax proposal one week after a Borough lawyer notified the Tax Board that the Council had decided not to pursue that proposal. https://chathamchoice.org/2024/07/who-did-this/

Curious how that happened? Want to support your Mayor & Council? Just like to be in-the-know?

Come to the next Council meeting, which is set for Monday August 12, 7:30 pm, at Borough Hall, 54 Fairmount Avenue. Use the side door and take the elevator to the upper level.

Can’t be there that night? Attend on Zoom. https://www.chathamborough.org/resident/calendar/mayor-council-meeting-13-1723505400

Happy New Year?

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This Monday night, January 8, the Borough will swear in our new Mayor, civic-minded second term Council member Carolyn Dempsey, and three new Council members, all hand-picked by the local Democrat party leaders with no opposition. 

What can we expect of them? Plenty of ceremonies, concerts, and celebrations to be sure. 

But behind the scenes, our new Mayor & Council will soon face serious challenges, and will need to make big decisions that will affect all of us for many years to come. Here are some important ones:

1. Post Office Plaza

This month marks the deadline for the Mayor & Council to either: 

  1. secure enough grant money to construct a 15-unit, 100% affordable apartment house at Post Office Plaza; or else 
  2. borrow whatever it takes to build that project – potentially $6 million or more – while continuing to seek grants, as agreed in 2022.

We should all thank former Mayor Thaddeus Kobylarz, then-Council members Len Resto and Frank Truilo, and Council member Irene Treloar for achieving that agreement. It’s a far better outcome than the 100+ rental unit, 85% luxury alternative the other Council members were pushing then, and a far, far better outcome than the 230-rental unit monstrosity the Harris administration was ready to go with in 2019. But now it’s time to get to work. 

By the end of March, the Borough must break ground on the 15-unit project, and it must have a Certificate of Occupancy by March 2025, after which the Borough will serve both as the provider of municipal services and as landlord for the next 30 years.

https://chathamchoice.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Amended-Final-Judgment-of-Compliance-and-Repose.pdf

2. Pilot Money

https://www.theivychatham.com/

The big, tax-exempt Ivy housing project on River Road should soon begin to help earn its keep by making payments-in-lieu-of-taxes, also known as PILOT payments. The Council will need every penny to pay for necessities, including new fire trucks, and luxuries like the Stanley Center.

At the same time, the Council will continue to face intense pressure to donate some funds to the joint public School District, based on the mistaken belief that PILOTs cheat the schools.

If the Council succumbs to that pressure, Borough taxpayers will bear more than our fair share of School District expenses, and the Council will need to borrow more money to fulfill its own responsibilities.

https://chathamchoice.org/2023/06/why-should-chatham-borough-pay-more-than-its-fair-share/ 

The Council would best serve its constituents by flatly denying those demands and reminding the School Board that the School District can and should make any appeal for more funding directly to the taxpayers, by putting on the ballot either a referendum or a second question as it did last November. 

For the Council to make a deal directly with the School District, no matter the dollar amount or purpose, would be to cut the taxpayer out of the process. That would be unnecessary, inappropriate, and irresponsible unless taxpayers unequivocally consent to delegate that decision to the Council. 

3.  More development at River Road

As the Third Round of Affordable Housing obligations winds down, and the July 2025 start date for the Fourth Round nears, the Borough can expect a spate of applications to build multi-family apartment projects, no doubt including one at the Bradley lots on Main Street, the subject of a 2020 lawsuit against the Borough.

The Borough cannot allow all of that construction without sacrificing the small town charm that makes Chatham attractive. And yet, to refuse any of those proposals will be to take a chance on another expensive and risky tussle in court.  

It seems the new administration is inclined to solve that problem by sacrificing the rest of River Road to a sea of 862 additional residences.

https://patch.com/new-jersey/chatham/election-2023-carolyn-dempsey-chatham-borough-council

https://chathamchoice.org/2022/10/whats-that-on-river-road/ (Please note that the Council may choose waive these limits, increasing the density.)

The rationale is that the Borough cannot prevent construction of more than 800 additional apartments there, so the Mayor & Council might as well try to negotiate for some control and a few public benefits by adopting another redevelopment plan.

That is a mirage. Sure, eager developers will promise to throw in a “free”  jogging path along the Passaic River and maybe some extra help meeting our affordable housing quota. But in exchange they will expect the Council to grant them permission to build even bigger housing projects, and to waive all property taxes, which will reduce our tax base.

All other things being equal, deals like that will mean higher property taxes for the rest of us. In effect, Borough taxpayers will bear the cost of that “free” jogging path and a little affordable housing, and will face increasing municipal expenses with potentially inadequate funds.*

Before embarking on another big project, our new Mayor & Council should do their due diligence. At the very least, they should unleash their best experts to help them explore the many other ways the Borough could meet its affordable housing quota, including subsidizing the conversion of existing apartments from market rate to affordable.

Yes, that would cost us, but so does the “free” help the big developers offer. And the time to explore it is now, before it’s too late to pursue it, as happened in the Third Round, when the Council deferred too much to hired experts and wound up with only a few poor options for the redevelopment of Post Office Plaza in 2022.

If the Mayor & Council do choose to pursue another redevelopment project, they must take care not to repeat the mistakes of the past, such as overestimating the PILOT revenues and letting BNE slide on the promised solar panels at the Ivy.

Perhaps most important are for the Mayor & Council to: 1) refrain from placing blind faith in experts; 2) maintain control on matters of policy, instead of ceding those decisions to experts; and 3) stand firm in negotiations, refusing to waive any rights or negotiated terms without strong justification and ample compensation.

4. Surviving Round Four

In the Fourth Round of Affordable Housing that begins in July 2025, the Borough will need to: 

  1. negotiate with Fair Share Housing Center as to an additional affordable housing quota for the period 2025-2035;
  2. persuade a Superior Court judge to approve a fair settlement; and 
  3. satisfy the judge that the Borough is living up to its promises so the judge will extend through 2035 the Borough’s immunity from builders’ remedy lawsuits and exclusionary zoning challenges.

Unless the Mayor & Council can satisfy the Superior Court on that score by September 29, 2026, the Borough will lose its immunity, leaving it vulnerable to more lawsuits and severe punishments, including the loss of what little control we still have over zoning and planning, as has happened in towns like Millburn and Englewood. 

That said, it’s absolutely critical for the Mayor & Council to stand firm, refusing to waive any rights or compromise its negotiating position in any way without strong justification. 

5. Revising the Master Plan

By 2026 Chatham must reexamine its Master Plan, the all-important document that will determine our local zoning and development policy through 2036. 

https://law.justia.com/codes/new-jersey/2022/title-40/section-40-55d-89/

That’s serious business. Even an innocent error in the Master Plan could spell disaster for Chatham.

So though it’s the Planning Board that will do the heavy lifting, the Mayor & Council should make it their business to understand the nuances and implications, be vigilant, and raise their concerns in time to make a difference in the outcome for Chatham. 

* What’s the difference between property taxes and PILOT payments?