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MAHWAH — In back-to-back meetings, township agencies approved the Fourth-Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan with a stunning reduction from 629 affordable housing units, down to three required to be built over the next 10 years.
Municipal Planner Darlene Green first presented the 108-page proposal to the township's Planning Board on June 23 for adoption as an amendment to its master plan. She then repeated the presentation with the Township Council, which was also required to endorse the plan because it contemplates expenditures that are under council control.
The township is among municipalities statewide that are required to submit fourth-round affordable housing plans by June 30 or lose their immunity from so-called "builder's remedy" lawsuits. Under those suits, a municipality's master plan is set aside and it loses all control over development within its borders, market rate as well as affordable, "something we do not want to happen," Green advised both groups.
Under revisions to the state's affordable housing program, all municipalities were given new affordable housing quotas last year. Paramus topped Bergen County with 1,000 new units. Mahwah, the largest municipality in Bergen County, at 26.2 square miles, was second with 629 units.
Green said the preliminary calculation had "numerous flaws in the land capacity factor," including front and side yards of already-developed properties, and properties that were half in New York State.
Reviewing each proposed site, Green said, the municipality countered with 444 units. After mediation, the number was set at 495 units, a 21% reduction in requirements Green called "enormous," as most municipalities have won reductions of 5% or less.
Under new fourth-round regulations, the township had to submit a "buildout analysis" as a fully conforming preservation and planning participant with the Highlands Preservation area.
"Based on our analysis, our fourth-round obligation was reduced from 495 to three," Green said. "The remaining 492 units we have to address, but do not have to satisfy" with additional construction.
The plan relies on a complex system of credits from previously proposed development, including:
Township Council President Robert Ferguson called the three-unit proposal a "slam dunk."
"We've done affordable housing the right way in this town, and this plan shows we're doing it the right way," Ferguson said. “Unlike many towns that have ignored mandates or sued the state to delay their obligations, Mahwah has met the challenge head-on — providing affordable housing opportunities while preserving the small-town character that makes our community unique.”
Ferguson credited "the collaborative work by the Township Council, Councilman David May, chair of the Affordable Housing Subcommittee, Mayor James Wysocki, our administration, and Mahwah’s team of outside professionals with playing key roles in achieving this result.”
The approved plan will now move forward for submission to the relevant state agencies and the courts for final review and certification.
The 108-page Fourth-Round 2025 Housing Element and Fair Share Plan can be viewed through the Planning, Zoning and Property Maintenance page of the township's website, mahwahtwp.org, under "Master Plans." Links to videos of the June 23 presentations before the Planning Board and Township Council can be found on the website under Live Meetings Video.