Planning Board and Council Meeting on Affordable Housing

The West Windsor Planning Board and Council will be meeting on Wednesday, June 25th at 6:30 pm. The topic of the meetings will be a public hearing to adopt the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan needed to meet the town's fourth round affordable housing obligation.

The meetings will be held at the West Windsor Municipal Building, located at 271 Clarksville Road.

After a challenge to the town's fourth round affordable housing obligation by Fair Share Housing Center (FSH), a public-interest organization, West Windsor reached a settlement with the NJ Department of Community Affairs (DCA), and agreed to zone for the construction of 480 affordable housing (AH) units for the 4th round (2025-2035). The figure that DCA originally proposed was 661, and West Windsor's first proposal was 392 units.

The agreement included the Township's ability to modify the number of AH units after the completion of a township vacant land adjustment (VLA) as per the Fair Share Housing Act. This is part of the New Jersey Administrative Code under the jurisdiction of the DCA and specifically tied to regulations for municipal fair share obligations. This provision allows municipalities to seek a Vacant Land Adjustment if they can demonstrate that there is insufficient developable land to meet their imposed affordable housing obligation.

The township now plans to propose building 236 affordable units as a result of the VLA.

The full history of these decisions can be found in the documents posted on the township website, in the "documents" link for the Planning Board Meeting on 6/18.

It is interesting to note that the original calculation by the DCA of 661 units was a result of erroneously including land that was not available for development, including the 650 acres of land zoned for the construction of seven warehouses along Clarksville Road (Bridge Point West Windsor, LLC).

The revised figure of 236, less than half of the previously agreed figure, will likely result in additional challenges by FSH, and the Township will need to use taxpayer dollars to defend their plan, and reach a new settlement.

This topic should be of great interest to Township residents. Please plan to join us and participate in public comment.