East Brunswick Adopts Affordable Housing Plan Under State Deadline, Neighbors Raise Concerns

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ — Neighbors raising contamination and traffic concerns, a state court mandate, and the looming threat of a "builder's remedy" lawsuit all converged Monday night as the Township Council voted to rezone three sites for affordable housing as part of a state-required compliance package.

The council approved six ordinances and three resolutions at its March 9 meeting, meeting a March 15 state deadline under New Jersey's amended Fair Housing Act.

The package implementing East Brunswick's Fourth Round affordable housing plan — covering the period from 2025 to 2035 — was the result of roughly 18 months of work and court-supervised negotiations.

"We are almost at the end of this part of the process, which means the township is very close to having a fully compliant plan," said Kate Keller, a professional planner with Phillips Preiss Grygiel Leheny Keller LLC, who presented the ordinances to the council. "That means we are in compliance with the forefront of affordable housing and immune from any sort of exclusionary zoning litigation for the next 10 years."

The ordinances rezone three sites. The Main Street Mixed Use Planned Development District — near the southern border of the township west of Route 18 — would allow up to 313 units, with 20 percent required to be deed-restricted affordable units. The site replaces an existing senior citizen mixed-use zone, and a developer who has already built housing there is proposing more.

A 100 percent affordable development of up to 30 townhouse or stacked townhouse units is proposed for a township-owned property near the corner of Sixth Street and Icarave Avenue off Route 18 — a former bus terminal site the township has owned for more than 20 years. A third site at 660 Cranbury Road would allow up to 42 units under an inclusionary zoning framework, with at least 20 percent affordable.

The Sixth Street proposal drew the most public opposition. Several residents who live across from the site raised concerns about ground contamination from the property's industrial history, inadequate road infrastructure and the lack of sidewalks in the neighborhood.

"When that closed, that place was so contaminated," said Ronaldo, a lifelong resident who said he has lived across from the property since 1956. He described a trench running through the back of the former bus terminal building that was used to dump antifreeze and oil, and said underground fuel tanks were never removed. "The property was never cleaned. I've lived there my whole life."

Another resident echoed the concern. "We went to a meeting, and they told us it was a Superfund site," she said. "Besides that, the wetlands in the back and 60 cars — we are a very small neighborhood."

A neighbor who said her family is now in its third generation in the neighborhood said she would not allow her own family to live on the site as it stands.

"That site is not safe to build on," she said. She also cited the absence of sidewalks, traffic already increased by a nearby Chick-fil-A entrance, and the displacement of wildlife in the wetlands behind the property.

Keller and council members were careful to draw a distinction between rezoning and development approval.

"These ordinances are not allowing a developer to develop the property," said Council President Dana Zimbicki. "They're changing the zoning to allow it to be zoned that way. We are not in any way obligated to build these properties."

Keller said site contamination could ultimately prevent the Sixth Street project from moving forward if it cannot meet New Jersey's environmental standards.

"If that can't be done, then it can't be done," Keller said. "And then we will have to go back and think about it more and find a new site."

Any development that does proceed would require a full site plan review by the township planning board, stormwater compliance under state Department of Environmental Protection requirements, and any necessary remediation, she added.

Township Administrator Joseph Criscuolo said the council had already challenged its fourth round obligation before the Mount Laurel judge for Middlesex County and succeeded in reducing the number of required units. The Builders Association then filed suit objecting to the reduced figure, leading to mediation.

"When you go to mediation, it's kind of like getting divorced — nobody's happy," Criscuolo said.

He said complying with the court order, while imperfect, protects the township from what is known as a builder's remedy — a court-imposed development that could require far more units without municipal input.

The council voted 4-0 to approve the affordable housing ordinances after closing public comment.

The package also included an updated Affordable Housing Ordinance, a revised development fee ordinance, an affirmative marketing plan, and a 10-year spending plan for the township's affordable housing trust fund, which currently holds approximately $3 million.

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