After 14 months and 19 contentious hearings, Saddle River ends testimony on housing plan
SADDLE RIVER — After 14 months and 19 hearings, the borough concluded testimony Tuesday in its bid for acceptance of its affordable housing plan in Superior Court.
Ten attorneys representing various interests have until Feb. 18 to file post-hearing summaries and final arguments on the acceptability of the proposed plan.
Judge Gregg Padovano in Hackensack extended the borough's immunity from affordable housing lawsuits until March 31, but did not commit to a date by which he would render a decision.
Testimony by Special Master Francis Banisch dominated the three-hour hearing Tuesday. He explained the evolution of the proposed sites, concluding in November with a rare plan amendment eliminating the 16-unit Woodcliff Lake Road site and transferring those units to other sites next to Route 17 north.
The unusually long hearing process was in contrast to the affordable housing hearing for neighboring Upper Saddle River, which lasted 40 minutes.
The primary focus of the meeting was to determine whether there were objections to the November amendment to the borough's affordable housing plan, which took four years to negotiate. However, residents repeatedly sought time to raise objections to the so-called O'Donnell 10-acre property now in hearings before the Planning Board for a 60-unit townhouse development, including eight affordable units. The property formerly hosted comedian Rosie O'Donnell's mansion.
Attorneys repeatedly objected to resident testimony, contending that it would "muddy the waters" to allow residents to speak about issues not before the court.
However, Padovano allowed residents to express their concerns for 90 minutes.
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Chief among the objectors was Lynn Hobson, who described herself as the founder of the Louis Hobson Foundation for Racial Injustice. The foundation is not listed with the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, but Hobson said its 501(c)3 status is pending. Hobson's website describes her as an Edgewater-based publicist serving "up & coming Hip-Hop artists, models, and reality show stars."
Hobson objected for 30 minutes to the grouping of affordable housing in the southeast corner of the O'Donnell property, contending that the eight units should be dispersed among the 52 market-rate townhouses rather than clustered in the southeast corner of the property nearest the Packer Brook buffer.
"The affordable housing units should not be segregated," Hobson said. "The Fair Share Housing Council dropped the ball. The change is terrifying."
Other residents raised objections to the site's runoff, density and traffic. But Padovano repeatedly advised that "we can't get involved in the proceedings of the Planning Board."
Banisch concluded that "the court should endorse the substitution of the site" and approve the plan as amended.
Saddle River is one of the nation's wealthiest ZIP codes. The affordable housing plan calls for 247 units, with 147 of them affordable, on several sites:
111 affordable rental units on three Choctaw Trail sites totaling 7.18 acres just east of Route 17 north.
60 units, eight affordable, on 10.25 acres, including the so-called Rosie O'Donnell estate and two adjacent properties, east of Wandell School on East Allendale Road.
60 units, 12 affordable, on 7.18 acres of Algonquin Trail off East Allendale Road.
16 units of special needs rental housing at 20 E. Allendale Road
Marsha Stoltz is a local reporter for NorthJersey.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: stoltz@northjersey.com
Twitter: @marsha_stoltz
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Saddle River NJ: Affordable housing plan for 247 homes
