Mahwah sued again over nearby 40-unit affordable housing project

Marsha A. Stoltz, NorthJersey.com
·2 min read

MAHWAH — The 459-home Rio Vista Mahwah Homeowners Association has filed a second lawsuit against the township, saying its Planning Board made procedural errors while considering the status of an adjacent affordable housing project.

Attorney John Lamb filed the complaint May 18 objecting to procedures at the Planning Board's meetings on April 25 and May 9 to reevaluate the suitability of zoning for the Fyke Brook Estate 40-unit affordable housing project.

The suit says counsel was not allowed to present the group's objections at the April 25 Planning Board work session, after which the board voted that the Fyke zoning change ordinance was consistent with the township's master plan, before public comments could be heard.

Mahwah residents of the Rio Vista Homeowners Association (yellow) have filed a third lawsuit against the township seeking amendments to the Fyke affordable housing plan (grey).
Mahwah residents of the Rio Vista Homeowners Association (yellow) have filed a third lawsuit against the township seeking amendments to the Fyke affordable housing plan (grey).

The suit also says the Planning Board approved the report for its April 25 vote at its May 9 meeting without allowing time before the vote for public comment.

Mahwah Township Administrator Ben Kezmarsky said Tuesday that the "Planning Board, at the Town Council’s request, will re-review the ordinance for consistency with the master plan at their June 13 meeting."

'Save Our Caboose': Mahwah caboose is one of only two left of its kind. An effort is underway to repair it

For subscribers: Mahwah must redo its affordable housing ordinance. Here's what that means

The April and May hearings were held as a result of a suit filed by Rio Vista last September accusing the Planning Board of a failure to notify residents within 200 feet of the proposed Fyke project about a zoning change hearing in July 2019.

The September suit further claimed that the Township Council approved the zoning change Aug. 8, 2019, four days before the Planning Board approved its resolution for the zoning change on which the Township Council was supposed to rely.

The township must build 911 new residences, 165 affordable, on five sites as part of a May 2018 settlement agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center. The Fyke project calls for 40 units, eight affordable, in eight buildings on 3 acres of the 5.3-acre site, which is completely surrounded by the Rio Vista development.

For subscribers: Why it is so hard to find affordable housing in New Jersey

Rio Vista has raised a number of objections to the plan, most notably inadequate buffers, delineation of and setbacks for streams and ponds, density, distance between buildings and absence of recreational space.

Township Attorney Fred Semrau, Planning Board attorney Peter Scandariato, Fyke attorney Bruce Whitaker and representatives of the Fair Share Housing Center did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

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: Mahwah sued again over Fyke Brook Estate affordable housing project