One of NJ’s richest towns continues to defy court order to build affordable housing, developer says

Builders behind a 100% affordable housing development in one of New Jersey’s wealthiest neighborhoods said they’d hoped town officials were finally ready to work with them after a judge ordered the township committee to move the project forward.

They're not.

Millburn Township Mayor Annette Romano and other elected officials on the township committee have put up a fierce, yearslong fight against a plan to construct a 75-unit apartment building in the heart of Millburn’s downtown.

Now, the company under contract to build the development said the township committee has continued its fight, according to recent court filings. If the project eventually proceeds, it would be a rare development in a posh township that’s built almost no state-mandated affordable housing over the last 50 years. This month, attorneys for the developer RPM asked Essex County Superior Court Judge Cynthia Santomauro to issue a new order forcing the members of the township committee to move the project forward after they missed the court’s previous deadline.

That ultimatum came in July last year, when Santomauro ordered Millburn’s representatives to sign off on the original 2021 development agreement within 30 days. Millburn’s township committee did not respond on time and in August the judge declared the agreement as binding.

As part of the original July order, the judge also gave the township 120 days to pass a resolution allowing the developer to pay the town a portion of the rent revenue from the project, in lieu of paying conventional property taxes. So-called PILOT agreements are a standard practice in New Jersey affordable housing deals that are funded with tax credits. And the state’s Housing Mortgage and Finance Agency does not allocate tax credit funding to developers until such an agreement is in place.

In recent court records, RPM’s attorney Craig Gianetti wrote that the township committee has not signed off on this key financial document within the 120-day timeframe, and added that the township's attorneys won't even discuss the matter with him.

Neither Romano nor Millburn’s attorney Jarrid Kantor responded to a request for comment for this story. On Tuesday, the township’s attorneys filed a response to the court, saying they needed more information from the developer to accurately evaluate the terms of the PILOT agreement.

“Basic information is needed before negotiations can meaningfully commence,” the lawyers wrote.

The saga is playing out as New Jersey enters its latest round of affordable housing mandates. The goal is to build more than 84,000 new low-priced homes and rehab another 65,000 over a decade. State law requires all 564 municipalities to take part in closing the state’s ever-widening gap in available affordable housing. But drawn-out fights like the one in Millburn show how court battles can stymie those efforts.

Josh Bauers, an attorney with affordable housing nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center, a party in the litigation, said it’s “very clear” that the township isn't going to take any steps to move forward with any aspect of the project unless the court orders it binding.

“It’s a new year, but it's still the same Milburn. They are continuing to obstruct an affordable housing development that they agreed to construct three-and-a-half years ago,” he said.

It’s unclear when the judge will decide to rule on RPM’s request for a court order enforcing the PILOT agreement. Millburn’s attorneys asked the court to order the developer to provide additional financial information by the end of February. They’ve also asked the court to set a new deadline of April 30 for the PILOT to be agreed upon.

In the meantime, Gianetti, the developer’s attorney, said that the company is moving forward with its work. He said that RPM was able to gain access to the property after the last court order and that it will soon present Millburn’s planning board with a site plan.

“RPM intends to see this project through and we would hope the town would restart engaging and working with RPM,” Gianetti told Gothamist.