Article originally publsihed July 23, 2025 from northjersey.com

Link to Article by Philip DeVencentis

The Zoning Board of Adjustment denied a plan for an age-restricted housing development on Hamburg Turnpike, capping six months of hearings where neighbors fought strenuously against the project.

But as one battle draws to a close, another is beginning to whip up in state court.

The same builder whose controversial application was turned down on July 21 is suing the township for allegedly failing to meet its mandated obligation for affordable housing.

The complaint, filed in state Superior Court in Paterson on July 11, claims that the township violated its duty to create realistic housing opportunities when the Planning Board improperly notified the public of a hearing on the township’s fair share plan.

The local developer, a limited liability company tied to March Associates Construction Inc., is now asking a judge to award a builder’s remedy and to void the resolution the Planning Board passed to adopt the housing plan at that hearing.

March Associates is “ready, willing and able to construct an inclusionary development on the property at a high density and to provide a substantial amount of low- to moderate-income housing,” the lawsuit states. The property “enjoys superior road access, as well as access to public water and sewer, and all other required infrastructure.”

The 13-page lawsuit states that the developer can build 610 units — 530 market-rate units plus 80 affordable units — at the 16.6-acre site at 1970 Hamburg Turnpike and at 1982 Hamburg Turnpike.

Such a project would be more than twice as large as the development rejected by the zoning board for the same property.

The lawsuit states the Planning Board had no basis to consider the housing plan because a public notice published in the newspaper for the hearing was defective.

It did not give a venue for the hearing, and the lawsuit states that it provided an incorrect date — June 30, 2020, rather than June 30, 2025. Because of those defects, the suit states, the Planning Board action to adopt the housing plan was invalid, and the township lost its immunity from builder’s remedies.

Township Attorney Matthew Giacobbe said on July 22 that the housing plan was adopted and filed properly. The complaint, he added, is “legally improper and contrary to New Jersey law and the court directive. The township will be filing a motion to dismiss this spurious legal action.”

The zoning board unanimously rejected an application for 285 units, including 57 units for low-income residents, in five apartment buildings. The project, which would have needed a use variance, was designed for people who are at least 55 years old.

At the July 21 hearing, the zoning board heard from 13 objectors and a professional planner hired by two of the closest neighbors to the site.

The opposition organized for months, posting anti-development flyers on Facebook and staking signs to express similar sentiments on front lawns. The neighbors were concerned about an increase in traffic on the busy county road, particularly on a stretch where accidents are frequently reported, and a worsening of stormwater runoff.

Janice Lynch of Parkside Court told the zoning board that she was against the proposed development because “there’s no more room for building” in the township.

“I’m opposed to this project tremendously, and arrogantly, and very angrily — like everyone else,” Lynch said. “This isn’t about what March wants. It’s not about what government officials want. It’s about what we, the people, want.”

Cameron MacLeod, an attorney who represented March Associates before the zoning board, tried to persuade its members that the planned apartments were an appropriate use.

“What we have here is a development that’s been designed and vetted by your professionals, our professionals and any number of other agencies; and we can say, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that the site is particularly suited,” MacLeod said in his closing remarks. “Do you know why? Because we can fit the units on this site.”

Municipalities throughout the state were required to adopt updated housing plans by the end of June under amendments to the Fair Housing Act, signed by Gov. Phil Murphy in March 2024.

The Hamburg Turnpike site is acknowledged in the township’s housing plan, but officials did not take a position on whether it could produce affordable units due to the case that was in front of the zoning board.

Philip DeVencentis is a reporter for NorthJersey.com. For access to the most important news in your community, subscribe or activate your digital account.

Email: devencentis@northjersey.com

This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Wayne rejects housing, but developer is suing and seeking builder’s remedy for 610 units