Dear River Vale Residents,
In 2024, the River Vale Joint Planning Board considered an application for a 55-unit development proposed on the Forcellati Brothers Nursery property. The application was denied.
In October of 2024, the State of New Jersey, as required by the legislation signed into law by Governor Murphy, issued its fourth-round affordable housing calculations. The obligation for River Vale mandated the construction of 194 units of affordable housing on any and all properties in the Township deemed available for construction. The Forcellati property was one of the sites deemed available for the construction of affordable housing units.
Following the issuance of the fourth-round obligation for River Vale, the applicant of the Forcellati property purchased the site and brought legal action against River Vale alleging that the Township was not fulfilling its affordable housing obligation by not including this site. The owner advised of its intention to seek the construction of 95 units on the Forcellati property, which would include affordable housing units. The Township contested this position.
During the court process, the Township was advised that if we continued to object to the construction of 95 units on this site, not only would the Court mandate the construction of 95 units, but the Township would also be deemed in violation of our state mandated obligation to build affordable housing and would then face “builder’s remedy” lawsuits. The effect of such lawsuits would cause the Township to lose control of our right to oversee planning and zoning of any construction in the Township. Builder’s remedy litigation arises when a municipality is deemed noncompliant with State mandated affordable housing requirements which then strip the Township of local zoning authority, opening the door to large-scale, high-density construction that does not align with our planning vision or infrastructure capacity.
Faced with the choice of a 95-unit development under state-imposed conditions, and the legal threat of litigation that could lead to high-rise residential construction beyond our control, the Township is now forced to include in our affordable housing plan, which must be passed by June 30, and ordered by the Court, the development of 75 housing units on the Forcellati property, 15 of which (20%) will be affordable units.
This inclusion of this property with this number of units is not one which was made willingly and was done only after careful consideration of the alternatives, which alternatives were far worse and included risks that would significantly alter the character of our community. By including this site, even though unpalatable, we are trying to safeguard the Township from these risks. This plan represents a compromise that protects the long-term interests of our residents while fulfilling our State mandated obligations to construct affordable housing and protecting the Township from greater harm.
We thank our residents for their ongoing engagement and will continue to keep the public informed as this Court mandated project moves forward.