It is important for residents to stay informed about Housing and other Development projects underway in Harding Township.
As expected, the 2nd Reading of Ordinance #27-2024 proceeded at the December Township Committee (TC) meeting regarding an overlay zone that includes 14 properties along the southern part of Route 202, beginning at our border with Bernards Township just above the Passaic River, and continuing northward for over half a mile. This overlay zone was originally part of the Township’s comprehensive affordable housing plan, approved by the court in 2020, and was deemed by our Planning Board to be consistent with Harding Township’s Master Plan. As of today, there have been no Applicants to develop Affordable Housing units in this overlay zone.
This ordinance (#27-2024) is an update to further facilitate the development of properties in this overlay zone by:
1) Permitting exclusively residential projects; currently, the Overlay Zone requires any AH development to have both retail and residential components. As Affordable Housing (AH) has evolved in NJ, especially since the Pandemic, the requirement to build commercial/retail space is of less interest to developers.
2) The updated ordinance also introduces residential development standards for aspects such as lighting, decks/patios, internal sidewalks, waste disposal, generators, and subsurface wastewater treatment systems. In prior AH applications (such as the KRE Affordable Housing (AH) project on the northern border of Harding along Rt 202), the Planning Board and Township Committee concluded, rather than having details worked out one-by-one for each project at the Planning Board, standardizing these components (lighting, decks/patios etc.) would reduce the burden on all parties and achieve approval in a more-timely manner.
3) Distinguishing heights and streetscape requirements for properties on the East versus West side of Rte. 202 in the overlay zone. Specifically, the EAST side slopes down toward Rte.287 and some properties already have berms and mature trees shielding the street view. The WEST slopes up and many have retaining walls in place. As a result, while all are restricted to no more than 3 stories, the height limit will be raised to 44ft. on the East side but the West will be 37.5 ft.
4) Density limits were virtually unchanged with the three (3) larger lots on the EAST side being limited to now 8.2 units per acre (N.B. if the AH units are for sale, then 20% must be AH; notably if the units are to be rentals, the requirement for AH drops to 15% but the density allowed increases to 10 per acre.) The remaining smaller lots on both the east and west side in the zone are limited to 6 or 8 units per acre.
5) As previously communicated, the total opportunity in this entire overlay zone is to construct up to 500 units, with up to 85 being AH units.
Separately, there was no information shared on Glen Alpin at the TC Meeting consistent with Mayor Jones’ statement at November’s TC meeting that he did not expect a substantive update in December.
NEXT TC MEETING
The next regular Township Committee meeting with be WEDNESDAY January 22nd at 7PM. At that meeting, the Township Committee will consider a Resolution regarding the next i.e. FOURTH ROUND of Affordable Housing obligation from the state.
In late October, the state of NJ assigned Harding Township a future obligation to provide 83 new affordable housing units during the 2025-2035 fourth round period. Under the terms of the affordable housing legislation signed in March 2024, municipalities must either construct the units themselves or implement zoning that allows developers to build market-rate units alongside affordable units, typically in a 5:1 ratio.
The full report from the state of NJ showing each municipality’s obligations can be accessed here. https://nj.gov/dca/dlps/pdf/FourthRoundCalculation_Methodology.pdf
The TC is in active conversation now with the state regarding the accuracy of their calculations which will be reflected in the Resolution in January. Municipalities, including Harding, have until the end of June to prepare and adopt a new Housing Element and Fair Share Plan.
Interested residents in Harding Township are invited to join Neighbors for Tomorrow in Harding to stay abreast of development in our town. Contact: [email protected]