A wealthy NJ town is resisting affordable housing plans. Its defiance could be costly.

Municipal leaders in one of New Jersey’s richest towns are personally risking severe sanctions for pulling out of a plan to build dozens of affordable-housing rental units — just as the state tries to ramp up development.

Millburn Township officials have defied multiple court orders to move forward with development of a 75-unit, 100% affordable housing complex in the heart of their upscale downtown — and last month, the Millburn Township Committee unanimously voted to pull out of the project completely. Advocates involved in the case want the judge to not only strip Millburn officials of their power to control development, but also fine officials personally.

Fining municipal officials individually for resisting affordable housing would be unusual, but the Essex County suburb is an extreme case, according to housing advocates. New Jersey’s landmark Mount Laurel legal doctrine says every town in New Jersey has to make it possible to build lower-cost dwellings. But the nonprofit Fair Share Housing Center said Millburn only has 38 affordable homes on the books, out of a target of 1,300.

“They are very much behind the eight ball, in that they really had not done very much historically,” said Josh Bauers, attorney for Fair Share Housing Center. In 2015, courts made the nonprofit responsible for negotiating affordable housing agreements with communities, setting off a wave of new development statewide. “In 2020 or 2021, [Millburn officials] brought their very first deed-restricted affordable housing unit online. And that’s 45 years after the Supreme Court decided Mount Laurel.”

Millburn isn’t the only town to resist building affordable housing or risk sanctions for doing so. Officials in Englewood Cliffs fought to block an affordable housing settlement in 2022 and failed. The city was on the hook for millions just in attorney fees. Courts have stripped several other towns of the ability to fully control their development amid other fights over affordable housing.

These battles only stand to intensify. New Jersey has made major progress toward building affordable housing since Fair Share took point on the settlement negotiations, according to elected officials and advocates. But housing officials estimate New Jersey still needs another 200,000 rental units statewide for lower-income residents. And the state’s preparing to hand down another round of affordable housing obligations in 2025 – even as some communities have said they’re running out of space and are contending with severe local opposition.

Millburn Township officials reluctantly agreed to a 75-unit downtown project on Main Street three years ago, after their own settlement with Fair Share Housing. But that set off a political backlash that swept new officials into power. Members said the Main Street plan calls for too many affordable units clustered in one place, and that the project doesn’t make sense for their community.

The decision drew applause from residents in attendance.

They are very much behind the eight ball, in that they really had not done very much historically.

Josh Bauers, attorney for Fair Share Housing Center, about the lack of affordable housing in Millburn Township

Millburn Township officials Ben Stoller and Frank Saccomandi expressed concerns about the Main Street project, stating that they are not against affordable housing but believe that clustering dozens of affordable housing units in one complex is a bad idea. They also raised concerns about noise pollution and environmental contamination at the proposed site.

Housing advocates, however, argue that a downtown development with good access to food resources and transit is exactly where affordable units should be incorporated. Legislation signed by Governor Phil Murphy encourages such placement of affordable housing units.

The Millburn Township Committee’s decision to pull out of the affordable housing project has put them at risk of severe sanctions. The judge may decide to penalize the township by allowing any developer to move forward with any project that includes affordable housing, even if it violates local zoning. The judge may also suspend Millburn’s land use ordinances, planning, and zoning boards, only allowing local officials to approve development necessary for implementing affordable housing.

Attorneys for Millburn have requested the judge to recuse herself, claiming bias. Fair Share Housing and developer RPM Development Group are seeking attorney fees and personal fines for township committee members on a daily basis.

Despite the resistance to the Main Street project, other affordable housing developments in Millburn are moving forward. These include the conversion of a former Wells Fargo bank branch into more than 60 apartments, with 12 designated as affordable units. A developer is also constructing 62 units above a medical office space, with 12 designated as affordable. Additionally, a former Annie Sez shoe store will be converted into 150 units, including 30 affordable units.

Only one of these developments is currently under construction.