Judge’s order a win for both sides in Drew U. vs. Madison affordable housing care
Madison Borough must include undeveloped acres of Drew University property in the town’s calculation of land available for affordable housing if units can be built on them, a Morris County Superior Court judge ruled Friday. Judge Stephen C. Hansbury also ruled that the nonprofit Friends of the Drew Forest could join the case brought by Drew against Madison.
The lawsuit, filed in August, claimed Madison had underreported land available for affordable housing and purposely omitted acres Drew had hoped to sell. To use the land for housing, Drew would first need the borough to rezone it from educational uses to multi-family housing.
The case stems from the 1975 Mount Laurel decision, which prevents towns from discriminating based on income when when setting their land-use policies. Town base their fair share of affordable housing on their acres of developable land.
“There can be no doubt that an additional 53 or 63 acres of vacant developable land would have a significant impact” on Madison’s calculation of land available for affordable housing. Hansbury said in the ruling. Noting that time is of the essence in the case, he declined to rule on whether Madison intentionally omitted the land from its calculations.
The land borders Loantaka Way, on the western edge of Drew’s 168-acre campus.
The judge declined to invalidate Madison’s affordable housing plan, which Drew had requested, again citing the need for speed in solving the issue.
All sides welcomed the ruling.
“We are pleased the judge ruled in Drew’s favor by finding the University’s surplus lands must be considered for realistic development potential.” and John Inglesino, the university’s attorney. “Drew University looks forward to working closely with Madison to accomplish our mutually beneficial goals.”
Madison’s mayor, Robert H. Conley, said borough officials were pleased that the court affirmed the borough’s current affordable housing plan, which includes 44 new units and other projects underway.
“As stated on multiple occasions, we remain willing to sit with Drew and pursue a solution that saves the Forest and helps Drew with their serious budget shortfalls,” he said. “We will continue to provide affordable housing while also working to preserve the forest, the tree canopy, and the aquifer that we all rely on to provide drinking water for Madison and surrounding communities.”
Lydia Chambers, a co-chair of Friends of the Drew Forest, was pleased that the value of the forest will be considered in the case.
“The entire 53 acres of the forest should be preserved,” Chambers said. She cited a report the group commissioned from the Davey Resource Group that showed the parcel was crucial to the Buried Valley Aquifer, which provides drinking water to Madison, Chatham Borough, East Hanover, and Florham Park, and provides habitat for the federally-endangered Indiana Bat.
The report concluded, “The Preserve has limited development potential but extremely high value as a preserved open space.”
The ruling outlines next steps in the case. Hansbury asked Drew to submit a survey of the land showing how many acres could be used to build homes. Then Madison must determine if housing could be built there and, if needed, revise its calculations of land available for housing.”
