Non-Profit Adds Voice To Madison Affordable Housing Lawsuit
MADISON, NJ —Friends of the Drew Forest, a local nonprofit, filed an amicus or "friend of the court" brief in response to Drew University's motion to overturn Madison's 2020 affordable housing settlement to support the preservation of the entire 53-acre forest.
The case will be heard at the Morris County Courthouse, 56 Washington Ave., Morristown, at 11:30 a.m. on Friday, Aug. 19. All members of the public are welcome to attend the hearing.
"We filed a brief because we wanted to document the exceptional ecosystem value of the forest and to make it clear to all parties that this is an area of regional environmental significance," said Lydia Chambers, co-chair of Friends of the Drew Forest, a nonprofit based in Madison.
Although they filed as an amicus brief, Friends of the Drew Forest is not a party to the lawsuit. Rather, they will provide the court with relevant expertise to assist it in its deliberations, according to officials.
The brief draws on a variety of sources, including a new report from the Davey Resource Group, one of New Jersey's most prominent environmental consultants.
"We were able to contract with Davey Resource Group for this critical report thanks to hundreds of small contributions from donors who have supported us over the past year-and-a-half," said Judy Kroll, co-chair of Friends of the Drew Forest.
According to the report by Davey Resource Group, the forest "has limited development potential but extremely high value as a preserved open space."
The report describes the forest's importance as a recharge zone for the Buried Valley Aquifer, a sole-source aquifer for both Madison residents and additional towns.
It also mentions the forest's role as an "identified habitat" for the federally endangered Indiana bat and goes into detail about specific wetlands, open space waters and steep slopes where development would face significant legal and permitting challenges.
"Friends of the Drew Forest and its supporters have a 'special interest' in the Drew Preserve because it has been providing a myriad of services for residents of Madison and the region for over a century. There are numerous health, educational, recreational and ecological benefits that impact residents' daily lives," said the brief.
Drew University has been an important partner in the forest's fourteen-year restoration, Friends of the Drew Forest said,
According to the Davey Resource Group report, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, which contracted with the university in the restoration effort, stated, "Although our 10-year contract with the University had ended, it was the understanding that the funds were only being provided to restore the forest for the long-term."
The lawsuit was filed in June 2022 as a result of the Borough's affordable housing settlement in 2020, which excluded undeveloped university land near Loantaka Way from the plan. Drew claims that this exclusion was intentional and that the borough concealed the land's existence in order to keep it out of the settlement process.
Mayor Bob Conley previously addressed the ongoing court settlement between the Borough of Madison and Drew University, claiming that Madison never acted in "bad faith" and instead took multiple steps to assist Drew when they were dealing with budget deficits.
"We were pleased to read that Mayor Conley does not dispute Drew's main contention that Madison knowingly and purposefully misrepresented to the court the amount of land available for affordable housing in an effort to artificially reduce its affordable housing obligation. Drew looks forward to adjudicating these issues in court," Drew University said in a statement to Patch.
