Madison Officials React To Court Win Upholding Affordable Housing Settlement

By Marianne Carillo | TAPintoMadison

Madison, NJ – This past Friday, Superior Court Judge Stephan Hansbury ruled in Madison’s favor stating that the Borough’s Affordable Housing settlement should not be overturned. Drew University had sued Madison asking the Court to vacate is 2020 settlement with Fair Share Housing Center.

“Drew has significant financial problems and we had been working with them on a solution that would give them a much-needed infusion of cash while allowing us to protect the Drew Forest,” said Raymond M. Codey, Borough Administrator. “During these negotiations, University Officials continued to make unreasonable demands. Drew unfortunately decided to break off negotiations and waste both time and money heading down this dead-end legal path. It was clear in Drew University’s submittals and in the court that the university did not file this motion to support affordable housing but to force a builders’ remedy overdevelopment on the residents of Madison. What is more disturbing is that University Officials continue to make baseless claims about Madison,” continued Codey.

Many members of the Friends of the Drew Forest group were in attendance to show their support at Friday’s hearing. In another win for Madison, Judge Hansbury ruled that the group could participate in the hearing after the group filed an amicus curie or ‘friend of the court’ brief.

“While we are extremely disappointed in the way University Officials have handled the situation, we are still willing to sit with them and pursue a solution that saves the Forest and help’s Drew with their serious budget shortfalls,” said Mayor Robert H. Conley. “Madison also looks forward to continuing to do our part in providing affordable housing to residents, something we have been doing for over fifty years. We will continue to do this, while also working to preserve the forest, the tree canopy, and the aquifer that we all rely on,” continued Conley.