Edison Planning Board Special Meeting on Fair Share Housing Element - March 30, 2026
Edison Planning Board Special Meeting on Fair Share Housing Element - March 30, 2026
This special meeting of the Edison Township Planning Board was held on March 30, 2026, to present and consider the fair share housing element of the master plan, including updates resulting from the fourth round COAH obligations. The meeting included a presentation by Township Attorney Christopher Zingaro and Affordable Housing Planner Jennifer Beam, public comment, and a unanimous board vote to approve the plan as amended. The plan addresses the municipality's affordable housing obligations for the 2025-2035 compliance period.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Ron Loffler (6 Nancy Circle, Edison) requested that the board ask planners to revise the ADU (Accessory Dwelling Unit) portion of the plan (pages 29-30) to allow ADUs in the RB and Rouble B zones, not just the RA zones, arguing that the restriction would be inequitable and limit aging-in-place opportunities for half the town. He stated that if the plan moves to the governing body, he would present the request for expanded zoning. Board members noted that ADUs under the plan must be deed-restricted and tenants selected through a lottery, not by the property owner, which could limit homeowner interest. Planner Jennifer Beam agreed that the program has had limited success but remains a satisfactory mechanism for credit.
Discussion Items
- Presentation on Fourth Round Obligation: Attorney Christopher Zingaro explained that the Department of Community Affairs established a fourth round obligation of 727 units for Edison, but a Vacant Land Adjustment (VLA) analysis conducted by planner Jennifer Beam reduced the realistic development potential (RDP) to 231 units. An additional 610-unit carryover from the third round settlement (from a total 2,530 third-round obligation) was also addressed. The remaining 496 units (727 minus 231) plus the 610 carryover create an unmet need of 1,106 units, which must be addressed through mechanisms rather than mandatory construction.
- Rehabilitation Obligation: Beam noted a rehab obligation of 637 units, which Edison meets through an existing program funded by the trust fund. Loans are forgiven if homeowners stay for 10 years.
- Projects to Meet RDP: Three projects provide credits: Al Firi (near Metro Park station) – 262 affordable units plus 131.2 bonus credits (0.5:1 transit bonus); Blueberry Village (Plainfield Avenue) – 27 affordable units; and MM (originally 42 affordable units, corrected to 50 on the record). Total credits after correction: 470.6, which easily covers the 231 RDP.
- Surplus and Unmet Need: The 470.6 credits against 231 RDP produce 239.6 surplus. Additional mechanisms – Menlo Manor (239 age‑restricted units), gut rehab of Robert and Holmes Gardens (92 units), 39 Thomas Place (13 age‑restricted), and Fairway Country Club (51 age‑restricted) – add 395 total credits, raising the surplus to 634.6. This surplus is applied first to the 610-unit third‑round carryover, leaving 24.6 credits toward the fourth‑round unmet need of 496 units. Remaining unmet need is addressed through a market‑to‑affordable program (102 units left), public‑private partnerships, and an accessory dwelling unit program.
- Extension of Controls: Beam explained that extending deed restrictions on existing affordable units (typically for‑sale) can generate surplus credits without new construction, though it requires homeowner agreement and trust fund expenditure. She recommended the administrative agent explore this for soon‑to‑expire units.
- Future Rounds: Zingaro and Beam clarified that after this plan, the third‑round deficiency of 610 units was deferred to the fifth round (post‑2035) under the 2016 settlement. The current plan satisfies both third‑ and fourth‑round obligations, providing litigation immunity through 2035.
Key Outcomes
- Board Vote: The Planning Board unanimously (5-0) approved the housing element and fair share plan as proposed, with all amendments and numerical corrections made on the record (including the updated MM project count from 42 to 50 affordable units). The motion included a finding that the plan is consistent with the master plan.
- Next Steps: The approved plan will be submitted to the Edison Township Council for endorsement, then to the Mount Laurel judge and special adjudicator for review and a judgment of compliance/repose, which would grant the township immunity from builders’ remedy litigation through 2035.
- Public Request: The board noted the public request to expand ADU zoning and indicated it would be presented to the governing body when zoning changes are considered.
Meeting Transcript
Good evening, everyone. Uh this is the special planning board meeting for March 30th, 2026. Adequate notice of the special meeting is required by the Oakland Public Meetings Act of 1975 has been properly noticed for and has been posted in the main lobby of the municipal complex on March 30th, 2025. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Okay, Cass Roll Call. Ms. Knight? Ms. Weiner. Here. Mr. Lay? Here. Mr. Bavichi. Here. Mr. Gochair. Vice Chair Reader? Here. And Chairman Sandelski. Here. Thank you. So the planning board presentation on the fair share housing element of the master plan is to include updates resulting from the fourth round COA obligations. And I guess I'll turn it over to you guys. Excuse me, planning board, it's good to be here with you. My name is Christopher Zingaro. I'm an attorney at the law firm of Rainon Coughlin Mancello, the Township Attorney's Office. I work on affordable housing litigation and compliance. I'm a little sick today, so hopefully my voice isn't too muffled. But if it is, pause, uh tell me at any time. So the uh as you know, municipalities throughout New Jersey are engaged in a process, a planning process to put forward two items. Their fair share obligation for the fourth round, which is the compliance period from 2025 to 2035, and also to put forward a housing element and fair share plan that proposes the mechanisms that will be utilized by the municipality to satisfy that obligation. The fourth round is a little different than prior rounds, and that was pursuant to an amendment to the um house uh to the fair share uh fair housing act enacted in 2024 that's been implemented throughout 2025. Um in summer 2025, the court established set what the what the township's obligation will be for the fourth round period. And it uh that that number established by the court mirrored the estimation the of the Department of Community Affairs. Uh that number is 727 for the fourth round period. But there's gonna be some don't have a heart attack yet. Exactly. There's some complexity to what that to what that number represents. Um along with that number, there is also uh pursuant to the township's settlement from the third round period, there is an uh a carryover obligation from the third round period that also is added to that number. However, what's the remaining amount from the third round? Six ten. Six ten. So we have that plus the fourth round? That's right. Correct. So municipalities that have an insufficient number of developable developable parcels can apply for a vacant land adjust analysis, can conduct that study, which results in a lower affirmative obligation to immediately address through actual proposed construction projects.
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