Sewer feud slows supportive housing development in NJ

A sewer feud has erupted in one of New Jersey’s richest neighborhoods, clogging up progress on a large affordable housing project while officials from two Bergen County towns and the developer bicker over access to the pipes.

The developer, AvalonBay Communities, said it has had all other necessary approvals in place for nine months, but can’t move forward until the sewer issue is resolved.

“Not only does my project provide affordable housing, my project provides supportive housing for those in need," AvalonBay's Executive Vice President Ron Ladell said. "None of that gets built until I get this resolved."

How did this sewer fight start?

It all began with an abandoned office park along Route 17 in Saddle River. AvalonBay Communities, a large developer with more than 80,000 apartments across the country, has approval to redevelop the site into more than 200 apartments, town documents show.

The project will include 18 low priced units and 37 supportive housing apartments set aside for adults with intellectual and developmental delays, according to an agreement between the town and the developer.

But since the project is located on the border of Saddle River and Allendale, AvalonBay says it needs to tap into the neighboring town’s sewer system for the development. Allendale won’t sign off on the deal despite a long-standing agreement between the two towns to share sewer capacity.

AvalonBay sued both towns in December. The company is now asking a judge to force town officials to grant access to the sewer system.

Why should I care about this sewer fight?

New Jersey is facing an affordable housing crisis. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy and gubernatorial candidates from both major parties all acknowledge that the state needs to take a proactive approach to solving the problem.

State and local lawmakers plan to ramp up housing production to battle what some estimates say is a shortfall of 200,000 affordable housing units. This summer, the state will kick-off a 10-year campaign to build 80,000 new affordable homes over the next decade.

Every town and city will be required to build or repair their own share of affordable housing. The state handed out initial mandates last October. On average, each municipality has to construct about 150 new homes, though some have been assigned much more.

So if everyone has to build affordable housing, why would Allendale oppose this project?

Allendale’s attorneys argue that granting AvalonBay access to the sewer would prevent the town from building projects to meet its own affordable housing obligation under the state mandate, court documents show.

Earlier this year, Allendale officials agreed to an affordable housing obligation of 200 units as part of the statewide effort to build 80,000 new units. At the same time, town officials are part of a lawsuit along with 27 other towns in the state looking to overturn the 2024 state law that lays out the affordable housing development guidelines and requirements for each municipality. Saddle River officials have agreed to build 249 affordable units over the next 10 years.

But Allendale lawmakers also claim that the town’s sewer system lacks the capacity for the Route 17 development, according to a report from its engineering consultants.

AvalonBay hired its own engineering consultant to review Allendale’s findings. According to the company’s report, which AvalonBay shared with Gothamist, Allendale used an outdated model and miscalculated its capacity, which the developer’s consultant said is more than enough to handle the flow from the new housing development.

Attorneys for Allendale and Saddle River didn’t respond to questions about the sewer dispute.

I'm a regular Gothamist reader, and I get the sense that these fights over affordable housing are happening all over New Jersey.

Yes, the sewer feud in Bergen County is emblematic of the kind of disputes and long delays that have hampered affordable housing development efforts around the Garden State.

For example, Gothamist has been tracking a yearslong fight in the wealthy community of Millburn, where a yearslong dispute between local officials and housing advocates has halted a 100% affordable development in the heart of Millburn's downtown from moving forward.

In Wayne, a redevelopment of an old Toys ‘R Us headquarters is still waiting to start construction nearly eight years after the toy retailer declared bankruptcy and sold the property to a real estate developer.

What’s it going to take to get this Route 17 project flowing again?

The case is currently before Bergen County State Chancery Court Judge Nicholas Ostuni. He’s ordered engineers from Allendale and AvalonBay to discuss their competing reports on the town’s sewage capacity.

Ladell of AvalonBay said a meeting has yet to be scheduled. And it could be months before the judge issues a final decision.

“ The reason why, in part, there is not enough affordable housing … is because the overburdened, extremely expensive regulatory minefield that exists in New Jersey,” a frustrated Ladell told Gothamist.