TOMS RIVER, N.J. — Toms River Mayor Dan Rodrick had achieved what few other mayors and towns in New Jersey have been able to do in his fight against the state the minimize the number of mandated affordable housing units. Instead of fight the state and losing, like many other towns have, Rodrick instead hired an experience Fair Share Housing attorney and negotiated the best deal he could for the township, and the state accepted the offer, to the shock of many in the New Jersey political world.
Rodrick said the council’s action will create a builder’s paradise in Toms River.
The deal was hailed as one of the best in the state, and since announcing the plan, other mayors and residents from nearby towns such as Jackson which need to build over 1,000 units have reched out to Rodrick in the past few months asking how he did it. It turns out, the mayor was able to extend existing affordable housing unit deeds, keep affordable housing units out of the downtown district, consolidate others into pre-existing projects and strategically limit where the state’s fourth round of affordble housing mandates would be built, sparing the township from another flood of high-density apartment and towhouse projects with 20% affordable housing requirements.
On Tuesday, the Toms River Township Council majority voted 4–3 to reject an affordable housing settlement negotiated by Mayor Dan Rodrick’s administration that aimed to significantly reduce the township’s state-mandated housing obligation.
The vote blocks an agreement the mayor said would have reduced the town’s affordable housing requirement from roughly 1,700 units to just 183 units of new construction. Council members Bianchini, Nivison, Ciccozzi, and Bradley voted against the agreement.
Mayor Rodrick sharply criticized the decision following the vote, warning it could expose the township to large-scale development and costly legal challenges.
“I am outraged by the reckless and irresponsible decision by Council members Bianchini, Nivison, Ciccozzi, and Bradley to vote down the affordable housing settlement my administration negotiated to protect this community,” Rodrick said.
At the meeting, Rodrick asked the dissenting council members, “Who paid you off? How much money did you get?”
According to the mayor, the settlement was the result of months of negotiations with the state and included a strategy to extend affordability controls on existing housing units for another 30 years. That approach would have preserved current affordable housing while significantly limiting the need for new development.
“When the state first calculated our obligation, the town was facing approximately 1,700 new affordable housing units,” Rodrick said. “Through months of negotiation and a creative compliance strategy, we reduced that obligation to just 183 units of new construction — one of the lowest outcomes achieved anywhere in New Jersey.”
Rodrick warned that rejecting the agreement could leave the township vulnerable to “builder’s remedy” lawsuits, a legal process that can allow developers to override local zoning restrictions if municipalities fail to meet state affordable housing requirements.
“If the original 1,700-unit obligation had to be satisfied through typical 80/20 developments, it would translate into more than 8,000 total apartments,” Rodrick said. “By rejecting the settlement, the council majority has now exposed the township to the very real risk of builder’s remedy lawsuits, which could strip the town of zoning control and open the door to exactly that kind of large-scale development.”
Rodrick also questioned why the council majority chose to reject the deal after negotiations had significantly reduced the town’s obligations.
“People are right to question why anyone would knowingly take that risk after such a favorable settlement had already been secured,” Rodrick said. “When decisions like this appear to benefit developers while putting the community in danger, residents are naturally going to ask whose interests are really being served.”
The mayor said he attempted multiple times to involve the council majority in the negotiation process.
“I also want the public to know that I made every effort to work with the council majority,” Rodrick said. “Since the day they were sworn into office, I have been trying to bring them to the table to participate in this process. I even went to their homes to discuss the issue.”
Rodrick said he has documentation showing those efforts, including phone logs showing the calls he made to other council members that went unanswered.
“I have already provided copies of my phone records documenting my attempts to contact them, and I am willing to release screenshots of text messages as well,” he said.
Despite those efforts, Rodrick said the council chose a path he believes puts the township at risk.
“Despite those efforts, they refused to engage and instead chose a course of action that now places our town in a far more dangerous position,” Rodrick said.
Rodrick said his administration will continue fighting to preserve the reduced housing obligation and to prevent large-scale development.
“My administration negotiated a responsible solution that reduced the town’s obligation from 1,700 units to just 183 and protected our community from massive overdevelopment,” Rodrick said. “I will continue to fight to preserve that outcome and ensure residents understand exactly what is now at stake.”