Toms River, NJ – Toms River has won its battle against a state affordable housing mandate that could have required thousands of new high-density apartments and 7,000 new apartments to be forced upon the community over the next 10 years.
The deal also empowers Mayor Daniel T. Rodrick in his continued battle against Lakewood-style overdevelopment in Toms River in the future, removing state affordable housing mandates from the table for a decade.
Rodrick announced on Wednesday that the township had reached a favorable proposed settlement from the state that would significantly slash the township’s state-mandated affordable housing construction requirement from more than 7,000 potential new housing units to just 186 new affordable housing units.
At Wednesday’s township council meeting, Rodrick detailed a deal with Fair Share Housing Center that he described as “a huge victory” for the municipality, potentially saving the town from thousands of new apartment units over the next ten years.
“This plan was not just about meeting state requirements; it was about protecting our community from a continuation of the extreme overdevelopment that has plagued our community,” Mayor Rodrick said. “Through diligent negotiation, we successfully struck agreements with property owners of existing apartment complexes to extend deed restrictions on affordable housing units that were about to expire and transition to market-rate. By utilizing our affordable housing trust fund, which had about $9 million in it, we were able to keep these units affordable for another 20 years. Had these funds not been used for affordable housing, the state would have seized them in the coming months. So we were able to do this, at no cost to the taxpayers.”
The agreement comes as the township faces a December 31 deadline to secure state approval or risk losing immunity from developers’ lawsuits, needing an immediate approval by the township council. As part of the agreement, Rodrick says the state will drop its lawsuit against the township, and in return the township will drop it’s countersuit against the state.
The township council voted in favor of the resolution 6-1, with outgoing Councilman James Quinlisk, an ally to former Mayor Maurice Hill, voting against the historic compromise.
Mayor Rodrick and Business Administrator clapped in appreciation of the vote, with Rodrick noting, “I think this is the first time David Ciccozzi ever voted yes on something we did.”
“This is a big win for the township,” Council President Justin D. Lamb said during the vote. “It required the township to think outside the box.”
Deal reduces new housing obligation
Under the proposed settlement, Toms River would satisfy most of its affordable housing requirement by extending deed restrictions on existing apartments rather than building new large-scale and high density housing.
As part of the settlement, Fair Share Housing agreed to recognize 448 existing affordable units and 70 additional restrictions to cover what it had previously claimed was a 1,095-unit “gap period” obligation, many of which will be built along Route 70.
The organization also consented to a cap of 186 newly constructed affordable units across three projects: 48 units in an expansion of the Jamestown complex off Hooper Avenue, 134 near Route 70 West on the Lakewood border, and 4 units as part of a mixed-use conversion on Route 37.
Rodrick said Fair Share’s acceptance of the reduced figure was “surprising” given its earlier demand but added that the nonprofit likely sought to avoid a court ruling that could weaken its statewide position on affordable housing caps.
If Toms River won the battle in court without a settlement, it could have upended the affordable housing mandate.
Downtown “Twin Towers” Project Not Included
Mayor Rodrick said the township was able to come to a deal that would not include the town being forced to build former Mayor Mo Hill’s originally proposed ten-story twin tower project, at all.
“Most importantly, Fair Share has agreed to exclude the Meridia twin tower projects from our plan, and has also agreed not to adjoin themselves to any litigation that Meridia may bring against the township,” he said, signaling an important victory for the people of Toms River against a development that over 70% of residents opposed in a poll on the matter two years ago.
Town would maintain control over development
The mayor’s letter warned that rejecting the settlement could expose the township to a “builder’s remedy,” which would allow developers to construct high-density housing projects without local approval if the municipality is found noncompliant.
“If we don’t have an accepted plan in place by December 31, we could lose our immunity,” Rodrick wrote. “That would mean thousands of new apartments built at a 20% affordable to 80% market rate mix.”
Rodrick said the township’s affordable housing trust fund—currently holding about $9 million—would cover the cost of the deed extensions. Those funds could otherwise be seized by the state if unused.
Another blow for the downtown apartment complex
As part of the agreement, Fair Share Housing has also agreed to exclude the controversial Meridia twin-tower projects from Toms River’s housing plan and to avoid supporting the developer’s ongoing litigation against the township.
Rodrick said the proposed settlement would keep local growth in check while maintaining compliance with state housing laws for the next decade.
Town officials and the township’s affordable housing counsel are reviewing the proposal ahead of the end-of-year deadline.
Mayor Daniel Rodrick says Toms River’s tentative deal would limit new affordable housing construction to 186 units while preserving local development control.
Rodrick explained his winning strategy in a speech during the meeting:
I am proud to share a significant victory in our ongoing fight against over-development. As many of you know, our town faced a daunting affordable housing demand for 670 units from the State of New Jersey. We took that challenge head-on with a unique and comprehensive plan that initially submitted 470 new deed restrictions on existing apartments.
Now, about those remaining 200 units.
Given state statute says that a township cannot be made to build more than 1,000 units in a round, and given the prior administrations agreed to build 1285 units – it was the township’s position that we had an affordable housing credit for 200 units.
Fair Share challenged our plan in court and filed a cross-motion, alleging we owed an astounding 1,095 additional units on top of the 670, for what they called the “GAP period,” which is the period of time in between each affordable housing round. While we had a great case, the gap period was a toss-up. If we lost in court, Toms River could be on the hook for 1,765 units of affordable housing.
Given that affordable housing is normally built at a ratio of 20% affordable to 80% market rate, this could have resulted in 7,000 new apartments if we lost. That was simply unacceptable and not worth the risk However, given the implications a loss on the 1,000 unit cap would have had for Fair Share, they were very interested in settling with us.
And we got a very good deal!
After extensive discussions, Fair Share has now graciously accepted the extension of controls on 448 units of pre-existing apartments and agreed that, to cover their alleged “GAP period,” we would only need to purchase 70 more deed restrictions on existing apartments of their choosing.
This is not just a small concession; it’s crucial in limiting the extensive additional burden they initially sought to impose. Further, they’ve agreed to just 186 newly constructed affordable units. 134 of these units will be built on the Lakewood side of Route 70, and 40 units will be built as an extension to Jamestown apartments off of Hooper Avenue. Incredibly, this will cover the township’s obligations for the next 10 years.
Now, let’s be clear about what could happen if we do not settle this agreement.
Without an accepted plan in place by December 31, 2025, we could lose our immunity from builders who might attempt to impose their will on Toms River.
We could find ourselves facing uncontrolled development and the construction of 7,000 new apartments all over town. That is simply unacceptable! The bottom line is that this settlement presents us with the best opportunity available, and frankly, it is the best offer in New Jersey. Should this settlement receive council approval, Toms River can breathe a sigh of relief for the next ten years—an immense protection for our town against the kind of overdevelopment that had so deeply impacted our community during the prior round. To be clear, the prior administrations agreed to 1285 units, which resulted in over 5,000 apartments in north dover and across this town.
We fought – we negotiated – we got creative – and we got it down to 186 units Together, we are safeguarding the unique character of Toms River and ensuring that our community remains a place we are proud to call home. Thank you.