Hillsborough Township Mayor Shawn Lipani Moved to Deny Affordable Housing Application Amid Environmental Concerns
|
379 South Branch Road Hillsborough, NJ 08844 Phone (908) 369-4313 Fax (908) 369-6034 |
News Release Contact: Mayor Shawn Lipani Phone: 908-369-3535 |
March 3, 2021 |
Hillsborough Township Mayor Shawn Lipani Moved to Deny Affordable Housing Application Amid Environmental Concerns
At the February 25, 2021 Planning Board meeting, Mayor Shawn Lipani moved to deny the Campus Associates application and subsequently the application was unanimously denied by the Board. Various overarching environmental concerns lead to the denial.
“Public health and safety is always the top priority in Hillsborough Township, and this was the impetus for my motion,” stated Mayor Shawn Lipani.
The Campus Associates application did encompass an affordable housing element (23 units) and therefore, as a result of this denial, there will be potential litigation brought against the Township.
Hillsborough Township’s stream corridor ordinance is more restrictive than that of the DEP’s. Hillsborough’s requirement is for a 150 feet boundary for a stream corridor, while DEP’s minimum requirement for such is only 50 feet. The application brought forth by Campus Associates only allotted for a 50 foot boundary. While it was argued that the Township’s code could not be more restrictive than that of DEP, that is not necessarily the case. DEP’s requirements are minimum and the Township is permitted to have a more restrictive requirement. It was evident during various testimony that the more restrictive requirements needed to prevail.
Furthermore, the downstream water flow capacity was also brought into question by various witnesses and testimony. The existing neighborhood of Taylor and Johanson Avenues raised concerns over flooding issues during the hearings.
“It is through the Planning Board process that applications such as this are reviewed and all aspects considered. Here is a prime example of how the process works in so much as providing the factual testimony for consideration which resulted in this denial,” concluded Mayor Lipani.
###