are live. You are live. Okay. I'm going to call to order this special business session meeting of the township council of West Windsor on June 25th, 2025. Uh Allison, can you call the role? Gawas
here. Jivers here. Mandel here. Weiss here. Whitfield. Thank you. And have we adequately noticed? Yes, we were adequately noticed to the times in the Princeton packet on June 13, 2025 filed with the clerk of the municipality, posted in the township
municipal building and on the township website. Please stand for the salute to the flag. Thank you. Um, at this time there is not a public comment listed here, but I know that we want to hear any opinions from
the audience before we vote. So, as chair, I'm going to reorganize the agenda and add one additional public comment period before item number five to give anybody who wishes to uh speak before uh we do the uh the um resolution
a chance to do so. Item number five is item number five is the actual um recommendation for administration and council clerk which is 2025 R148 the resolution. Okay. So at this time I'm going to open public comment for anybody
who would like to do so. 3 minute limit as you know. So please give your name and address. Thank you. Good evening. Uh Turza Warman 5 Stony Drive. Um and I apologize I was
not here for the initial hearing tonight. Um, but I did I did want to comment with regard to round four. Uh, just my observations as a resident. I'm very concerned about density
density in the town. And I know that there are difficult tradeoffs with regard to inclusionary housing or just straight affordable or I call it middle class housing. Um, and so my my
challenge to us as a community going forward is I think we have to be very sensitive to the density and traffic that we're already suffering with in our community and um and how do we strike
the right balance and meet our affordable housing obligation and not do a scenario where we are doing multiples above of the actual number that's required to satisfy the
obligation. Thank you very much. Thank you. Does anybody else wish to get up and speak? See, Alison Miller, 41 Windsor Drive. Um, I've been on the affordable housing committee for about 30 years. I've been
through all sorts of iterations. Uh the affordable housing committee looked at this plan and thought that it was a good plan given the various
reasons. and uh we thought that you would do well to um accept it. We know that that's the beginning of the process.
Uh but we should we think we you should get the process going and say yes. Thank you. Did anybody else wish to speak? Okay. I think if not I'm going to close
the public comment at this time and um go to the recommendation from administration and clerk 2025-R1 148 endorsement of the housing element and fair share plan for 2025 through
2035 fourth round adopted by the West Windsor Township Planning Board on June 25th 2025. Thank you. And before we go ahead and um deliberate on this, Mike Herbert's going to give us a little summary on what we're doing and why uh
for both us and for anybody who may be listening. Thank you. Yes. Very very quickly, I know that there has been a hearing ongoing with planning board to adopt the housing element as part of the master plan that already occurred that has now been uh confirmed by resolution
that will be uploaded into the uh the special court system for affordable housing uh as is required by the rules. And uh with that uh we are now required as a township committee or township council to uh go ahead and endorse the
plan that was uh that was uh confirmed by the uh the planning board. This is pursuant to the most recent affordable housing law uh under PL 2004 uh chapter law two uh which amended the
fair housing act for the state of New Jersey. Uh and the the purpose of the endorsement uh is to uh protect the town from uh any action of a developer against the town, keep its immunity uh
going into uh this process as we go along. And um uh you you may ask, hey, you know, didn't the planning board go ahead and already adopt the housing element? Why do we have to go ahead and endorse? It
was just it was put into the law to make sure that the council understood its obligations so that when various land use ordinances come before the council that will affect the housing plan that there was an an understanding of the uh
of the need of the council ability to pass these ordinances if needed. Uh once uh this endorsement is uploaded uh June 30th is the deadline. That's Monday. After that there'll be a period of objection whereby fair share or any
interested party including developers can object up through August 31. Once that uh uh once the objections have been lodged the uh and if any are hopefully none will be launched against West Windsor. But uh uh you know I I like to
be a hopeful person, but if they are uh which which can happen, especially here in West Windsor uh given uh you know that we seem to be in the uh in the uh crosshairs of affordable housing in many ways since the third round. But uh that
uh once that occurs uh the matter goes back much like the numbers did uh that uh it goes to mediation. If mediation is unsuccessful between the parties, it then goes to the uh sitting retired judge to decide. Here it would be Judge
Jacobson uh to make a recommendation to the court and the matter is then on for a hearing before Judge Loi who will then issue a final decision as to whether or not the housing plan uh is effective or not. Uh now with as you heard earlier
this evening uh there is a we're in region four here. There is a prospective need that was placed upon region 4 by the DCA, Department of Community Affairs of 13,822. West Windsor is a present need of
housing of 61. The prospective need that DCA placed upon West Windsor upon reviewing the maps at 30,000 ft as you all know was 661. Uh Westwind, as you know, Westwinds objected to that, saying there's a lot of these properties that you counted
here that should not have been counted, and a settlement was reached at 480. Uh and that 480 number uh has now been reduced, as you heard during the uh hearing before the planning board, to the RDP, real estate development
potential of 236. And that is the plan is up for endorsement tonight. Thank you, Mike. Um, at this point I'm going to entertain a um motion to approve our 225 R 148. Can
I get a motion? Salute. Can I get a second? Oh, second. Thank you. Is there any discussion amongst council? Just few comments, probably repeating some of what Mike said, but just to
reiterate, council's role here is really to act in accordance with the law and ensure that our township is protected from legal and financial risk. And so, as we take this vote, uh just want to emphasize that this is really, as was said earlier, this is just one step in a
much longer journey. uh we we will be fulfilling our legal obligation to protect our community from costly costly litigation. Um but this is not the end uh of the work. Um as was said during the planning board, each site identified
in this plan will still need to go through the township standard permitting and site plan approval processes with full oversight um by the planning board. But it's up it's up to us
all of us, the elected officials, the professional staff, and most importantly the public to engage to remain engaged as as each project within this plan is shaped through our established land use processes.
And I remain committed to advocating for thoughtful development that respects our community's character, meets our obligations, and provides equitable access to housing for all. And I remain committed to ensuring that that work is carried out with transparency,
accountability, and care. Anybody else wish to say anything? Yeah. Um, I'll go. Um, now that the planning board has approved the 2025 housing elements and fair share plan, I support endorsing the plan through
2025-R148. Uh, the township will now seek compliance, certification, and immunity from builders remedy litigation as part of the procedures established by New Jerseyy's affordable housing law. With adoption of the plan
and council's resolution, the township will have met the June 30th statutory deadline. We will also ensure that the proper filings will be made within 48 hours of tonight's adoption and approved resolutions. The process will continue
with other deadlines culminating with adoption of implementing ordinances and resolutions by March 15, 2026. As leaders in affordable housing, the township will continue to meet its constitutional obligations and will
continue to be a welcoming and inclusive community to all. I want to thank Mayor Hamont Morate, our professional staff, township planner, and attorneys for their work uh in the housing element and fair share plan these past several months. My thanks uh to the residents
and members of the public who came out tonight to listen or make comments. Your comments will be taken into consideration as the process continues. Thank you, Linda. Um, any other comments? Um, nothing much. I I don't want to reiterate everything. I just
want to um thank our township employees, our planner, everybody who worked really hard on this plan. Um as I had mentioned earlier um affordable housing committee looked very carefully um into this plan
and um have approved um and um are very happy with the plan that the township is putting forward. Thank you Sam. And as as as um Dan mentioned this is just a first step. So we still have a long process to go
through where um you know we'll have opportunities for public to come and input and I'm sure we'll all listen and the township will listen. Thank you. Um I'd also like to thank the council for
working with everybody here and you know moving this forward and moving it forward and everybody who's moved this forward on a timely basis in order to protect our town. And I have faith having been um on planning board and
having been uh involved in a lot of this that there really is a whole process that's going to happen and that uh I'm glad people are already starting to think about it and um I'm sure we'll be hearing more uh from people and I'm sure
that the uh professionals will be hearing more and then and the planning board members and as we and and us as council as as we uh um do our parts. Thank you. Um no more comment. Allison,
can you call the role? Gawas, yes. Gvers, yes. Weiss, yes. Whitfield Mando, yes. Thank you. Okay. All right. I will um at this point we do have another public comment period if
anybody would like to get up to make a second public comment period. I'm open to that. Okay, seeing none, I will close the second public comment. And at this point, I think we're ready to adjurnn.
Can I get a motion to adjurnn? So moved. Second. All in favor? I I Thank you everybody. Good night. We're turn.