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Saddle River affordable housing project snowed in

Planning board denied application for 60-unit development

(Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty Images)
(Illustration by The Real Deal with Getty Images)

A New Jersey planning board handed a developer a frosty response, denying a project application over inadequate snow removal plans.

The Saddle River Planning Board rejected the 60-unit project application from Saddle River Investors on Wednesday, NorthJersey.com reported. The townhouse project on East Allendale Road would have included affordable housing units.

The development team was put through the wringer for the project. It fought for five waivers and one variance for the 10-acre site on the borough’s main thoroughfare, which officials deemed this week wasn’t enough.

The reasons behind the denial were twofold and strikingly specific. The board cited an inadequate snow removal plan as one reason, while a lack of retention basin test pits was another.

The public has been arguing against the project in hearings dating back nearly a year, claiming the site was inadequate. The board didn’t request a snow removal plan until April. Test pits were reportedly never part of the discussion until Wednesday’s hearing resulted in the project’s denial.

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Developer Michael Kasparian of Saddle River Investors declined the outlet’s request for comment on the application rejection.

In February 2020, borough officials settled with the Fair Share Housing Center, picking four sites for affordable housing. The East Allendale Road site, notably home to Rosie O’Donnell’s former estate, was one of the sites.

A judge has been weighing whether or not the borough has been compliant with the affordable housing settlement. If the judge rules the borough non-compliant, the borough would lose immunity from more affordable housing applications.

The planning board previously approved a plan for a 112-unit rental complex on Choctaw Trail. A snow removal plan for that project was never discussed.

The fight to add more affordable housing in New Jersey is running into a few setbacks. In Wayne, discussions about a housing plan for the site of the former Toys R Us have hit a snag due to concerns about the specific location of the redevelopment’s housing component. Under an agreeement between the township and the property owner, 1,360 units planned for the site, including 20 percent affordable.

— Holden Walter-Warner

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Affordable HousingDevelopment