2025 Affordable Housing Update

I want to transparently explain what’s happening with Westfield’s affordable housing obligations, what it means for our town, and why I support the plan developed by the Affordable Housing Committee (a bipartisan group I serve on) in partnership with our planning consultants at Topology.

To be clear: this message reflects my personal point of view, informed by months of work, analysis, and resident input. This was a full committee decision and we all played a part in coming up with the plan. I have disagreed with the Mayor and Council on many occasions in the past, but the Committee was bi-partisan and unanimous on this topic. 

I hope this helps provide some clarity, transparency and a continued partnership between our Council and residents. It’s super complex and mixed with a lot of legalese, but I tried to summarize it the best I could. 

Thank you all for your continued support and trust. 

What’s Going On

At the last Council meeting, we shared that the State of New Jersey has mandated that Westfield must “provide a realistic opportunity” for more affordable housing over the next 10 years. This is legally state mandated and every Town has some level of participation. 

• This does not mean the town will be building apartments.

• It does not mean developers can build anything they want, especially when it comes to the character, density etc.

• And this does not mean that the housing will definitely get built, it just needs to be realistic that it could potentially get built. 

  
  

Essentially we must zone in a way that makes affordable housing possible so if a property owner wants to pursue it, they can. But that does not mean they have to or will at all. 

If we don’t comply with these State mandates, we expose ourselves to what’s called a “builder’s remedy” lawsuit, a legal tool that allows developers to override local zoning and build high density housing anywhere in town, including residential neighborhoods. 

Compliance protects Westfield from that risk and allows us to take control of our own planning/neighborhoods. 

The Current Situation

The State requires us to zone for 380 affordable housing credits. But after a thorough analysis, the State agreed that only 4 of those credits can come from truly vacant land.

That means we must account for the remaining 376 credits through redevelopment.

Of those credits, the law also requires that at least 25% of those 376 credits, 94 units, must come from redevelopment specifically. This plan helps us hit that target.

I firmly believe that this plan is the definition of smart development, something I’ve spoken a lot about, and not overdevelopment like we are seeing elsewhere.

With this plan, we control our own neighborhoods without builders telling us what to do through lawsuits and it results in net less apartments potentially being built by leveraging bonus credits for properties near transit. 

All in all, with what we are legally obligated to do, this plan is strategic and I believe the best path forward. 

The Proposed Solution

We’ve identified five redevelopment sites, all near transit (which gives us bonus credits and can reduce the total number of apartments needed/potentially built).

One property that’s generated the most conversation amongst residents I’ved talked to is Stop & Shop. Here’s why we decided that that property is strategic to our plan of complying with state regulations and our goal of having smart redevelopment. 

• Today, under current zoning, Stop & Shop can already build 3 stories of apartments without including any affordable units. 

• If they did that, Westfield would gain no credits and we’d still need to zone for all 94 elsewhere. This would mean even more total apartments, density and traffic in town. 

• By including them in our plan, we can also:

  • Require that if they do build apartments, 20% of the housing is affordable and goes towards our plan with the state

  • Mandate ground floor retail to maintain a vibrant neighborhood and not shrink our retail presence downtown. 

    
    

But why allow them in the plan to build 4 stories rather than just build 3 stories like they can today, while simply mandating 20% to be affordable?

Because that’s not “realistic” and it opens us up to challenges and lawsuits. By doing that we are devaluing their property (simply forcing them to have 20% affordable units) and it puts the entire plan at risk. 

Furthermore, neighbors have shared how much they value having retail at that location. By allowing a fourth floor, we achieve the best of both worlds:

• We significantly reduce the risk of legal challenges and lawsuits. 

• We strengthen the overall plan proposed to the state. 

• And we ensure the neighborhood keeps its retail presence, helping prevent further shrinkage of our downtown.

  
  

Again I want to reiterate that all of these properties may decide to never redevelop into housing and Stop and Shop may decide to just do two or three stories, if any at all. 

In that case retail is still mandated on the first floor and we still comply with the state’s mandates. This approach helps protect what people love about the area while avoiding worst case outcomes like uncontrolled development without any community benefit.

Final Thoughts

These decisions are complex and take time. We explored many different options, and there’s no one-size-fits-all solution. When I voted Yes on this plan, I did so based on four guiding principles:

• Preserve Westfield’s character - Minimize the impact on our neighborhoods while still meeting state requirements.

• Stay compliant - Avoid costly lawsuits that could force dense development in areas we can’t control.

• Plan proactively - Focus on revitalizing underused areas, especially those near transit, to get more bonus credits, less apartments and less disruption of residential neighborhoods.

• Support our downtown - Protect and grow our retail footprint, rather than allowing it to shrink.

  
  

I believe this bi-partisan plan was built with intention, care, and transparency. 

It puts Westfield in a strong position to manage growth thoughtfully and protect the town we all love over the next decade. 

I know there’s a lot to take in, and I welcome your questions. Please join us at the upcoming Town Council Meeting (5/13 at 7pm) as we continue this conversation together. 

As always feel free to also email me directly - tsaunders@wesfieldnj.gov

Together we will help Westfield reach its fullest potential.