Developer will build affordable units in boro Council approves 180-unit complex on Monmouth Road BY DANIEL HOWLEY Staff Writer WEST LONG BRANCH - Borough officials have given a developer the green light to construct a 180-unit apartment complex on Monmouth Road, with the understanding that 27 units will be marked for affordable housing. The approval comes in the aftermath of a 2006 builder's remedy lawsuit that claimed the borough was not meeting its affordable housing obligation as determined by the state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH). The suit resulted in council permitting developer Avalon Bay Communities Inc. to construct a scaled-down version of the project that will provide affordable housing opportunities in the borough. The developer is scheduled to appear before the West Long Branch Planning Board in the spring for final site plan approval on the project. West Long Branch is responsible for providing 237 units of affordable housing as determined by COAH, according to West Long Branch Borough Attorney Greg Baxter "We weren't meeting our COAH mandate and so they sued for builder's remedy," Baxter said. A builder's remedy lawsuit is a lawsuit filed by or on the behalf of a developer, claiming that a town is not complying with COAH affordable housing regulations. When a project is approved as the result of a builder's remedy lawsuit, the developer must designate 15 to 20 percent of the units in the development as affordable housing, according to COAH guidelines. A lawsuit was filed in state Superior Court by West Long Branch Partnership Trust LLC on behalf of Avalon Bay Communities. In the suit, the developer claims that the borough isn't meeting its COAH requirement. "West Long Branch doesn't have much vacant land," Baxter said. "We are pretty much fully developed. There isn't any space, and that's the problem. "If you don't have vacant land, you are stuck," Baxter said, adding, "You can't just tell people, 'Move. We want to put affordable housing here.' " The agreement between the borough council and Avalon Bay Communities permits the developer to construct a 180- unit complex on Monmouth Road at the former site of Frank's Nursery. Of the 180 units, 13 of the units will be designated as low-income units and another 14 units will be designated as moderate-income. The developer was initially seeking to construct a 230-unit apartment complex at the Monmouth Road site, and after negotiations, agreed to downsize the project to 180 units. Baxter explained that although the borough council has approved plans for the project, final approval will be determined by the Planning Board. He added that the Planning Board is legally obligated to approve the project. "There is now a constitutional mandate to provide the developer with the 180-unit complex," Baxter said. "This isn't something the borough went out to do. "There haven't been final plans submitted to the Planning Board, so if there is something that has to be tweaked, like drainage, the board couldn't renege on the part of the plan settled on. "They can only deal with issues that haven't been discussed yet," Baxter added. The developer is scheduled to also appear at a compliance hearing next year in Freehold to ensure that they are meeting the standards of the agreement.