Articles Affordable housing
Bridgewater's Fourth Round Housing Plan, Explained: 421, 130 and the Court's Certification
What Bridgewater's 2025-2035 affordable-housing numbers mean, how the court set them, how the plan meets them, the zoning adopted March 5, 2026, the court's April 15, 2026 certification, and the housing trust fund, with the records' differing figures set side by side.
The short version
- 421 is the number of new affordable homes Bridgewater must plan for between 2025 and 2035 (the “Prospective Need”).
- 130 is a separate target: existing homes to rehabilitate (the “Present Need”).
- The court-approved plan counts 438.5 credits toward the 421.
- The zoning for the three new inclusionary sites was adopted March 5, 2026, each ordinance 5-0, and the court certified the plan on April 15, 2026, with repose to June 30, 2035.
The case is In the Matter of the Application of the Township of Bridgewater, docket SOM-L-186-25, before Judge William G. Mennen, J.S.C., in Somerset County. The township filed it on Jan. 31, 2025.
How the obligation was set
| Date | Step | Vote or source |
|---|---|---|
| Oct. 18, 2024 | The state’s non-binding estimate (DCA report): 130 present and 474 prospective | Recital in Res. 25-01-30-068 |
| Jan. 30, 2025 | Res. 25-01-30-068 commits to 130 and 417, based on a Jan. 24, 2025 report by Graham Petto, P.P., AICP (Topology), with all rights reserved | 3-0: Kurdyla, Ring, Norgalis aye; Kirsh and Pedroso absent |
| Jan. 31, 2025 | The township files its declaratory-judgment action | Consent order recital |
| Early 2025 | The New Jersey Builders Association challenges the number in the 30-day challenge window; mediation in March 2025 does not settle it | Housing plan, p. 1 |
| April 15, 2025 | The Program’s Hon. Thomas Miller recommends 130 and 421 | Res. 25-07-10-182 |
| April 23, 2025 | Judge Mennen’s Order and Decision sets 130 and 421 | Res. 25-07-10-182 |
Two prospective-need figures in one resolution. Res. 25-07-10-182 says in one recital that the township’s planner adjusted the state’s figure for non-developable land “and arrived at” 130 and 474; the next recital says Res. 25-01-30-068 established 130 and 417. Res. 25-01-30-068 itself says 417.
Earlier rounds, as the April 15, 2026 order states them: a Prior Round obligation of 713 and a Third Round obligation of 1,414, both met. The Third Round left 42 surplus credits for this round.
The plan
The Planning Board adopted the 2025 Housing Element and Fair Share Plan after a public hearing on June 25, 2025. The Council endorsed it on July 10, 2025 with Res. 25-07-10-182, 4-1: Kirsh, Kurdyla, Ring and Norgalis aye; Pedroso nay.
When it was filed. Res. 25-07-10-182 and the court’s filing stamp give June 26, 2025; the April 15, 2026 consent order says the township filed the plan on June 25, 2025.
At the March 5, 2026 hearings, Township Planner Katherine Sarmad said the township entered the round with about 200 credits already in place, that nine property owners had proposed sites, and that several of the chosen sites reuse office properties rather than open land.
How the court’s April 15, 2026 order meets the 421:
| Mechanism | Type | Credits | Bonus | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extension of controls | Extended deed restrictions | 158 | 158 | |
| Third Round surplus | Carried credits | 42 | 42 | |
| 416 Route 28 | Alternative living arrangement | 3 | 3 | 6 |
| The Delaney | Assisted living | 9 | 9 | |
| 901 Route 202/206 | Alternative living arrangement | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| Whitney Court | Supportive housing | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Cornell Boulevard | 100% affordable | 11 | 11 | 22 |
| Cornell Boulevard | Supportive housing | 4 | 4 | 8 |
| KRE (520 Route 22 East) | Inclusionary | 28 | 14 | 42 |
| Bridgewater Plaza (250 Route 28) | Inclusionary | 31 | 15.5 | 46.5 |
| 1400 Frontier Road | Inclusionary | 70 | 7 | 77 |
| 1400 Frontier Road | Alternative living arrangement | 5 | 5 | 10 |
| Total | 370 | 68.5 | 438.5 |
Bridgewater Plaza’s lot number. The housing plan gives “Block 170, Lot 14.02” on page 28 and Lot 4.02 elsewhere; Ordinance #26-04 says Block 170, Lot 4.02.
The zoning
| Ordinance | What it does | Adopted |
|---|---|---|
| 25-12 | R-10A supportive housing at Whitney Drive (up to 5 units) | Aug. 21, 2025 |
| 25-15, then 25-24 | AH-3 zone at Cornell Boulevard (11 affordable units plus 4 for disabled veterans) | Aug. 21, 2025; replaced Dec. 17, 2025 |
| #26-01 | Affordable housing and development fee ordinance | March 5, 2026, 5-0 |
| #26-02 | RMDU-26 zone extended to KRE, Block 400, Lot 7.06: up to 128 units, at least 21% affordable (28 affordable family rentals), 4 stories and 48 feet | March 5, 2026, 5-0 |
| #26-03 | AH-2 zone, 1400 Frontier Road, Block 711, Lot 7: up to 340 age-restricted units, 70 of them affordable senior rentals, plus a five-bedroom supportive group home; 4 stories and 52 feet | March 5, 2026, 5-0 |
| #26-04 | AH-1 zone, Bridgewater Plaza, Block 170, Lot 4.02: up to 140 units, at least 22% affordable (31 affordable family rentals), 4 stories and 50 feet | March 5, 2026, 5-0 |
Ordinances #26-02 to #26-04 took effect March 25, 2026. All four 2026 ordinances were introduced Feb. 19, 2026. On March 3 the Planning Board took up the master plan consistency review of all four, adopting a resolution 10-0 (Sikora, Pappas, Magura, Choudhury, Chartowich, Banga, Bongiorno, Isla, Wang, Vescio; Moench and Atkins absent); the minutes describe it as “Memorializing the adoption of the Master Plan” and state no finding in words. The March 5 votes were Bucko, Isla, Kirsh, Ring and Geiger, all aye. The same night, by a 5-0 consent vote, the Council adopted the trust-fund spending plan, an affirmative marketing plan and three operating manuals (Res. 26-03-05-081 to -085).
What was said on March 5, 2026, as the minutes record:
- Filipe Pedroso, a former councilman, asked the Council to have the administration study whether the township could build affordable units itself and so limit the total number of units.
- Councilman Michael Kirsh estimated construction at $200 to $250 a square foot and more than $100 million for 400-plus units, before land and utilities, and said he did not think it viable.
- Council President Joan Geiger read from the affordable housing attorney’s letter that the ordinances had to be adopted to meet a March 15, 2026 deadline. Planner Sarmad said missing it could cost the township its immunity from builder’s-remedy suits, and that a 60-unit 100% affordable project had been estimated at $20 million to $30 million.
- Councilman Andrew Bucko said he would like ownership opportunities as well as rentals; Councilman Timothy Ring said the planner had told the Council the plan’s mix of housing types was viewed favorably.
- Bruce Bongiorno asked how residents apply and whether they get priority; Planner Sarmad said applications go through an administrative agent and that regional preference (Somerset, Middlesex and Hunterdon counties) applies, not local preference.
The total number of units. On July 23, 2026, Mr. Pedroso said in public comment that the Council had approved “over 600 new high-density and apartment units” that would crowd roads and strain schools. The three inclusionary zones adopted March 5 allow up to 128, 140 and 340 units; the 340 at Frontier Road are age-restricted.
The court’s certification
On April 15, 2026, Judge Mennen signed a Consent Order Final Compliance Certification, on the joint request of the township and Fair Share Housing Center. The order recites that:
- the township and Fair Share Housing Center filed a settlement as a consent order on Dec. 2, 2025, and the court accepted the Program’s report recommending approval on Jan. 12, 2026;
- the township filed its implementing ordinances on March 10, 2026;
- challenges by Bridgewater KDP, LLC and 821 Bridgewater, LLC “were subsequently dismissed by the Court.”
It grants a Compliance Certification and repose from exclusionary-zoning litigation, including builder’s-remedy suits, for July 1, 2025 to June 30, 2035, subject to revocation on motion and good cause. It requires yearly reports to the state’s monitoring system on the trust fund and on units built, and allows a midpoint realistic-opportunity review as of July 1, 2030 for any inclusionary site that has not received preliminary site plan approval.
The date of the settlement order. The March 10, 2026 Fisher certification refers to a “January 9, 2026 Order”; the April 15 consent order refers to an order “on January 12, 2026.” They may be two orders; LocalWhy has not seen either.
The housing trust fund
The spending plan (in the March 10, 2026 Fisher certification) reports:
| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Collected to Sept. 30, 2025 | $20,772,452.52 |
| Spent to Sept. 30, 2025 | $18,371,669.20 |
| Balance, Sept. 30, 2025 | $2,400,783.32 |
| Projected revenue, Oct. 1, 2025 to 2035 | $10,007,441.99 |
| Total to be spent through 2035 | $12,408,225.31 |
It commits up to $300,000 to rehabilitation, $1,312,500 to housing activities, $9,260,725.31 to affordability assistance (including up to $600,000 toward buying the Cornell Boulevard lot) and $1,535,000 to administration.
Spending and actions in 2026, from the Council minutes and notices:
- Whitney Court (Block 511, Lot 3): the Township Administrator reported on April 23, 2026 that the Planning Board had recently approved the site plan for a five-unit building for hearing-impaired residents. The Board’s agendas list Whitney Drive Urban Renewal LLC’s application (25-019-PB, site plan with D and bulk variances) as approved April 7, and the Board adopted the memorializing resolution May 19, 2026; Ordinance 26-07 (adopted May 18, 2026) corrected the buyer’s name to an urban renewal entity for funding.
- 305 Raymond Court: on Sept. 3, 2026 the Council authorized a $133,000 trust-fund grant agreement with Midland Adult Services, Inc. for a group home (Res. #26-09-03-199), 3-0 (Isla and Ring absent).
- Block 520, Lot 17: on Oct. 1, 2026 the Council introduced, 5-0, an ordinance authorizing a quitclaim deed releasing affordability controls on about 16 apartments whose 30-year deed restriction expired in June 2026. Administrator Michael Pappas said current tenants who still meet income limits may keep their reduced rents. The township’s legal notice of Oct. 16, 2026 is titled “Notice of Adoption of Ordinance 26-17 - Authorizing a Quit Claim Deed”, and the township’s Resolution #26-10-15-218 records the adoption on Oct. 15, 5-0.
What is not known
- The rest of the housing plan: LocalWhy has reviewed only Part 1; the full plan is listed on the township’s Planning page and has not yet been reviewed.
- When and by what vote the Council approved the Fair Share Housing Center settlement. The Council’s November and December 2025 minutes do not record it; LocalWhy has not yet reviewed its earlier 2025 minutes.
- What Bridgewater KDP, LLC and 821 Bridgewater, LLC sought, and when their challenges were dismissed.
- Whether site plans have been filed for KRE, Bridgewater Plaza or 1400 Frontier Road. None appears in the Planning Board’s minutes from January to June 2026 or its agendas through October 2026.
What residents can do
- Site-plan hearings. KRE, Bridgewater Plaza, 1400 Frontier Road and Cornell Boulevard each need Planning Board approval at a noticed public hearing. See the Cornell Boulevard site.
- Applying for a unit. Affordable units are marketed publicly and handled by the township’s administrative agent, with regional preference.
- The court record is on the NJ Courts Somerset affordable-housing page.