Dear Editor:
We see now heading into the November elections squabbles on the situation of the Public Housing onslaught that is impacting our State. Much disinformation is being spread in the hope of blame being casts on some Candidate or a “political party”.
True since the Mount Laurel decision much has occurred, and the original intention and reasons seems to be forgotten. Gentrification of a well established African Community in Mount Holly by real estate interest started the issue, being told their property taxes would now have to bear market realities, not actual economic ones.
The New Jersey Mount Laurel Decision was in 1975. This landmark ruling by the New Jersey Supreme Court declared exclusionary zoning unconstitutional and established the obligation for every New Jersey municipality to provide its “fair share” of affordable housing.
The Court Decision was challenged in 1983, (Mount Laurel II) unsuccessfully. COAH was then created in 1983. In 1999 COAH (Council on Affordable Housing) became defunct. COAH was in part to determine each town or areas need for affordable housing. In 2009 Governor Christie abolished COAH, and gave the Housing Issue over to corporate real-estate interest, with developers remedy, if a town did not comply with with the Affordable Housing determination.
Under Governor Christie’s leadership, COAH issued rules that explicitly violated the Mount Laurel Doctrine, and Fair Share Housing Center sued New Jersey for the violations. In 2015, just over 15 years since COAH became defunct, the NJ Supreme Court ruled in favor of Fair Share and transitioned the enforcement of the Mount Laurel Doctrine back to the trial court system in a decision known as Mount Laurel IV. In its decision, the Court also designated Fair Share Housing Center as the legal entity to represent the interests of the public, thereby requiring towns to work with Fair Share to meet their affordable housing requirements.
During this suspended period John Inglesino 2010-2017 was our Town Attorney. The waterview controversy was the time that Parsippany should of obtained as much open space as possible to enhance it’s character and protect its water supply aquifer. Rather than do this he and Mayor Barberio advocated for another shopping mall, that would erase the remaining environmentally sensitive landscape known as Block 421 Lot 29; “last of the hills of Troy” an important ecological component in our Troy Brook, and Groundwater recharge.
A Grassroots Citizens Group: Citizens for Health, Safety,& Welfare successfully challenged, and defeated the Mall in a No Rezone Vote. This grassroots accomplishment filled auditoriums and brought joy, only to be betrayed by Mayor Barberio, Inglesino, and a newly elected republican council which ran under the pretext they would assure waterview preservation only to change their minds in a capricious manner. Public Housing was used as a fear tactic by attorney Inglesino and the Mayor, and the Council bought it. Housing by its own rules and policies does not take sensitive landscapes, or Open Space. During this time Housing was suspended because Christie had abolished it.
When the developer disgruntled because of the No Rezone challenged the grassroots outcome, John Inglesino under our employ allowed the developer to be dismissed “without prejudice”. The developer then threatened Housing, which the judge said was inappropriate estpottal. The issue was the Mall, not Housing as Housing was suspended. The “without prejudice” was a betrayal of the grassroots movement, and was a set up for the developer to return and do what the people determined would not be. So much for home-rule in 2013 under Barberio.
Mayor Barberio himself was re-elected and under the false promise we would have the open space. Parsippany also was looted for the less than 10 acre buffer called open space, the 300 foot buffer all spoke of. This buffer could of been had free of charge provided by the developer as a “Non-Structural Stormwater” component of the development near the Troy Brook. More Misuse of power over the community. Parsippany paid almost as much for the buffer than the developer paid for the 16 acres for the mall.
Double Talk
Today the Mayor has alleged victory as a partner in a lawsuit against the Housing Numbers is this to a falsehood, for the election; where are the details? Another distortion is the Mayor’s recent statement, that “Parsippany is not overdeveloped, it is in need of redevelopment”. This is double talk. We are in need of redevelopment because we are overdeveloped, all in the name of the corporate tax rateable chase, while our local taxes have increased. So in the end what good? Now we go from the rateable chase to 30-year PILOT Deals?
Parsippany set itself up for the Housing by being overdeveloped, now in need of redevelopment, what else would corporate real estate interest do with their properties?
One last contention when Inglesino was attorney, and misleading us on many things he began his Housing Education at Town Hall, citing the “Newark Riots: of 1967 as a reason for the Housing Mount Laurel Case. Nothing could be more false. Inglesino also ended ended Parsippany’s Highlands Regional Conformance in 2014, begun in 2010 suspended under Barberio. Highlands defends against overscale inappropriate major development. Again the Mayor and Council bought Inglesino falsehoods, by their lack of due diligence in pursuing the truth.
Note: A correspondence between NJDEP Green Acres and Parsippany during the Waterview fiasco exists; this is where the truth lies. To this day, it is denied by the mayor, but society requires people to learn from their mistakes or pay the consequences.
Nicholas Homyak
