Opportunity or overpopulation? West Windsor’s affordable housing debate - by Alexis Tamm

Article by Alexis Tamm, longtime West Windsor resident and current student journalist at Georgetown University.

Amid an explosion of construction in once-open spaces and a state-wide affordability crisis, affordable housing is once again in the forefront of local debate.

The issue has regained local attention as West Windsor was recently given its state-mandated obligation of affordable units to build in the next decade, prompting support from residents concerned about the future of affordability in New Jersey. The town has been searching for solutions to find a sustainable compromise that will make affordable housing more accessible but not overburden its resources.

West Windsor is currently home to 699 affordable units out of roughly 11,500 total housing units as of 2023. Eligibility for affordable housing is determined by household income in comparison to the area’s median household income, and adjusted accordingly for household size. Very low-, low-, and moderate-income households can be earning up to 30%, 50%, and 80% of the area’s median income, respectively.

In March of 2024, N.J. Governor Phil Murphy passed new amendments to the Fair Housing Act for the state’s fourth round of affordable housing mandates, requiring the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) to calculate new affordable housing obligations for all of New Jersey’s 564 municipalities. West Windsor’s obligation for the next decade was determined to be an additional 661 affordable units by 2035—a number that sparked fear of overcrowding—which the town then elected to lower.

At a council meeting on Jan. 27, 2025, Mayor Hemant Marathe made clear his intentions for affordable housing. He stated, “This round my approach is to do what’s good for West Windsor residents while providing our share of affordable housing units to make it possible for people to move in town.”

To him, this meant fighting to reduce the number of affordable units that West Windsor needed to build, which the town had until Jan. 31 to declare in a binding resolution registered with the DCA. “Given that our ratio of affordable housing to market rate is 1 to 3 (25% affordable units), the 661 units proposed by DCA would have meant a total of 2,644 new units in West Windsor,” Marathe said—meaning that 25% of any new residential development must be designated towards affordable housing. “This is in addition to all the construction that is already ongoing in town.”

As a result, the town made its own calculations and came to a reduced number of 392 affordable units, lowering the total number of units to be built by over a thousand. The Township Council cited concerns about land usage as a primary motive, deeming many areas used in the DCA’s calculations unfit for development.

However, Fair Share Housing Center, a New Jersey-based nonprofit that advocates for housing justice and is typically involved in standard court negotiations with towns at this stage in the process, challenged West Windsor’s calculations. On March 25, the township agreed to settle on 480 units, a compromise between the original estimate of 661 and the proposed 392. Marathe did not respond to repeated attempts to contact him with further questions.

The town’s next step was to submit its Housing Element and Fair Share Plan to N.J.’s Affordable Housing Program, which was adopted by the Planning Board and endorsed by the Township Council on June 25. Through a vacant land adjustment, which considers the amount of available land fit for development within a town’s borders, West Windsor determined its realistic development potential—meaning the quantity of new housing that the town can actually accommodate—is 236 affordable units. The remaining units from its initial obligation of 480 are considered the town’s unmet need, which aren’t required to be built immediately.

The plan was crafted by the mayor, the town’s Division of Land Use, and the professional planning firm Burgis Associates, Inc. The Affordable Housing Committee and Planning Board were not included in creating the plan, nor was the Township Council, according to Councilman Dan Weiss. The Council’s role, he explained in an interview, was to ensure that the town was following the process correctly and fulfilling its legal obligation, rather than focusing on the contents of the plan itself.

The plan outlines six different sites where these units are to be built, but the actual construction process is still far from starting. “It’s important to understand that adopting and endorsing this plan is just the beginning of a much longer process,” Weiss shared on his website. “Each of the six proposed sites will still need to undergo the Township’s established site plan and permitting process. That includes public hearings before the Planning Board, opportunities for community input, and rigorous oversight by professional staff.”

Theza Friedman, a local realtor and longtime resident, said, “There’s a huge need—I know as a real estate agent. When someone wants affordable housing, they have to get on a list.” Prospective residents seeking affordable housing have to apply for properties at specific sites through West Windsor’s affordable housing consultant, Piazza & Associates. Applicants who meet the income requirements are selected through a random selection process, which differs based on the development. A representative from Piazza & Associates did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.

Friedman was also quick to refute any sentiment against it. “The general public doesn’t understand affordable housing,” she said. “They don’t understand what it means, they don’t take into consideration that there are so many people who can’t afford a full-sized house but are still contributing members of the community.”

Libby Vinson, a longtime West Windsor resident and government affairs professional, has observed changes in attitudes surrounding affordable housing in the area since her now-college age kids were little. “It was much more of a scare issue, but now it’s becoming really relevant,” she said. “Are my kids going to even be able to buy, or rent in New Jersey? Affordable housing becomes much more relevant and relatable, at least from my age.”

It’s true—West Windsor’s dilemma is representative of a broader issue across the entire state. The lack of affordable housing in N.J. has reached a crisis level; it was estimated that residents making the state’s minimum wage of $15.13 an hour in 2024 would need to work three full-time jobs just to afford an adequate one-bedroom apartment. Only 31 rental homes are affordable and available for every 100 extremely low-income families across N.J., resulting in the need for 205,000 units to be made affordable in the state to meet demand.

Vinson believes that because of this, the topic will become “much more rational than emotional” for residents, referencing historic sentiments against affordable housing in the area. “That’s what I’m starting to see. A healthy community is a community where a young couple can buy a starter home, but that is becoming less and less in New Jersey because of the affordable side,” she said. “The way to build wealth, for most people, sits in their homes. If you don’t have the opportunity to do that, what does that mean for our next generation?”

The next generation is already worried. Jillian Moxham, a 21-year-old resident, expressed concern about affordability in N.J. as a current college student hoping to move back near home after graduating. “The price of owning a home has gone up exponentially, especially the prices of owning or renting a townhouse or apartment, and it’s honestly unaffordable to have any of those options. Usually people would want a townhouse or apartment because those are cheaper, but the fact that they’re going for so much money is just insane,” she said. “I’m very worried about moving back to New Jersey after college, especially since townhouses and apartments aren’t super affordable and that would be the go-to option for someone my age.”

Isabel Sung, a 21-year-old resident and college student, shared similar sentiments. “I’ve lived in West Windsor my whole life, and my whole nuclear family is here. My whole extended family lives in the New York metropolitan area, so I’ve always seen myself staying in this space,” she said. “My family moved to West Windsor for the family and for affordability. If the family part is still there but the affordability is going, it’s difficult to do that, especially if you’re raising a family, which is expensive itself.”

As residents fear the future of affordability, some also wonder why West Windsor continues to build affordable housing alongside market rate housing—which makes the total number of units to be built significantly more than the affordable mandate itself. Other New Jersey towns, such as Wayne, are gaining attention for their plans to build 100% affordable housing projects. West Windsor is already home to one 100% affordable development—Freedom Village at West Windsor, sponsored by Project Freedom—which was financed primarily through the selling of Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. However, the town’s current plan does not include any 100% affordable projects; it is all projected to adhere to a three-to-one market rate-to-affordable ratio.

“The reason for that is it really forces the developer and makes it palatable for the developer to build in West Windsor,” Weiss said in an interview. “If it was up to the developer, they would build 100% market rate. If we went to a developer and said we want to build 100% affordable housing, they would walk away.”

“Part of the problem is finding organizations that are willing to build 100% affordable housing,” he added. “They exist—Habitat for Humanity is one of several organizations that will do that, but it’s a complicated process because you have to be able to find the property to do that development type.”

But it doesn’t necessarily mean that the town can’t find a compromise, which could reduce the total number of units built while still fulfilling its affordable obligation. “I think that we should consider a mix that includes some developments that are all affordable, similar to Project Freedom. I don’t think it’s an all or nothing,” Weiss said. “For every affordable housing unit that you can build whole without having to build at market rate, you’re saving three houses.”

Construction of new developments is not yet imminent, nor are the plans fixed; the new affordable housing obligation is expected to be realized over the next decade, and each potential project still faces a lengthy approval process. “Every step still has to follow the standard processes of going through the planning board, getting site approval, every ordinance that has to pass has to go through a public hearing and a preview period, so all those things continue to happen and will have to happen for every single property that gets built. No different than anything else,” Weiss said.

And ultimately, there is hope that affordable housing will become better understood and thus more welcome in the town. “The term affordable housing has become stigmatized. I like to use the phrase housing that is affordable,” Weiss said. “The same words, but it takes on a very different connotation when you say it that way. We want housing that is affordable.”

Vinson agreed. “I like to call it opportunity housing, not affordable housing. There is an economic benefit to having a community that can support multiple generations.”

“I think it’s really important to educate the whole community about the value and benefit of housing that is affordable,” Weiss added. “Because it really is how we build our community.”