Six affordable housing ordinances in one night, and a $573,580 Green Acres ask for Dealaman
The Township Committee introduced eight ordinances on February 19, six of them affordable housing measures creating the AH-9 through AH-12 districts. All eight are up for public hearing March 12.
On February 19, 2026 the Warren Township Committee introduced eight ordinances, all 5-0, with public hearings set for March 12, 2026. Six of the eight are affordable housing measures: 26-06 replacing the development fee sections, 26-07 creating an AH-10 district, 26-08 creating AH-11, 26-09 creating AH-12, 26-10 amending AH-4 to remove hotel use and provide age restricted inclusionary housing, and 26-11 creating AH-9. The same meeting adopted Resolution 2026-074, seeking $573,580.00 in Green Acres funding for the Dealaman Trails and Pond against a $1,147,160.00 total project cost.
The eight ordinances
Introduction is the first of two steps. An ordinance is introduced, then it gets a public hearing and a vote at a later meeting. All eight of these were introduced 5-0 and all eight carry a March 12, 2026 public hearing date.
| Ordinance | What it does |
|---|---|
| 26-04 | Amends Ordinance 25-11 to raise the New Jersey Historic Trust appropriation for the Mount Bethel Meeting House from $524,155 to $763,343 |
| 26-05 | Bond ordinance for improvements to Valley View Road, appropriating $445,000 and authorizing $420,000 in bonds or notes |
| 26-06 | Repeals and replaces Section 15-5.4 on affordable housing development fees, and Section 16-6 |
| 26-07 | Creates a new AH-10 district |
| 26-08 | Creates a new AH-11 district |
| 26-09 | Creates a new AH-12 district |
| 26-10 | Amends AH-4 to remove hotel use and provide age restricted inclusionary housing |
| 26-11 | Creates a new AH-9 district |
Six of the eight are housing. That is not a coincidence of scheduling.
Why six housing ordinances land on the same night
New Jersey municipalities carry a constitutional obligation to provide a realistic opportunity for their fair share of affordable housing. The obligation comes from the Mount Laurel line of cases, and it is not optional, not a grant program, and not something a township opts into.
The mechanism a town uses to meet it is zoning. A municipality identifies sites, then writes districts that permit housing at densities and with set asides that produce affordable units. Each site generally needs its own district, with its own permitted uses, density and bulk standards. Four new or amended districts, AH-9 through AH-12 plus the AH-4 amendment, is what implementing a plan across several sites looks like in ordinance form.
Ordinance 26-06 is the funding side. Affordable housing development fees are collected from market rate development and deposited in a trust fund that supports affordable units. Replacing Sections 15-5.4 and 16-6 outright, rather than amending them, usually means the existing text no longer matches current state rules.
The timing is driven by the courts. On February 3, 2026, a judge found the Township's plan compliant. Ordinances that implement a compliant plan need to actually exist on the books, which is why they arrive together.
Every one of these eight ordinances has its public hearing on March 12, 2026. Introduction is not adoption. If you want to be heard on a district that touches your neighborhood, that is the date, and public comment at the hearing is the mechanism.
What has not happened yet
The Planning Board is scheduled to take up the Amended Housing Element and Fair Share Plan. As of this post, that has not occurred. The Committee's introduction of these ordinances and the Planning Board's adoption of the plan are two different actions by two different bodies, and only the first has happened.
The Green Acres application for Dealaman Trails and Pond
The same meeting held a Green Acres public hearing and adopted Resolution 2026-074, 5-0.
Jason Cline of Remington and Vernick presented the proposed improvements at 173 and 197 Mount Horeb Road, the property known as the Dealaman Trails and Pond. The scope:
- Rehabilitation of the trail walkway
- A vegetated swale
- Pond maintenance and light dredging
- Two solar powered aerator pumps
- A prefabricated pedestrian bridge
- Kiosk replacement
What the project does not include is as informative as what it does. No new trails. No tree removal. Wetlands avoided. This is maintenance and repair of an existing passive recreation property, not an expansion of it.
An online survey on the project drew 93 responses, described as mostly favorable.
The money: Resolution 2026-074 seeks $573,580.00 in New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection Green Acres funding against a total project cost of $1,147,160.00. The Township's matching share is the other $573,580.00, an even 50-50 split.
My read
Author's opinion, separated from the record. The single most consequential line in this batch is not any of the new districts. It is 26-10, the amendment to AH-4 that removes hotel use and provides age restricted inclusionary housing. Removing a permitted use from an existing district changes what a property owner can build on land they already hold, which is a different kind of action than zoning a site that is not yet entitled.
For residents, the practical question at the March 12 hearing is not whether Warren has to zone for affordable housing. It does. The question is what each district permits on the specific parcel near you, which is a document by document exercise. Read the ordinance for the district that covers your side of town rather than the summary.
- Township of Warren, Township Committee Regular Meeting Minutes, February 19, 2026. https://www.warrennj.org/AgendaCenter/ViewFile/Minutes/_02192026-956
- Township of Warren, Resolution No. 2026-074 Authorizing Green Acres Application. https://warrennj.org/DocumentCenter/View/11359
John Mangini
Broker / Owner, NextHome Premier
Warren Township resident and full time broker, serving clients since 1999. Warren 07059 is written from live Garden State MLS data, township records and primary sources. Every figure is traceable to a source listed above.
