Back in the headlines is Toll Brothers Construction, a company that has become infamous for their steamrolling through quaint suburban towns making millions on housing development.

While plans to continue at the state level for more housing developments, with little to no room for negotiations, small towns like Berkeley Heights and New Providence continue to feel the impact to our towns infrastructure and schools with no clear plan.

The quintessential suburban oasis so many of us sought when moving to these once tree-lined towns is becoming a distant memory. Whether its the messages to “stop flushing” during rain storms to classrooms packed with students to traffic becoming more prevalent, it’s time our local leaders and governing officials focus on the future and how to manage the strain a more densely populated community will have on these towns.

On July 1, 2025 Toll Brothers was met with contention from New Providence residents, council members and Mayor Morgan during a presentation pitch to the Planning Board to develop a 104-unit property on Chanlon Road in New Providence.

Perhaps most notable from the meeting was Mayor Morgan’s public commitment to his residents and advocating for their best interests as home owners and a community. The Mayor scolded Toll Brothers for their inability to incorporate and integrate the affordable housing units with the market-rate units. The proposed plan also presented inadequate parking for desired units to be built, notably providing only 12 parking spots for 21 affordable housing units and those same affordable units having to use a dumpster to dispose of trash while market-rate units would have an incorporated trash disposal.

Toll Brothers faced a lawsuit from the NJ DOJ in June of 2024 over claims that the company failed to meet the standards of compliance in their building structures for persons with disabilities under as outlined in the NJ Fair Housing Act. The suit also found 9 other development from Toll Brothers spanning the North-East coast which also failed to comply with the Act.

Morgan cited that the state has tied the hands of all small NJ towns in mandating the housing boom and that he, along with his council are trying to do the best they can with the situation they are facing. He reiterated that whatever housing structures are being built in NP should fit in with the architecture and tone of the Township.

While there is little our local officials can do to stop the inevitable, we can apply pressure to our Mayors and council members to advocate for making creative choices that fit the needs and desires of the current community while also acknowledging the future of all small towns will have a vastly different landscape in the years to come.

Petition to support our NP neighbors.

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