Community Voices: A Resident’s Perspective on Affordable Housing and Flooding in Berkeley Heights

by Luann Alario

The following is a firsthand account from a Berkeley Heights resident, who has lived in town since 1986 and recently began attending public meetings. It reflects her direct experience and concerns shared during Planning Board discussions.

I’ve been a resident of Berkeley Heights since 12/1/86, and attending town meetings is a new experience for me. And it’s not a pleasant one.

A couple of weeks prior, I attended a Planning Board meeting where the major topic was the affordable housing fourth phase.

It was now in my best interest to learn about this since I heard one of the locations to be identified was in my neighborhood. The board explained that they just had to identify the locations of these additional apartments and that they could be changed later.

The locations were Connell, Nokia, and Snyder Ave. Berkeley Heights has the option of having one building with all 24 units being affordable.

They explained that Connell would like to take the 24 affordable units—becoming a total of 130 units—and add them to their development. The board and the residents seemed to agree that it may be better for Connell to take this on rather than Berkeley Heights taking full responsibility for the cost and maintenance of a 24-unit building. Berkeley Heights, a landlord!

Now I attend the board meeting where Connell is presenting their complete plan, finishing in 2027. To me it was overwhelming—to the point that it seemed to be the perfect place to live. Their plans, departments, budgets all seemed completely organized and well on their way to making this perfect oasis in Berkeley Heights.

Then a woman asked about the fourth phase of the affordable housing. It wasn’t on the agenda to discuss, but they did anyway. She wanted it clarified as to the amount that had to be added and where they will be.

The board said it would be Connell, Nokia, and 24 units—all affordable—on Snyder. She complained that our downtown is overwhelmed with traffic as is, and asked why Connell couldn’t take them. Our lawyer responded that Berkeley Heights can’t give so many to Connell!

To my dismay, this wasn’t the case. Our lawyer was not giving her the correct facts from a previous meeting. I was compelled to have Mr. Connell contradict what he said and agree that Connell would, could, and had already told our Planning Board they would build an additional 130 units to include the 24 affordable ones.

Without answering me, the board started to proceed to the next case. But I interrupted and said I was waiting for an answer from Mr. Connell. After a few minutes of confusion or hesitation—I couldn’t tell—Mr. Connell got up and confirmed that was the case. They had stated to the Planning Board that they would take the additional units.

Did I feel confident that the board listened and will act on this? No.
Do I feel confident that Connell Corp knows what they’re doing? Absolutely.
Do I feel confident that our board knows what they’re doing? Unfortunately, not.

Wouldn’t it have been a good idea to partner with Connell, since they are so engrained in our town, and help us make a future plan for our downtown? Is it too late? They are the experts, not us. They need us as we need them. Make them help us so both their development and our downtown are cohesive and beautiful at the same time. Or will the board continue the path they’re on and “The Park” will become the new Berkeley Heights downtown and Springfield Avenue will be a ghost town?

Now for the flooding that has been happening in Berkeley Heights for more years than I realized. Fortunately my house is not affected by these recent terrible rainstorms, but I’ve listened to one resident after another at this meeting begging to be heard and helped.

Yes, the storms of today are worse than years ago, but apparently our town is doing less to avoid these floods than years ago, when we need more done. Our town’s maintenance crews cleaned all the brooks years ago. Now nothing is done. Other towns clean their brooks. Ours don’t.

Editor Note:

Here is the clip being referenced from the Town Council Meeting:

As a non-commercial and ad-free, free platform, we rely on you to help us grow. If you value independent coverage of local government, please consider helping us out.

Read More Community Voices

Subscribe to NJ21st For Free

Our Commitment to Ethical Journalism