STONE HARBOR – At the Stone Harbor Council meeting July 3, Administrator Manny Parada informed the council that an independent inspection of the property the borough bought to satisfy its Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligations related to the Villa Maria subdivision has “numerous deficiencies.”
The property is not rentable, Parada said.
In 2021, the borough vacated a portion of First Avenue adjacent to the Villa Maria site. In return for vacating the paper street, the borough was to receive $2 million from the proceeds of the closing on the lots created by the subdivision.
The borough’s actions regarding the subdivision triggered its COAH obligation to provide three affordable housing units.
In the same meeting, the council adopted an ordinance allowing the purchase of a triplex building, at 10206 Third Ave., for $1.6 million. The property was to be used to meet the COAH obligation. The repairs to the property to bring it up to code for three affordable housing units then ran afoul of another town ordinance.
Since Stone Harbor has spent more than 40% of the assessed value of the structure only, the work places the property under new floodplain regulations. The property will now have to be elevated.
The need to elevate the property and finish the necessary repairs that would make it rentable may force the borough to make a different decision.
Parada said the eventual decision will be whether to “raise or raze” the structure. Meanwhile, the borough must still meet its affordable housing obligation.
Another wrinkle in the process arises because the property came with a tenant. One of the three proposed units for affordable housing is currently occupied by a tenant on a month-to-month lease, according to Parada.
The borough’s COAH attorney has been made aware of the results of the home inspection. Parada said the attorney will inform the Fair Share Housing Center (FSHC) of the status.
The FSHC is a nonprofit affordable housing advocacy group that has been given special status by the New Jersey courts. The FSHC is a party to the court-approved COAH agreement that obligates the borough with respect to the Villa Maria subdivision.
If the borough decides not to elevate the Third Avenue property, some alternative property will need to be designated in order to meet the COAH obligations.
The purchase and initial work on the facility occurred during the tenure of the former Business Administrator Robert Smith. Parada said Triad Associates had acted as a general contractor or agent for the borough throughout the renovations.
Smith has filed a $1.2 million legal action against the borough regarding his firing in February.
In June, the council approved a resolution hiring the borough’s labor counsel to “retain the services of third-party private investigators and/or experts as it relates to investigations regarding personnel issues and expenditures made in connection with the borough’s Fair Share Housing obligations and/or related employment issues.”
These actions mean the borough needs to make decisions on what to do with the Third Avenue property, and how to meet its affordable housing obligation if not with that property.
The resolution to hire third-party private investigators adds to the likelihood that the borough will be involved in the assessment of blame for the problematic nature of how its attempt to meet its obligations has been handled.
No decisions were made at the July 3 council meeting.
Contact the author, Vince Conti, at vconti@cmcherald.com.
