The Berkeley Heights Town Council is set to vote Tuesday, Oct. 6, on releasing income restrictions from 14 affordable condos at Villas on the Park. The township has decided not to fight to keep them.
The settlement agreement on the agenda would release affordability controls on all 14 units as their 30-year restriction periods expire, NJ21st first reported. The first unit's control period already ended Sept. 23. The last expires Oct. 31.
The units were built to satisfy Berkeley Heights' prior round of affordable housing obligations covering 1987 through 1999. Each carried a 30-year affordability restriction starting from the date it was first occupied.
Springholm Drive Holdings, which owns and operates the 14 units, notified the township it intends to end the income restrictions as they expire. The township decided not to pursue an extension, based on advice from its lawyers and consultants, according to NJ21st's reporting.
Whether the township has the legal authority to extend the restrictions is an open question. The township maintains the Uniform Housing Affordability Controls (UHAC) provisions do not apply to these units but has not released the legal analysis supporting that position, according to NJ21st's reporting.
No tenant protections in the resolution
The settlement resolution on the Oct. 6 agenda does not address what happens to people living in the units. There is no breakdown of how many are occupied, no language about lease renewals, and no protections for residents who qualified under the income requirements.
The resolution also does not explain what losing these 14 restricted units means for Berkeley Heights' affordable housing inventory. Whether the units will continue to count toward any obligation or need to be replaced is unaddressed.
Under the settlement, the township would also discharge the original Developer's Agreement tied to the units. Condo fees for the 14 units would rise from 25% of market rate to the full amount over three years.
Affordable housing context
Berkeley Heights administers its affordable housing through CGP&H as the administrative agent, according to the township's affordable housing page. In Union County, households earning between $49,014 and $78,422 qualify as low- to moderate-income for affordable housing purposes.
The Berkeley Heights Planning Board and Township Council approved the township's fourth-round affordable housing plan in late June 2025, according to a township announcement. That plan set a prospective need obligation of 240 new affordable units, negotiated down from an initial state assignment of 275. The township plans to meet most of that obligation through new construction at the Connell live-work-play complex and age-restricted housing at the Nokia site.
How the loss of 14 prior-round units affects that plan remains unclear.
No officials on record
NJ21st reported that it reached out to Mayor Angie Devanney, the Town Council, the town administrator and candidates. No responses were reported.
NJ21st editor John Migueis wrote in the Oct. 5 report that "residents deserve to know what happens to any current tenants and what this means for the Town's affordable housing inventory going forward."
The Town Council meets Tuesday, Oct. 6. Residents can check the township website for agenda details and public comment procedures.
