The developer behind Chatham Borough's newly approved 100-unit River Road apartment building is now suing the borough to resurrect a far larger housing plan on the same corridor, according to a report from the Hometown Chatham blog published Saturday, Aug. 22.
AJDM Chatham LLC, whose principal is Jonathan Schwartz, won unanimous Planning Board approval on July 16 for a four-story, 100-unit rental building with ground-floor retail at 29-39 River Road. The lawsuit, filed against Chatham Borough, seeks to force the revival of the Gateway I and Gateway II Redevelopment Plan, a draft proposal that would have permitted up to 720 additional apartments along River Road, on top of the 245 units already at The Ivy development nearby.
The borough has not commented on the lawsuit. Neither AJDM nor its attorney, Derek Orth, has responded publicly.
Court filing details, including the docket number and specific legal claims, have not been confirmed through court records.
How the pieces fit together
The dual-track strategy traces back to earlier this year. AJDM first approached the Planning Board with its River Road proposal in letters dated March 6 and March 27, before the Borough Council publicly unveiled the Gateway Redevelopment Plan on April 14, according to the Hometown Chatham blog.
Mayor Carolyn Dempsey and the council had pushed the redevelopment plan for more than two years. But on June 22, the council voted 5-1 to direct borough professionals not to move forward with it, according to official meeting minutes. Council Member Katherine Hay cast the lone dissenting vote. Council President Brian Hargrove and Council Members Miles Gilmore, Karen Koronkiewicz, Jocelyn Mathiasen and Justin Strickland voted to shelve the plan.
Mayor Dempsey said at the June 22 meeting that the council voted down the redevelopment plan because of AJDM's proposal to build apartments under existing zoning law, without the special incentives a redevelopment designation would provide.
That vote triggered consequences under an agreement the council had approved on Dec. 8, 2025, according to the Hometown Chatham blog. The nature of those consequences has not been publicly detailed.
The 100-unit approval
Less than a month later, on July 16, the Planning Board approved AJDM's smaller project in a 5-0 vote at a special meeting, TAPinto Chatham reported. No member of the public attended. Planning Board Chair Susan Favate, Thomas Belding, William Heap, Borough Administrator Steve Williams and Council Member Mathiasen voted in favor.
The approved building will sit on 2.92 acres, include 15 affordable housing units, roughly 2,370 square feet of commercial space and approximately 210 parking spaces, mostly in a garage. The Passaic River runs about 219 feet south of the property's rear line.
At an earlier hearing on June 3, Schwartz testified that the project was designed to complement Chatham's commercial district and serve as a secondary focal point for the borough.
What it means for residents
If the lawsuit succeeds, River Road could see development on a scale far beyond the 100-unit building already approved. The 720-unit figure represents a potential tripling of the corridor's apartment count when combined with The Ivy's existing 245 units.
The borough's court-approved Fourth Round Housing Element and Fair Share Plan was approved by Superior Court on Feb. 12. How the lawsuit interacts with that compliance certification remains unclear.
Residents can monitor upcoming Borough Council meeting agendas for discussion of the litigation. Borough Hall is at 54 Fairmount Ave.
