Borough Council Comes to Agreement: Palmer Square Housing Will Now Be Built

Candace Braun

After a 14-year dispute, Borough Council voted to pass the Palmer Square Housing Settlement in a 5-0 vote on Tuesday, February 10. Council member Peggy Karcher was absent from the meeting.

The settlement was disputed right up to the start of Tuesday's meeting, as Mayor Joseph O'Neill, lawyers for opposing sides, and the developer, Oded Aboodi, debated last-minute amendments to the document. In the end, Mr. Aboodi was willing to compromise on the Council's requested amendments, in exchange for some of his own.

These include some changes in wording so that the developer would not be penalized if the Borough or Planning Board missed a deadline, or were late issuing building permits.

Palmer Square Management's vice president, David Newton, said he was happy to have resolved the issue with the Borough.

"It's an enormous barrier that [Palmer Square] has overcome," said Mr. Newton. "We appreciate the time [Council] put into this ... I think they really did the right thing for the community as a whole."

Mr. Aboodi was unavailable for comment.

The 97 to 100 housing units, which will bring $60 million in new rateables for the Borough, will now be built along Paul Robeson Place within the next five years, according to contract. This new housing will attract new business to the area, which will help out the town, said Mr. Newton.

"This will be an enormous boost to the stores downtown," said Mr. Newton. "I think the local economy will really benefit from it."

Ten units of affordable housing will be part of the agreement, each having a 20- to 30-year life-span, depending on the size of the unit.

The dispute over the housing units dates back to 1990, when the Borough argued over the number of affordable units the developer was willing to provide. In early December, talks between Borough Council and Palmer Square recommenced, and a written settlement was made between the opposing parties.

The settlement went into public hearing for a vote in early January. However, concerns about the document voiced by residents, community groups, and Council members extended the public hearing to three sessions, each over two hours long.

Among those skeptical about the agreement were Council members Roger Martindell and David Goldfarb. Mr. Martindell brought a list of 58 concerns to the Council, about which he received responses from Michael Herbert, Esq., the Borough's attorney. Many of his questions were also addressed during Council meetings.

In the end, Mr. Martindell said he felt that some kind of written penalty should be inflicted upon Mr. Aboodi if he doesn't complete the housing within five years. He asked Council members to go into closed session to decide how to penalize the developer if he fails to meet the five-year deadline. However only Mr. Martindell and Mr. Goldfarb voted in favor of it, and the motion did not pass.

Mayor O'Neill responded by saying that as a good faith gesture, he had decided against adding any penalties to the agreement in an earlier stage of the document.

In the end, Mr. Martindell voted in favor of the settlement, saying that due to other compromises the developer was willing to agree to, he wouldn't stand in the way of passing the agreement.

These compromises from Mr. Aboodi included clarifying amendments stating that sewer costs must be paid whether the developer builds 97 or 100 units, and that those costs must be paid within five years of the date of the building permit issuance. Another amendment now stipulates that the developer is responsible for supplying affordable housing in another location for up to 13 months if a unit is not available immediately for a tenant.

By meeting's end, Council members voiced agreement that they had come a long way since the first public hearing.

"While this agreement is not perfect ... it's more than minimally acceptable," said Mr. Martindell.