MILLBURN — The Township Committee approved an affordable housing settlement following a contentious meeting Tuesday night, upsetting many residents.

For the past year, the town has been in litigation for a 1.56-acre property on the corner of Woodland and Chatham roads, bordering the Cora Hartshorn Arboretum and Bird Sanctuary. The builder, Silverman Group, sought to build a 62-unit apartment complex above 10,000 square feet of medical office space.

Silverman Group filed a lawsuit against Millburn in April 2018, claiming the town failed in its obligation to provide a “fair share” of affordable housing and must provide at least 1,373 affordable housing units, according to the complaint.

The committee chambers were packed Tuesday night with concerned residents, filling the back of the room when there were no seats available and spilling into the hallway.

Every resident who came up to the microphone asked the committee to vote no on the ordinance, citing their concerns and many were dismayed that the meeting was held on the day of back-to-school night at the middle school.

Concerns expressed by residents ranged from the environmental impact of the site to potential increase in traffic to safety, specifically citing a woman who was fatally struck in a hit-and-run at that intersection. Lynne Crow was found on the street on Jan. 8, dead from blunt force trauma consistent with being struck by a car.

Joe Esposito, a member of the Pedestrian Safety Advisory Board, voiced his worries about the safety of, not only the residents in town, but the flora and fauna that call the arboretum home. Esposito said it is a bird sancuary that is home to several endangered and threatened species, including the barred owl, peregrine falcon and red-shouldered hawk.

John Inglesino, attorney for the Silverman Group, was shouted down several times when he was given the opportunity to speak, noting the property owner was reluctant to file the settlement. Inglesino compared similar sites in Westfield and Morristown and said the site at Chatam and Woodland roads could be suitable for up to 100 units.

Tempers flared after public comment when it appeared the township professionals wouldn't address the concerns expressed by the residents after Mayor Dianne Thall-Eglow put forth a motion to approve the settlement.

Committee members Jackie Benjamin Lieberberg and Sam Levy, as well as the mayor, voted yes to adopt the settlement while Committeewoman Tara Prupis was the single dissenting vote. Former mayor and Committeewoman Cheryl Burstein rescued herself because of a potential conflict of interest.

Following the approval, Township Planner Paul Phillips and Planning Board Attorney Edward Buzak answered several outstanding questions, but their answers still left residents desiring more.

The settlement allows 62 units, 12 of which are affordable housing, to be built. There would be two one-bedroom, seven two-bedroom and three three-bedroom affordable housing units and another 50 units available for the market, according to the township website. Half of the affordable housing units would be open to moderate incomes while the other half would be for low income. Two units would be reserved for very low-income housing.

The complaint states the township’s obligation to provide affordable housing as calculated by the Fair Share Housing Center was 261 units from 1987-1999, and the township’s obligation has since risen to the 1,373 units.

The exact number of affordable housing units the town needs is still up in the air. Buzak said one affordable housing expert said the town needed 946 units while the Fair Share Housing Center said Millburn needs 2,641 units.

The approved ordinance also “adopts the zoning ordinance implementing the essential terms and conditions of the settlement agreement.” Buzak said the Housing Element and Fair Share Plan did not recommend rezoning the property, putting it out of line with the township’s master plan. He said the planning board found the ordinance complied with parts of the master plan but found was “inconsistent with the master plan” because of the rezoning of the property.

“Under the 1976 Municipal Land Use Law, a governing body is permitted to adopt a zoning ordinance that is fully or partially inconsistent with the master plan,” Buzak said.

The ordinance removes the site from the B-3 zone into the RMF-AH zone.

The ordinance needed to be adopted by a majority of the governing body and the township had to adopt a simultaneous resolution that explained why they adopted an ordinance that was inconsistent with the master plan, Buzak said.

In a statement she read to the room, Lieberberg said she understood the residents' "unhappiness, displeasure and sense of disappointment" but the township could either accept the settlement or take a chance with the judge, who could rule in favor of the Silverman Group and the township losing their immunity to future builder's remedy lawsuits.

Following public comment, Thall-Eglow said she read all the emails she received from residents and that they have been working for the past two years to get the best settlement possible for the township and that she must consider the entire town. Thall-Eglow said the concerns brought to her were incorporated into the final settlement.

The township has developed a Housing Element and Fair Share Plan and is looking for Essex County Superior Court approval of their compliance with its affordable housing obligations. They were granted "temporary immunity from future builder remedy lawsuits," according to the township website. When the complaint was first filed, Burstein said the town didn't have vacant land and should be granted a vacant land adjustment.

Maggee Miggins, a realtor with an office on Chatham Road, said it seemed like members of the committee had already made up their mind.

"It was obvious," Miggins said. "Their speeches were all written. They didn't care what the 500 people had to say in the room."

Miggins referred back to a comment made during the night regarding the upcoming election.

"The voting box, baby," Miggins said.

Thall-Eglow is up for re-election in November.

"I didn't get a sense that this was democracy in action," said Ajay Yadav following in the meeting.

During public comment, Yadav said he was concerned about the increased amount of traffic in the area. He said he has two young boys who like to ride their bikes around town and that he sometimes misses his train at the Short Hills Station because of the number of kids walking to Glenwood Elementary School, which is located less than a half mile away from the proposed site. He said that doing a traffic study in July when school is not in session does not accurately account for the traffic in the area.

Before public comment began, Burstein recused herself because she discovered Silverman Group is a landlord at a property involved with the law firm where she is chief operating officer. It was Burstein who Silverman Group approached when she was mayor about building the apartments and medical office space in the former service station property.

After the meeting, Inglesino said Silverman Group looked forward to working with the community to develop a great project.