Englewood Won Its Federal Appeal in 2020. Now It Has Rezoned the Site for 150 Apartments — and Insurers Will Pay $200,000 Toward the Developers’ Legal Fees

ENGLEWOOD, N.J. — In 2020, Englewood won a federal appeals court ruling against developers who wanted to build a 150-bed assisted living facility on a single-family-zoned corner at East Palisade Avenue and North Woodland Street. This month, the City Council rezoned the same site for up to 150 apartments, a step required by its settlement of that lawsuit. Under the settlement, the city’s insurers will also put $200,000 toward the developers’ legal fees.

The council adopted Ordinance No. 26-21, which creates a new East Palisades Affordable Housing (EPAH) zone on the property, at its regular meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 6, 2026, according to a notice of adoption the city clerk posted on Oct. 13. The zoning change is a condition of the settlement the council approved on May 7, city records show.

How the case started

The developers, 431 East Palisade Avenue Real Estate LLC and 7 North Woodland Street LLC, sued Englewood and its City Council in federal court on June 28, 2019. According to the Third Circuit’s opinion, they wanted to build a 150-bed, for-profit assisted living facility offering memory care on a parcel at 431 East Palisade Avenue, 405 East Palisade Avenue and 7 North Woodland Street. The court described the parcel as 4.96 acres, partly in Englewood and partly in Englewood Cliffs. The land was in the city’s R-AAA one-family residence district.

The developers argued that Englewood’s zoning discriminated against people with disabilities because it allowed assisted living facilities as of right in only one district, the city’s Research, Industrial, Medical (RIM) zone. A federal district judge agreed and granted a preliminary injunction in October 2019.

On Oct. 8, 2020, a three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit vacated that injunction in a precedential opinion. It held that the city’s ordinance did not discriminate on its face under the Fair Housing Amendments Act and found the developers had not shown they were likely to win on that claim. The panel sent the case back to the district court and noted that the developers had never applied for a variance.

The settlement

The case was still pending in federal court in May 2026. At a special meeting held by Zoom on May 7, the council met in closed session and then voted 5-0 to approve Resolution No. 132-05-07-26, settling the case. Council members Angela David, Dan Tokayer, Kevin Wilson, Lisa Wisotsky and Council President Kenneth Rosenzweig voted yes. The minutes record no public comments.

Under the resolution:

• The council agreed to adopt a zoning ordinance allowing a multifamily development on the property with up to 150 units and a 20% affordable set-aside. The resolution says this is in accordance with the city’s separate affordable housing settlement with the Fair Share Housing Center.
• The city’s insurers, the Garden State Joint Municipal Insurance Fund and/or Safety National, will pay the developers $200,000 “towards Plaintiffs’ legal fees.” The money is held in escrow by the city’s defense firm, Antonelli Kantor Rivera PC, and released only under conditions in the settlement agreement.
• The insurance fund’s outside defense counsel recommended the settlement “to avoid the cost, disruption and uncertainty of further litigation,” the resolution says.
• Any project still needs approval from the city’s Planning Board and other agencies.

The resolution describes the property as about 5.08 acres in the city, Block 1902, Lots 5.01, 7 and 8, on the border with Englewood Cliffs. The settlement agreement itself, Exhibit A, was not attached to the posted minutes.

A second challenge

The ordinance says the same two companies also challenged Englewood’s Fourth Round affordable housing plan on Aug. 26, 2025, and then reached a settlement with the city that requires the new zone. A state court order of May 5, 2025, set Englewood’s Fourth Round obligation at a Present Need of 166 units and a Prospective Need of 359 units, the ordinance says.

What the new zone allows

According to the ordinance text in the Oct. 6 meeting packet, the EPAH zone:

• allows only multifamily housing, capped at 150 units, on a lot of at least 5 acres;
• requires at least 20% of units to be affordable to low- and moderate-income households, rounded up, which would be 30 units at the 150-unit cap;
• limits buildings to four stories and 50 feet, or up to 55 feet if a city-approved geotechnical report shows rock conditions require it. A parking level inside the building does not count as a story if it meets design conditions;
• allows building coverage up to 60% and impervious coverage up to 70%, and requires 30% open space and 30-foot setbacks;
• requires parking under state RSIS standards, pitched roofs and a tree preservation plan before any trees are removed;
• removes the three lots from the city’s Affordable Housing Overlay-1 zone.

The council introduced the ordinance on Sept. 8, when Council President Rosenzweig and council members Tokayer, Wilson and Wisotsky voted yes and Councilwoman David was absent. The Planning Board listed it for review on Sept. 24. The Oct. 6 packet does not show the final roll call, and the council had not posted minutes of the Oct. 6 meeting on its agenda page when Bergen TV checked Monday morning.

What still doesn’t add up

• Why settle after winning the appeal? The city won the key ruling in 2020. The May 7 resolution gives the insurance fund lawyer’s general reason but says nothing about the state of the case after the appeal.
• How big is the site? The Third Circuit described a 4.96-acre parcel partly in Englewood Cliffs. The settlement resolution says about 5.08 acres in the city. The new zone requires at least 5 acres. The records Bergen TV reviewed do not reconcile the two figures.
• From 150 beds to 150 apartments. The lawsuit was about a memory-care facility. The new zone allows general multifamily housing, and only 20% of the units must be affordable.
• Drafting questions. The lighting section of the ordinance in the meeting packet refers to approval “by the Borough Engineer and Land Use Board.” Englewood is a city, and it has a Planning Board.
• The conditions on the $200,000. The escrow release terms are in the settlement agreement, which was not posted with the minutes.

Open questions

• When will a site plan be filed with the Planning Board, and how many units will it propose?
• Will the city release the full settlement agreement, including the escrow conditions?
• How does the 5-acre minimum apply if part of the land is in Englewood Cliffs?

Englewood’s mayor is Michael Wildes. Robert S. Hoffmann is city manager and William Bailey is city attorney.

Sources: 431 East Palisade Avenue Real Estate, LLC v. City of Englewood, No. 19-3621 (3d Cir. Oct. 8, 2020); Englewood City Council special meeting minutes, May 7, 2026 (Res. No. 132-05-07-26); City Council regular meeting agenda packet, Oct. 6, 2026 (Ord. No. 26-21 with record of first-reading vote); Notice of Ordinance Adoption, Ord. No. 26-21, posted Oct. 13, 2026; Englewood Planning Board agenda, Sept. 24, 2026; City of Englewood ordinance notices page.