Summit, NJ turns down affordable housing development to build pricey apartments

WNYC News

An affluent New Jersey city has rejected community members’ proposal for an all-affordable housing development in its downtown and instead plans on selling the large piece of land to the highest bidder for market-rate units.

Summit, where the average home is valued at nearly $1.2 million, is operating under an agreement with the state to “make all reasonable efforts” to develop 50 affordable units by June 2025, under a state law requiring every municipality to build its “fair share” of affordable housing. But so far, the city has identified spots where 25 affordable units could be built, and just 16 have been built. Community members proposing a 42-unit, 100% affordable development at a city-owned site currently occupied by a firehouse that is being relocated hoped the plan would make up the difference.

But the Summit Common Council voted 5-2 last week to rezone the firehouse site, a first step toward eventually selling it to a developer for market-rate units, with a much smaller portion set aside for affordable rentals. The move comes as state lawmakers try to get towns to build more affordable housing, especially near town centers, with an estimated need for 200,000 units statewide. Housing advocates say those efforts are often stifled by local leaders who resist affordable housing agreements, backlash from residents and the reality that land in many towns, like Summit, is already largely developed.

Read more at Gothamist.