A Vote On A Zoning Ordinance Set The Stage For A Debate At Jersey City's Council Meeting

JERSEY CITY, NJ — Wednesday night's City Council vote on whether to send Councilman At-Large Rolando Lavarro's Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance to the Planning Board stirred up more debate on affordable housing and its supporters in the council.

The resolution was voted down 6-3, with Lavarro, Ward E Councilman James Solomon and Ward B Councilwoman Mira Prinz-Arey voting in favor and the rest of the councilors voting against.

Getting the resolution on the agenda was an event in itself after some push and pull at the last council meeting. The resolution revised the city's old IZO to include 20 percent affordable housing in all new developments, with no loopholes or trade-offs for developers. The ordinance draws a hard line at 20 percent. Lavarro and Ward E Councilman James Solomon were the only two council members to vote against the city's original IZO, which was recently struck down in court last month.

Several councilors agreed that a new affordable housing and Inclusionary Zoning Ordinance was needed, but made arguments that they hadn't had meetings with representatives at Fair Share Housing Center. Fair Share Housing Center is a nonprofit dedicated to promoting and defending affordable housing and ending discriminatory or exclusionary zoning. FSHC spearheaded the push for Jersey City's original IZO to be struck down by the court.

With the original IZO out of the picture, Jersey City councilors are left to create a new, equitable zoning ordinance with the help of FSHC. Since the IZO court case, Lavarro and Solomon have also formed separate ordinances of their own with their visions of what affordable housing should look like in Jersey City.

Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley and Council President Joyce Watterman shared the sentiment that there were too many ordinances being thrown out to make progress. Both councilwomen hinted that it being an election year has led to issues like affordable housing being politicized.

"Why are we asking the planning board to do double, triple work," Ridley said.

She took time during her vote to call out Lavarro for comments he made on social media alerting residents to her upcoming 'no' vote on the IZO, adding "Greenville needs a councilperson who will prioritize the people of Jersey City, not developers bottom line and not the political interests of their political bosses."

Ridley accused Lavarro of politicizing the issue and brought up a past vote focused on a tax abatement for a project at University Place on the Westside where Lavarro voted, despite having ties to a former employer involved with the project.

"Don't tell lies about me and I won't tell the truth about you," Ridley said, before casting her 'no' vote.

Lavarro voted in favor of his resolution and pointed out that the resolution he is proposing is stronger than the original IZO, which all other councilors, except Solomon, had voted in favor of in the past. He reiterated his social media sentiments that Ward A and Greenville residents are cost-burdened.

"Your residents are clamoring for affordable housing," Lavarro said.

Councilman At-Large Daniel Rivera voted against the resolution but stressed that he, like others on the council, was "100 percent for affordable housing," Rivera said. "This looks like we're playing politics with people that really need affordable housing."

Watterman echoed the same sentiment, closing the vote with "We all care about affordable housing, but how do we get it."

"We as a council need to sit down and see what works," Watterman added, "The only ones that's going to suffer are the people that need it most."