What Is Summit's Affordable Housing Obligation? Legal Team Explains

SUMMIT, NJ — As redevelopment projects like Broad Street West have become contentious topics at Summit Council meetings, many have questioned the city’s actual need and obligation to create affordable housing.

A legal team, which included Summit’s affordable housing attorney, conducted a presentation at Monday night’s council meeting and broke down the city’s affordable housing obligations.

Matthew DiLauri, Summit’s assistant director of operations and planning, explained that Summit entered into a Settlement Agreement with Fair Share Housing back in Oct. of 2016.

All New Jersey municipalities are mandated by the state courts to provide low and moderate-income housing due to a 1975 NJ Supreme Court case that came out of Mt. Laurel Township.

Under the current settlement agreement, Summit has a long-term goal of rehabilitating 131 affordable housing units, and constructing a total of 663 new units.

This 663 figure was reduced from its original 738 obligation because Summit has received a number of credits by building affordable housing over the years, as well as funding other affordable projects, such as one in Elizabeth that created 26 units.

DiLauri explained that Summit’s 131 unit rehabilitation obligation means the city has to make improvements to existing housing that is "sub-standard" and owned or rented by qualified affordable households.

The city must invest at least $10,000 in rehabilitation for each unit in order for it to count toward its obligation. This includes improving the units’ HVAC system, roof, windows and more.
Evidently, it would take a long time for Summit to create 663 new affordable units.

As a result, Fair Share Housing has imposed a short-term goal for the city to create 50 new affordable units by July of 2025.

However, Summit has already built 18 units of affordable housing that would count toward this goal. This includes the recent 12-unit Habitat for Humanity complex on 146 Morris Avenue, as well as another on Ashwood Court and other projects on Summit and Morris Avenues.

As it stands now, Summit must “take all reasonable steps” needed to build 32 more affordable units by 2025 in order to reach its 50 unit requirement.

Because the city does not have enough vacant land available to build one 50-unit affordable housing building, DiLauri said the Summit would achieve its goal through scattered-site development.

Broad Street West, which is proposed to include a percentage of affordable housing units, is an example of a “scattered site” development.

Besides redevelopments like Broad Street West, DiLauri said other projects that would help Summit meet its requirement would include partnering with non-profit developers, such as Habitat for Humanity.

Other ways to capture affordable housing units would be developing in overlay zones, but DiLauri said this would not count toward Summit’s 50 new unit requirement.

The city could also generate more units with a mandatory set-aside ordinance, in which any new multi-family project with five or more units would require the developer to set aside a certain number of affordable units. DiLauri said the developer would have to set aside 15 percent if it’s a rental or 20 percent if it’s owned.

Summit also has a growing Affordable Housing Trust Fund. When developers build residential and non-residential projects that do not include affordable housing, they must pay into the city’s trust fund.

The city's budget in the fund right now is $3,697,924, according to DiLauri’s presentation.

Councilman Greg Vartan clarified that half of the 50 new units that Summit must build cannot be age-restricted and must be available to the general public. He also asked Holm, the affordable housing attorney, what exactly “reasonable efforts” means.

Holm explained that the city must “use every mechanism available” to build affordable housing and that redevelopment would be the main mechanism for Summit.

Because New Jersey's Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) was abolished by Gov. Chris Christie in 2011, Holm described the current state of the courts as “the wild west” and that she hopes COAH will soon be reinstated.

Cranford, as well as 12 other towns, recently filed a lawsuit against Gov. Murphy, which compels him to reconstitute COAH.

Read more: Cranford Joins 12 Towns In Affordable Housing Lawsuit Against Murphy

Resident Kevin McGoey argued that 50 units do not need to be built by 2025 but that the city must take “reasonable efforts,” which he said the city is doing.

However, Holm said the city has to demonstrate to Fair Share Housing that all mechanisms are in place to create 50 units by 2025.

“Whether or not they are built by 2025 is a different story,” Holm said.

Holm also added that Summit currently has immunity against Mt. Laurel lawsuits, which means that no builder can file a "builder's remedy" against the city. A builder's remedy is a mechanism that redevelopers use to expedite the construction of low or moderate-income housing when a municipality fails to comply with laws related to housing development.

This essentially allows a developer to bypass or ignore the municipality's zoning laws and begin construction in an expedited manner.

Holm said if Summit does not satisfy its obligations, the the city could be stripped of its immunity.

Mayor Nora Radest said Fair Share Housing has “forced the issue” of affordable housing and is putting pressure on towns like Chatham who have not built affordable housing for decades.

She said Summit has done a much better job of implementing affordable housing, as its goal is 50, as opposed to other towns who need more than 100 new units.

You can view the Common Council meeting, as well as the affordable housing presentation on YouTube below:

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