State Housing Funds Can Stay With Towns, For Now

Appellate judges rule only the Council on Affordable Housing can force municipalities to give their local funds to the state.

New Jersey municipalities' affordable housing funds are safe. For now. Late Friday, the Appellate Division of Superior Court issued an order preventing the state from taking $142 million in local trust fund dollars. The move seemed a bit contradictory, given the court—different judges—had refused to put out a similar injunction last month. But Friday's ruling came as part of a different, yet connected, case. Warning: This gets really complicated and convoluted. A majority of the judges agreed Friday with an argument made by the Fair Share Housing Center that only the Council on Affordable Housing can order towns to give the state the money they have been collecting in development fees, some for decades. This is because in a March 8 order, …

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Affordable Housing Fight Goes Back to the Courts

Housing advocate and municipalities try to prevent the state from taking their funds.

The battle between the Christie administration and the Fair Share Housing Center continues. This time, the two sides are going to court Friday over as much as $200 million in local affordable housing trust funds. So far, the Appellate Division of Superior Court has been kind to the Cherry Hill-based housing advocates, but this case could be a different story. To help balance the budget, Gov. Chris Christie recommended the state use the trust fund money. The administration appears to be within its legal right to do so, as the law creating the funds—and the developer fees that municipalities levy to subsidize them—specified municipalities had to “commit to spend” the money within four years. The clock strikes midnight on July 17. But as …

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Letters to the Editor

Letter to the Editor: Making Life in Summit Better for Seniors

Sandy Bloom, Democratic Candidate for Ward 1, wants to explore options for making Summit affordable and enriching the lives of senior citizens.

Dear Editor: Campaigning door-to-door in Summit’s neighborhoods, I have met a lot of Senior citizens and listened to their concerns.  Some of the recurring concerns I have heard are about keeping Summit affordable, transportation and services geared to seniors. The suburbs traditionally have catered to families with children.  The Democratic slate for city government believes now is the time to devote special attention to the needs of our seniors because having a diverse community from young families to seniors enriches the community for everyone.  Seniors enrich our city with their experience and public spirit.  We’re enthusiastic about focusing on the interests and contributions of older residents. Keeping Summit affordable is key.  This…

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Affordable Housing Lottery Deadline Approaches

The Summit Affordable Housing Corporation is taking applications for 9 open units.

Summit’s current nine-unit affordable housing stock will get snapped up next month.  A Nov. 7 lottery will determine who gets the units, which are priced from $816 to $1,213 per month.  Lou Riccio, the executive director of the Summit Affordable Housing Corporation (SAHC) and Summit Housing Authority, says he expects over 200 applications to be filed for the apartments. The available one and two-bedroom units are located at 13 North Street, 708-710 Springfield Avenue (a multi-family unit currently under construction) and a two-bedroom apartment at the Summit Place development.  “Even after these nine units come online,” Riccio said, “the waiting list for affordable housing in Summit is probably 7 to 10 years long. The cost of housing is so…

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Zoning Board Approves Habitat Project

Council voted 5-2 to approve application with more than a dozen conditions.

Despite serious concerns over the density on the site, the zoning board approved an application by Habitat for Humanity with several variances in order to construct a six-unit affordable housing project at 39 Morris Ave. Planning Board member Dottie Koernig said she felt that 17 conditions for approval was far too many for an application. The conditions ranged from requiring the hedge in the front of the property to remain or be replaced if removed during construction, to requiring continuous screening between the project and the adjacent neighbors at 35 Morris Ave. through a fence and trees. "I would like to see affordable housing in Summit," she said. "But this is not the right place for it." The only other nay vote came from Mark …

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Letter to the Editor: Summit Needs More Affordable Housing

Median income in city doesn't match up with home prices.

To the Editor: On Dec. 7, the Zoning Board will consider Habitat for Humanity's proposal to build six new units of affordable housing in Summit. Incredibly, a few people oppose the project because they claim Summit doesn't need more affordable housing. Maybe I missed something.  According to the 2000 U.S. Census, nearly one in five homeowners with a mortgage spend more than a third of their family income on it. That's before taking property taxes, insurance and maintenance into account. About a third of renters spend about the same proportion of their income on their rent.  The average income in Summit is about $118,000, but the average house price in June was $800,000.  And about one in five Summit residents have family incomes under $50,…

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Residents Voice Concerns at Habitat Hearing

Morris Habitat testified in front of a full house at last night's zoning board meeting where neighbors voiced their opinions on the controversial project.

Morris Habitat had its second appearance in front of the zoning board on Monday night to have representatives testify details of the controversial project at 39 Morris Ave. Council chambers were once again filled with concerned residents from around Summit hoping to voice their opinions on the number of units and the possible effect the building could have on traffic, taxes and home values, among other things. Alfred Stewart, the project's engineer, first spoke about the changes in the plan since the last meeting, which included changes in drainage and plantings around the property. Fire lanes were also added to the front of the property per the fire chief's suggestion, along with no parking signs to ensure safe rescue in case of a fire. …

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