The Jersey City Council approved development impact fees to fund their affordable housing and their right-to-counsel plan spearheaded by Ward E Councilman James Solomon at last week’s meeting.
By John Heinis/Hudson County View
“This is a critical step towards increasing affordability in Jersey City and keeping long-term residents in the communities they call home,” Solomon said in a statement.
“In particular, the Right-to-Counsel program will be able to provide legal representation to low and moderate-income tenants facing eviction — a win for working people across our city.”
The Jersey City Council unanimously approved the RTC program in June 2023, which requires the city to provide an attorney to tenants, free of charge, in the event that their landlord takes them to court.
This would be addressed by a new RTC office established in City Hall.
The second related ordinance would have development fees cover the costs, with 20 percent of the money allocated to the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund used to fund the RTC, with 80 percent earmarked for other miscellaneous affordable housing policies.
The development fee spending plan resolution approved unanimously (8-0) by the council on Wednesday will support both rehabilitation of existing affordable homes and affordability assistance programs.
For example, over $10 million will be dedicated to repairing and preserving both rental and owner-occupied units for low-and moderate-income households—ensuring all residents have access to safe and decent housing.
Additionally, up to $20 million will be used to subsidize the creation of new housing, including fully affordable developments and the conversion of market-rate units into income-restricted housing.
All units created through this program will carry long-term affordability controls—40 years for rentals, 30 years for ownership.
Furthermore, there will be emergency rental assistance, with grants covering up to 12 months of rent for income-qualified households facing eviction, emergency health and safety repair grants for owners of affordable homes facing unexpected costs related to emergency repairs.
There will also be down payment assistance of up to $50,000 for buyers of deed-restricted affordable homes, as well as subsidies to convert moderate-income units into very low-income housing, expanding opportunities for residents earning below 30% of the area median income.
According to the resolution, Jersey City is anticipating approximately $52,875,000 from
residential development and nonresidential development fees between November
27th, 2024 and July 1st, 2035.
