‘Groundbreaking’ Newark Affordable Housing Law Would Combat Gentrification: Mayor

NEWARK, NJ — Newark residents who can’t afford rising rents in the city may get some reprieve under a proposed city affordable housing ordinance.

On Wednesday evening, Mayor Ras Baraka re-introduced Ordinance 17-0842, dubbed the “Inclusionary Zoning for Affordable Housing Ordinance,” to the Newark City Council ahead of a hearing and vote on July 12.

Baraka said that the law would help prevent “the kind of gentrification that happens in other cities undergoing development.”

According to Baraka, the proposed law would help those seeking affordable housing in the city in several ways:

• Developers who are creating or rehabilitating housing projects with more than 30 units would be required to set aside 20 percent of the units as “affordable housing”
• The reserved units would have to be “affordable to those in a different income levels ranging from 40 percent of the area's median income to 80 percent”
• The affordable units must be provided on-site and not in other locations
• Newark residents would get priority for the affordable units

The proposed law would apply to “all new residential development throughout the city” and not just pre-designated areas, making it a leap forward from other inclusionary zoning laws such as New York City’s, Baraka said.

Many provisions of the ordinance would take effect on Jan. 1, 2018.

Read the full ordinance here.

"This is a groundbreaking step in housing development in the city of Newark and a pioneering step for all of America's cities," Baraka posited. "We are forging an innovative collaboration with developers, whereby they are not only committing to the economic growth of our city but also to enabling residents to remain in Newark, improving their living conditions, preventing the kind of gentrification that happens in other cities undergoing development, and assisting with the facilitation of home ownership. Once again, Newark is leading the way, defining how a city cares for its residents and what a city should be."

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EXEMPTIONS

According to the mayor’s office, developers who are building properties that are entirely affordable or less than 30 units are exempt from the ordinance.

In addition, under “certain circumstances” and with the approval of the Zoning Board of Adjustment, developers would be allowed to make a voluntary cash payment into the city's Affordable Housing Trust Fund in lieu of constructing all or part of the income-restricted units required by the legislation.

The amount of payment-in-lieu would be based on “the percentage of required affordable units that are actually included in the project,” the mayor’s office stated.

These payments would be able to be reduced if the developer builds retail space within specific neighborhoods or rehabilitates residential homes, to be sold at cost, within a specific neighborhood, Baraka stated.

“The payment-in-lieu program is not intended to be a right available to developers at their sole option,” Baraka said. “The policy we are inaugurating is to favor the construction of income-restricted units. These payments-in-lieu will simply be an additional way for the city to create affordable housing for residents.”

• See related article: Your N.J. Town Probably Has To Make Room For Low-Income Housing

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