Affordable Housing Plan Challenged Again In Summit

SUMMIT, NJ — The last challenger to the Fourth Round Affordable Housing Plan filed a request for a full court hearing on Thursday morning after the recent dismissal of their claims against the City of Summit's handling of the program.

Incline Capital, one of the three parties that challenged the City's Municipal Housing Element and Fair Share Plan (HEFSP), said they were ambushed with little notice before the statutory deadline of Dec. 31, 2025 to review a drastic change in the proposal.

The firm says it was only given eight days to review and object to the City's plan to completely "abandon its reliance on a vacant land adjustment and adopt zoning that would purportedly meet its entire 345-unit prospective need."

The complaint outlined by attorneys on Thursday acknowledges that the adoption of the Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program and the City of Summit were operating on tight deadlines, but contends that Incline was not given a fair opportunity to properly challenge the plan.

"The FHA (Fair Housing Act) afforded potential challengers at least two months to review and formally object to a municipality's housing plan. Here, with respect to Summit's revised plan, Incline had one week," the letter to the judge states.

Incline, in the letter, also alleges that Summit's plan is "unrealistic for inclusionary development because they are either not actually available and/or present feasibility issues due to special conditions affecting those properties."

On Feb. 12, the court accepted Summit's Housing Element and Fair Share Plan for the Fourth Round Cycle and dismissed Incline's challenge. Settlements were reached with the other two organizations that contested the plan, Russo Development and Fair Share Housing Center.

Incline now says "the only way for the Court to fully and fairly evaluate the City's HEFSP and Incline's objections is to conduct a full hearing on the record."

Patch has reached out to the City of Summit regarding Thursday's filing and is awaiting further comment. Check back for updates.

The City has outlined its plan with key dates moving forward, including its pending adoption at a Feb. 23 Planning Board meeting, for residents to stay informed on Summit's website.

ADDITIONAL COVERAGE: Court Approves Affordable Housing, Dismisses Last Challenge In Summit

Rodger A. Bucchianeri, Managing Partner with Incline Capital, shared the following in talking to Patch after Thursday's filing:

"Incline Capital is committed to fighting for what’s right in Summit and New Jersey. The City has tried everything they can for decades to prevent appropriate development, and in turn, prevent affordable housing. Comments made by Summit officials, such as in a State Senate Hearing in March 2024 of how affordable housing is “…expanding crime that has seeped into our communities” are factually incorrect fear mongering and simply irresponsible. At the end of the day, it comes down to one thing, discrimination.

Summit’s Round 4 Plan is woefully deficient in achieving the State-mandated affordable housing for the City. It’s just another smoke and mirrors attempt to play with the numbers for “paper compliance” to keep Summit’s immunity and prevent affordable housing. Instead of their initial claim of needing a 95% “Vacant Land Adjustment” to diminish their responsibility down to 18 units, Summit is now claiming that all of a sudden they found a way to create the entire Round 4 requirement of 345 units. They’re doing this by utilizing admittedly ineligible properties and sites with very low “realistic development potential”, which is not permitted by the Program. Anyone reasonable can see how the drastic last-minute change in approach raises suspicion and should warrant further investigation, which Incline is fighting to do.

Rather than trying to trick the Program and hide the truth from the residents and business owners, Summit and their consultants should be held accountable for their actions and disingenuous Round 4 Plan in a full hearing. Summit needs to provide inclusionary housing in appropriate and realistic locations. There is already a resident uprising against the 100% affordable development the City is imposing in a single-family neighborhood along Shunpike Road, for which the City kept residents completely in the dark of without any chance to speak up. Now is the time."

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