Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Housing Element Fair Share topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Summit planning board outlines housing element, fair share schedule; Burgess warns of state 'reallocation' dispute
Summary
Planning consultant Joe Burgess told the Summit Planning Board on March 24 that six retired judges are reviewing municipal adjustment requests and that a disputed statewide "reallocation" issue could change affordable-housing obligations for some towns.
The Summit Planning Board received a detailed update March 24 on the city's housing element and fair share plan process and the statewide review underway.
Joe Burgess, the board's planning consultant, said six retired judges are reviewing applications from municipalities seeking reductions to their affordable housing obligations. Burgess said 440 municipalities filed adjustments, more than expected, and roughly 159 of those have received formal objections from parties such as the Fair Share Housing Center and the New Jersey Builders Association.
Burgess described a novel and unresolved issue in this round known as "reallocation," in which units reduced by one municipality could be reassigned to others that the state believes can accommodate additional development. He said the reallocation mechanism has generated surprises and legal challenge in some regions and that the judge-review phase of the process is due to conclude March 31. "That process has been ongoing," Burgess said, noting the reallocation matter was not contemplated in earlier rounds and may result in further litigation.
Summit did not file an objection to its preliminary number and instead intends to pursue a vacant land adjustment, Burgess said. The planning consultant outlined the statutory schedule the board must meet: a draft housing element and fair share plan must be prepared and adopted by the planning board and endorsed by the governing body for filing by June 30; draft implementing ordinances must be ready at that filing and the city has until March 2026 to adopt final ordinances.
The board also described its public-engagement timeline: two listening sessions dedicated to housing (one in April and another in May), followed by a special planning-board meeting in early June to present the final draft, solicit public comment and vote on adoption. The board asked residents to send written feedback to summitdcs@cityofsummit.org by April 21 to inform the county-level cross-acceptance process and the town's own housing work.
Chairman Steven Spurr and board members emphasized the legal and scheduling stakes: failure to meet the June 30 filing date would risk the municipality's immunity from affordable-housing litigation. The board did not take formal votes on plan content at the March 24 meeting; members directed staff and the consultants to continue developing draft materials and to schedule the public listening sessions described above.
Ending: The board will hold two dedicated listening sessions on housing in April and May and expects a June special meeting for final public comment and a planning-board adoption vote; staff will continue to coordinate with consultants and the governing body to meet the June 30 filing requirement.
