Summit updates affordable-housing progress as June 30 planning deadline approaches

Nancy Holmes, chair of Summit’s Affordable Housing Committee, gave the committee’s 2024 annual status report at the Common Council meeting, outlining projects, credits and outstanding obligations tied to the city’s court‑approved settlement with Fair Share Housing Center.

Holmes said the city has identified a mix of constructed, occupied and in‑progress affordable units that together amount to 62 credits toward a 50‑unit obligation the city must facilitate; she also noted Summit’s Round 4 allocation from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs (DCA): a 59‑unit rehabilitation obligation and a 345‑unit new construction obligation under the statute enacted in March 2024.

Why it matters: Summit must submit an updated affordable‑housing plan by a court and statutory schedule this spring and summer. Council members and community advocates said the city needs clearer, public trust‑fund accounting and a precise breakdown of how many of the required units will be family units or very‑low‑income units.

Holmes walked through projects she said count toward the city’s obligations: one completed family unit at 412 Morris; a Habitat for Humanity project at 146 Morris that is constructed and being filled; three constructed family units at 123–127 Summit Avenue; a seven‑unit family project at 557–565 Morris approved under the Morison/Bridal overlay; deed‑restricted supportive housing through Our House (a four‑bedroom group home recorded for 30 years, counted as four credits); a Brandywine assisted‑living project supplying 10 senior units; and a recently confirmed 12‑unit senior affordable project being finalized with Bergen County United Way.

Holmes also described administrative work: municipal housing liaison Stephanie Sulios and administrative agent Mark Lackington uploaded the city’s unit and trust‑fund data into the state’s new affordable‑housing monitoring system and were awaiting a DCA public interface for those data. She said the Mount Laurel subcommittee — created in February 2024 to address legal and plan issues for rounds 3 and 4 — is meeting frequently to finalize the city’s plan ahead of the June 30 deadline for a new affordable housing plan.

Public commenters pushed for more granular, published numbers. Helen Boylan of At Home in Summit said she could only independently verify 14 family units and was concerned Summit remained short of a 25‑family‑unit target for the applicable obligation; she also said the city appeared to be short by several very‑low‑income units. Dennis White urged clearer trust‑fund accounting and urged the council to retain the old Firehouse site rather than sell it while the Round 4 vacant‑land analysis is under way.

Council members responded that the DCA’s change to a new online reporting system and the recent statutory changes made reporting more complex this cycle. Councilwoman Hamlet said trust‑fund printouts would be provided and that the city was working to make the data public once the DCA interface is available. Council members reiterated the goal of prioritizing family units and said the Mount Laurel subcommittee will review credits, redevelopments and any projects that fall out of prior plans to preserve compliance with Round 3 while preparing Round 4 submissions.

Holmes closed by noting some projects that counted as credits may still be finalizing developer agreements or legal items and that the city’s 50‑unit target had been met on paper with 62 credits, while Summit also reported a surplus of 13 units versus its Round 3 realistic development potential of 36 units.

Looking ahead, Holmes and council members said the Mount Laurel subcommittee will continue its review, the DCA interface should make trust‑fund details public, and the council expects to finalize the city’s Round 4 housing element and plan before the statutory deadlines.