Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Affordable Housing topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Westfield planner says settlement goal met, but family affordable units remain elusive
Summary
Town planner Don Samet told the Westfield Town Council the municipality has exceeded its 20-unit obligation under its settlement with Fair Share Housing Center by funding 30 units, but nonprofit developers have struggled to build family units because of high land costs.
Don Samet, Westfield town planner, told the Town Council during an annual report that the town has exceeded the 20-unit goal required by its settlement with Fair Share Housing Center and the court-approved housing plan.
Samet said the town used its Affordable Housing Trust Fund—financed by developer-paid fees—to support nonprofit projects and other local efforts. "To date, we've been able to fund 8 bedrooms of special needs units through that program in working with both Arc of Union County and Community Options," Samet said. He added that funding for 22 units at the American Legion for at-risk and homeless veterans also counts toward the settlement total: "So with the 8 special needs bedrooms and the 22, we've reached 30."
The nut of the report is that while the town exceeded the numeric target required by the settlement, it did not meet the settlement’s expectation that half the additional units be family units open to all households. Samet said nonprofit builders repeatedly lose bidding contests for land in Westfield because property values are high, and as a result they have been able to deliver special-needs and veteran housing more readily than family units.
Samet described the town's implementation tools: an open RFP program that offers per-unit funding for nonprofit proposals, a resolution of support for specific projects applying to state funding, and an annual meeting with nonprofit developers to solicit proposals and discuss barriers. He noted one active local project, PSAIC Affordable Housing at 211 South Avenue East, where the developer has applied to the New Jersey Affordable Housing Trust Fund to make all three units in that small project affordable.
Samet said the town has also offered limited supports such as an emergency generator program for affordable projects and that the Westfield Housing Commission participates in annual proposal reviews and funding recommendations. He concluded the presentation by advising residents seeking affordable units to consult statewide listings: affordablehomesnewjersey.com and the New Jersey Housing Resource Center.
The presentation was informational; no formal council action was taken on the report. Council members asked questions about the inability to produce family units and confirmed that the town has relied on trust-fund dollars and nonprofit partnerships to meet its settlement obligations.
Looking ahead, Samet said the town continues work on its fourth-round affordable housing plan to meet state deadlines and will continue outreach to nonprofits to identify projects and municipal options for facilitating family-unit construction.
