The City of Bayonne Municipal Council on June 11, 2025, unanimously endorsed a resolution affirming the city’s fourth‑round housing element and fair‑share plan and authorizing submission of an attached draft spending plan and rehabilitation manual to the Statewide Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program.

Derek Orth, the city’s special affordable‑housing counsel, told the council the endorsement is needed promptly because the municipality must submit the plan within 48 hours of the planning board’s action. “The spending plan constitutes a commitment to spend those dollars,” Orth said, adding that the plan is intended to preserve local affordable‑housing trust funds from state reclamation and to create a framework for future expenditures.

Why it matters: the endorsement preserves about $15 million currently held in Bayonne’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund and authorizes a draft framework that the city says will be used to finance rehabilitation and other affordable‑housing activities in coming years. The draft spending plan and rehab manual are being submitted now to secure the city’s participation in the new statewide fourth‑round process, after which the state program will review and allow a period for objections before final approval or court endorsement.

Key facts and council discussion
- The draft document endorsed by the council is the “housing element and fair‑share plan” required by recent amendments to New Jersey’s fair‑housing law; the council also endorsed as an exhibit a draft spending plan and a draft rehabilitation manual to be further refined. Orth said the plan will be submitted to the statewide dispute resolution program after the council’s endorsement.
- Orth said the Department of Community Affairs (DCA) determined Bayonne’s fourth‑round rehabilitation obligation to be 749 units; he told the council that Bayonne has already rehabilitated roughly 982 units since 2020 and that ongoing activity will count toward the town’s obligation.
- The city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund balance was described in the meeting as approximately $15,000,000. Orth and staff said the fund is made up of nonresidential development fees collected under state statute and that those dollars must be used for qualifying affordable‑housing activities rather than transferred to the general fund.
- The draft spending plan identifies buckets for projects, including funding proposed for the Bayonne Family Community Center SRO building; Orth said about $2,500,000 was proposed for roof, HVAC and other critical repairs to that SRO building of about 109 single‑room occupancy units.
- Orth described the draft rehab program as likely to use forgivable grants with a 10‑year recapture schedule (for example, 10% forgiveness per year), income eligibility rules, and administration by the Bayonne Housing Authority or other qualified entities. He said details in the rehab manual will be presented to council later and that applicants would be subject to an application process and income qualification.
- Council members pressed for more specificity about allocations and program mechanics. Orth and staff repeatedly said the document before the council is a draft spending plan attached as an exhibit to the housing element and that specific project allocations, funding agreements, and intergovernmental or operating agreements would return to the council for separate authorization before any trust funds were disbursed.
- Council members were advised that funds shown in the draft do not necessarily deplete the entire $15 million balance; Orth said roughly $4.5 million of existing funds were earmarked for specific rehab work, with the remainder placed in programmatic buckets to be allocated on a project‑by‑project basis as individual resolutions and funding agreements come forward.

Next steps and limits
- By endorsing the housing element and submitting the draft spending plan, Bayonne will enter the statewide review where there is a roughly two‑month period for objections. Orth said he does not anticipate objections based on the city’s prior experience.
- Orth and staff said the spending plan functions as a commitment mechanism; funds in the trust must be committed within a four‑year period, meaning the city must show commitments (not necessarily final expenditures) within that timeframe.
- If the state approves the general parameters, the council and staff will return with finalized spending plan details, a finalized rehab manual, and project‑specific resolutions and funding agreements for council approval prior to disbursing funds.

Council action
The council voted on resolution R1 endorsing the City of Bayonne’s fourth‑round housing element and fair‑share plan and authorizing submission of the attached draft spending plan and draft rehabilitation manual. The resolution passed by unanimous roll‑call vote.

Ending note
Orth said he will submit the endorsed draft to the Statewide Affordable Housing Dispute Resolution Program and expects to return to the council with more detailed spending and program documents in the coming months.