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Passaic council approves zoning change to permit townhouses in R‑1 and R‑2 districts
Summary
The Passaic City Council unanimously approved an ordinance allowing townhouses as a permitted use in the city’s R‑1 and R‑2 residential zones, with officials saying the change aims to increase homeownership options without forcing demolitions of established homes.
The Passaic City Council on March 18 voted to amend the municipal zoning code to permit townhouses in R‑1 and R‑2 residential districts.
The measure, proposed as ordinance 24‑79‑25, passed on a unanimous roll call after a public hearing and comments from residents and city staff. Business Administrator Rick Fernandez told the council the change would allow townhouses on larger lots while preserving single‑family neighborhoods.
The ordinance’s backers said townhouses can provide a relatively affordable ownership option for middle‑income and aging households who want to remain in their neighborhoods. “Townhouses are a middle class home,” said Yossi Holof, a resident who spoke at the hearing, praising the council’s effort to expand homeownership. Fernandez said the R‑1 minimum lot size in the city is 5,000 square feet and that townhouse development would typically require larger, combined lots rather than encouraging demolition of well‑established single‑family homes.
Officials said the ordinance is intended to encourage new ownership opportunities on vacant or underused lots and at older properties in need of replacement or substantial renovation, not to force residents from existing homes. Fernandez told the council, “We’re envisioning larger lots…we’re not looking to tear down well established functioning homes.”
Speakers during the hearing raised questions about earlier local affordability rules requiring 20% low‑income set‑asides for developments of five or more units; some commenters urged the council to reconsider how that requirement applies to for‑sale townhouse projects. The council and administration said those affordability rules remain in effect and that detailed project review, financing and bank underwriting will determine whether a given townhouse proposal is viable.
Council members closed the public hearing and adopted the ordinance; the business administrator said standard development rules—lot size, setbacks and the city’s prohibition on multiple primary residential structures on a single lot—will still apply.
The ordinance will appear on the city code and take effect consistent with municipal procedures. Staff and planning officials said they will provide guidance to applicants and the planning board about how the change will be implemented in practice.
Ending: The council framed the change as one piece of a broader strategy to diversify housing types and expand ownership opportunities in Passaic while retaining protections for existing neighborhoods.
