Somerville council adopts inclusionary zoning and affordable-housing overlay despite developer objection

Somerville Borough Council on March 2 adopted a package of ordinances to implement its amended housing element and fair-share plan for 2025–2035, including an inclusionary zoning mechanism and an affordable-housing overlay for a Bell Avenue site.

Redevelopment counsel Christopher Zangaro told the council the plan and implementing ordinances are the product of more than a year of work with the planning board and outside professionals and reflect changes required under state guidance. The measures include a 20 percent affordable set-aside for developments larger than five units (15 percent for rentals), updated development-fee rules and zoning changes meant to align local standards with Department of Community Affairs and HMFA model regulations.

"This structure will capture affordables going forward," Zangaro said, describing an earlier December 2025 settlement with Fair Share Housing Center that adjusted two project proposals and preserved the set-aside mechanism. He said the council is acting to submit materials for court review and to secure a compliance certification that would offer 10 years of protection under state rules.

Planner Mike Cole summarized the implementing ordinances as an inclusionary approach that spreads affordable obligations across applicable zones rather than creating a single affordable-housing zone. "It covers the whole borough — whatever development comes to the borough will be captured with these ordinances," he said, adding that the ordinances distinguish between large multiunit projects and small-scale single-family work.

During the public hearing on the AHO1 overlay for Block 127 Lot 4 (the Bell Avenue parcel), counsel for Bell Avenue Holdings objected to a granular technical provision. Fatch Tran, a planner representing the property owner, said section 102-12207 limits the number of three-bedroom market-rate units in the development to five and argued that restriction is unnecessarily "cost-generative." Tran said the developer had planned for 15 three-bedroom market units and that the five-unit cap could undermine the project's ability to cross-subsidize its six required affordable units.

"Restricting the market-rate units such that only five of them can be three-bedroom units is to restrict the financial feasibility of the project," Tran said, asking the council to consider increasing the cap. He added that, by his analysis, raising the limit from five to 15 would increase the project population by roughly 6.6 residents and generate about two additional public-school children — figures he called unlikely to produce substantial municipal-service impacts.

Council members closed the public hearing and moved to adopt the implementing ordinances. Roll-call votes show unanimous support for the measures recorded in the minutes: Terresa Bonner (yes), Andrew Kiy (yes), Glen Zeny (yes), Randy Pittz (yes), Gina Stravik (yes) and Roger Verm (yes).

The council did not adopt a separate amendment in response to the developer's objection during the meeting. The full amended housing element and supporting documents were endorsed in a consent resolution (resolution referencing the May 19, 2025 plan) and authorized for submission to the affordable-housing dispute resolution program and court review.

What happens next: the borough will submit the amended plan and implementing ordinances for court review and seek a compliance determination under New Jersey's affordable-housing framework. The council's actions put local zoning and development-fee mechanisms in place; any change to the disputed three-bedroom limitation would require a subsequent ordinance amendment or negotiated revision with the property owner.

Speakers quoted: Christopher Zangaro (redevelopment counsel), Mike Cole (planner), and planner Fatch Tran (representing Bell Avenue Holdings).