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Council amends and adopts Jersey City ordinance on housing compliance and fees after public hearing
Summary
After public comment about non-ratable properties and school-tax impacts, Jersey City’s council unanimously amended a typographical reference and adopted City Ordinance 26-023 to reorganize housing accommodations and affordable-housing compliance provisions.
The Jersey City Municipal Council adopted City Ordinance 26-023 on May 6 following a public hearing that drew residents voicing frustration about the tax implications of affordable and publicly owned housing.
Council members described the ordinance as primarily a technical reformatting and reorganization of the municipal code’s housing-accommodations and affordable-housing compliance sections. During the public hearing, several residents raised broader concerns about who pays school taxes and how tax abatements and public-housing deals affect the city’s ratable base. "Public housing pays nothing because of the sweetheart deal we gave way back when," said Ivonne B., who urged the council to consider the fiscal consequences of current arrangements.
After public comment, the council identified a typographical error in Chapter 188 (a cross-reference to section 188-20 rather than 188-18). Council members and the corporation counsel confirmed the correction was not a substantive change and moved to amend the ordinance. The council then adopted Ordinance 26-023 as amended by a unanimous vote.
The ordinance will go into effect per the municipal code’s schedule for adopted ordinances; council members said they expect continued discussion about tax abatement practices and the city’s fiscal health in separate future actions.
