This is a reasonable solution to a big problem wrecking the present and future JC. I would have tied it to with a mile radius of the project, not just the same ward. And I would have added a window of time that they would have to be built.
Even if this passes though, who will enforce it? Enforcement of urban planning regulations in this city seem a bit . . . uh, lax.

Can someone explain the phrases:
non-resident worker
city-worker requirement

as they relate to this issue.

Jersey City City Council tables ordinance restricting use of Affordable Housing Trust Fund cash

June 27, 2012, 8:28 PM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

The Jersey City City Council tonight postponed a vote on a measure that would restrict use of funds from the city?s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, a week after the top city attorney said the proposed ordinance is vulnerable to legal challenges.

The measure, pushed by Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop, would distribute affordable housing throughout the city instead of concentrating the units in Ward F.

Fulop tonight expressed ?disappointment? that the ordinance was tabled, though he voted in favor of postponing the vote.

The measure is ?a solution to create more diverse communities and stronger communities,? he said tonight.

Developers required to construct affordable-housing units can contribute to the AHTF instead of building the units on site, and those funds can then be used to build the affordable units anywhere in the city.

According to a city analysis, 72 percent of AHTF funds are used to build affordable units in Ward F, followed by 12 percent in Ward D, three percent in Ward E and one percent in Ward A. No funds were used to build units in Ward C.

Fulop?s proposal would have required that the AHTF funds be used to build units in the same ward as the development that generated the funds. It would also have required developers who receive money from the trust fund to hire city residents for at least 25 percent of their workforce.

That requirement makes the proposed ordinance vulnerable to legal challenges, according to Corporation Counsel Bill Matsikoudis.

In a June 21 memo to the council, Matsikoudis said the city would have to prove in court that it has ?significant problems with unemployment and poverty? that are directly related to non-resident workers.

Matsikoudis adds that the city-worker requirement would be ?impossible to meet.?

?Any attempt to punish or fine a developer for failing to meet an impossible mandate would be illegal,? he writes.

http://www.nj.com/hudson/index.ssf/20 ... city_council_table_3.html

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Well if you want uniformed living in all wards then try starting with the zoned parking situation. Why as a city resident I can't park my car in another section of Jersey City during the day unless I have a sticked from that neighbornood. Or if I live on the border of a ward or zone I can't park there without having a sticker ? It would be as if I needed 2 stickers. Hoboken as other towns have uniform zoned parking.

A divided Jersey City City Council last night introduced a measure that supporters say will lead to affordable housing units being spread among all six of the city?s wards.
The ordinance, approved 6-3, would keep Jersey City from becoming ?two separate cities,? said its sponsor, Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop.
The measure would add restrictions to the city?s Affordable Housing Trust Fund, which developers are sometimes permitted to donate to instead of building on-site affordable units.
The trust fund can be used to build the units anywhere in the city, but the measure introduced last night would require funds donated from, say, a Ward E developer to be used to build units in Ward E only.
Allowing the trust fund to be used to build units anywhere in the city creates ?a tale of two cities,? Fulop said last night, using the Dickens phrase he?s deployed often when discussing affordable housing.
The revisions up for discussion, he said, ?give people an opportunity to live in every part of the city.?
The measure would also require developers using trust fund dollars to hire Jersey City contractors for at least 25 percent of their workforce. In addition, the trust fund could only be used for hard costs, such as construction, and not for engineering studies or attorney fees.
Fulop was joined by council members David Donnelly, Rolando Lavarro, Nidia Lopez, Michele Massey and Viola Richardson in voting for the measure.
Council President Peter Brennan and Councilmen Bill Gaughan and Michael Sottolano voted against it, with Sottolano saying he doesn?t want any ward denied money to build affordable units.
?I think the Affordable Housing Trust Fund has done very well for my ward,? he said.JJ

JP,

Renters don't have as much to lose as homeowners if they mess up the place. yes - they may lose some of the security deposit which can be subtracted as damages but compared to homeowners, that is almost nothing. Homeowners lose home value - which for a home costing 400k (avg for a luxury 1br) is A LOT more than any security deposit.

On average, Homeowners treat their own homes much better than strangers who rent their homes do. That is the value of homeowners.

On the affordable housing front - I think I said this before but affordable housing in new construction - especially new luxury construction does not make any sense.

What need does affordable luxury housing mean? The need to rent a luxury high rise at below market rates? Give me a break. The term luxury affordable housing is an oxymoron.

Let's take Gulls Cove for example. There's a gym, deck, 24/7 security, central ac/heat, units have floor to ceiling windows, and many units have SS appliances. Affordable housing in a building like that makes absolutely no sense and is completely unfair to those who live in buildings without any of those amenities and pay the market rate. Also unfair to those who buy at market rates and rent at market rents within Gulls Cove itself!

There should be buildings that do not qualify for affordable housing - GC being one of them. Now someone argued - oh, but the appliances don't have to be stainless steel in the affordable housing units. WOW, what a difference. Does the affordable housing renter or owner still get access to the gym, deck with views of manhattan, and can he/she call the 24/7 security guy to get a cab, or use the elevator?

All I'm asking for you to think about it - does affordable housing make logical sense in a high rise?

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I am.

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As it should be. We should reprimand those who break rules, rich or poor.


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Good question. Most affordable housing is rental, though there are also innovative home ownership programs for those of low and middle income.

I live in a condo and there are similar complaints about renters though I have never witnessed any problems. But that has nothing to do with affordable housing. Condo owners who lease out their apartment are doing so for market rate.

Once again Steve Fulop is in tune with the needs of Jersey city as a whole. Not only does this ordinance change the way affordable housing is distributed it also is pushing for local contractors to be given priority to gain contracts and work which will in turn keep money in Jersey city.
For those who have negative things to say, think about a place where people can actually afford where they live and can actually have a job in their own city. Crime would drop and it would create diverse neighbhorhoods.

It would be ideal to enclose the misfits and the economically disadvantaged and uneducated into a bubble and ship them into outerspace but we all know that can't be done so support the ordinance and lets move towards and exemplary city for all to follow. after all some people in this city have never left it and it's all they know.

I am not a big fan of mixed income neighborhoods. There will be a lot of reprimand to those that do not follow the rules and ordinances of the community. In addition, will the affordable housing be for homeowners or renters as well. Condos are having a big problem with the owners renting out to people that are not mindful of the rules then crying that they are being harassed when they are told to do so. At least co-ops have the right idea they can screen who ever lives in "their" building.

Jersey City council to vote on Fulop proposal to tie affordable housing dollars to wards where development generates them

June 13, 2012, 3:03 AM
By Terrence T. McDonald/The Jersey Journal

Affordable housing units constructed with funds from Jersey City?s Affordable Housing Trust Fund would have to be built in the same ward as the project that generated the funds if Ward E Councilman Steve Fulop?s proposed revisions to the city code are approved.

If a developer builds Downtown and is asked to contribute to the fund instead of building affordable units on-site, Fulop told The Jersey Journal, then that contribution should be used to build affordable units Downtown, not elsewhere in the city.

?The administration lets people basically build on the waterfront and ship affordable housing to the lower-income portions of the city,? he said. ?I want more diverse neighborhoods.?

The issue last arose in May, when Lloyd Goldman, property owner of 110 First St., said he can?t find anyone to partner with him in developing the 452-unit tower because of a requirement to include 25 affordable units. Goldman suggested donating to the AHTF so the units could be built elsewhere instead, but council members balked.

Fulop?s measure, which is set for introduction at tonight?s council meeting, would also require developers to hire 25 percent of their contractors in Jersey City, as well as mandating that trust-fund dollars go toward hard costs only, meaning they could pay for construction, but not for engineering studies or attorney fees.

?The administration is preparing an impact analysis on this ordinance in the event it passes,? said city spokeswoman Jennifer Morrill.

http://www.nj.com/jjournal-news/index ... y_council_to_vote_on.html