This Wednesday, the City Council in Jersey City will consider for a second reading (and likely a vote) an inclusionary zoning ordinance recently put forth by the Fulop administration. Unfortunately for the people of Jersey City, this ordinance is inclusionary in name only, with abundant carveouts and loopholes for real estate developers to skimp on building affordable housing units.

In early 2019, City Council members Joyce Watterman and Rolando Lavarro introduced an inclusionary zoning ordinance, and the Fulop administration introduced a competing one, which was widely considered to be more developer-friendly. To reconcile the two ordinances, an Inclusionary Zoning Committee was formed, composed of the majority of council members. This committee, led by Councilperson Lavarro, held a series of meetings over the course of the past year, which were open for public viewing. However, after the committee reached a compromise through this transparent process, Mayor Fulop and his team put forth a new ordinance, developed entirely behind the scenes and ignoring many key provisions reached by consensus in committee. This is the ordinance now being considered by the City Council.