On the agenda for the Tuesday, August 3, 2010, meeting of the Summit City Council will be the resolution to approve payment out of Summit’s Fair Housing Trust Fund to pay $532,000.00 for Morristown Habitat for Humanity’s project to tear down the single family house at 39 Morris Avenue and build a two story six family condominium on that site. We are still asking you to write, call, email, or fax the members of the Summit City Council to request that they do not approve this payment. Our issues are simple: DENSITY in this middle and low income neighborhood, and OVERCROWDING in our schools. Also, we can’t afford the additional costs that this will increase the City’s future budgets.

The proponents of this scheme say that it is time for Summit to build more low income housing. Summit has been on the forefront of building low income housing much before it was fashionable. They say it will help Summit residents realize their dream of owning their own home. Unfortunately, State law prevents the project leader, Habitat, from giving preferential treatment to Summit residents. Then why build it if it is not for Summit residents? Where is the benefit of this project to Summit or its residents?

Summit’s City Solicitor responded that the Common Council would not hear our appeal to the Zoning Board’s approval for reason: "avoiding a conflict of interest relating to the pending action by the Council to provide funds for the proposed project from the City’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund." I, and 300 other individuals that signed the petition that we delivered to the Common Council, and the additional signers on our petitions since then found this disappointing.

We ask that the Common Council envision that in your residential neighborhood a single family dwelling on a small lot is removed and replaced with a two story six apartment building with twelve parking spaces. This precedent will embolden other developers to do similar projects. We need to fix up the run down buildings, housing some as many as thirty in a single or two family dwelling.

If this was not a political game plan by City leaders the project would never have been approved by the Zoning Board for reason of overcrowding and the number of variances and conditions required. There was no reason to rush this project through. There was plenty of time to find other locations with one and two family homes that were run down or operated by slum lords. The City knew of these locations as they were reported to them on numerous occasions.

I ask you to come to the August 3rd City Council meeting to voice your displeasure that this is even being considered.

John DeSocio is Founder of the Committee to Save 39 Morris Avenue http://www:save39morris.org