Master Plan Adoption
The goal we envisioned over two years ago is finally coming to fruition. The new Housing Element of the City of Perth Amboy Master Plan was presented to the Planning Board during a virtual public meeting on December 2, 2020. This new element reflects the voices of the people – the more than 1,000 residents who responded to surveys or attended public meetings. The new Element also addresses the concerns of other community members who are affected by this issue, including non-profit leaders, firefighters, police officers, code enforcement personnel, city officials and more. This is due to the collaboration Healthier Perth Amboy has instilled since the beginning of our Community Action for Safe Housing project.
The Planning Board approved and adopted this Element in its current draft. The Healthier Perth Amboy partners anticipated that the board would support the Element, in part because the coalition has shared updates with the board members throughout this phase of work. Now that they have adopted the Housing Element, it is officially a living document. The next step is now to present it to City Council, and we believe the council will also approve the plan.
Healthier Perth Amboy is aware that the work will not be done once the document is adopted. Its adoption as an official city document does not mean enforcement or compliance is guaranteed. It will take rigorous education and advocacy efforts to ensure that all of our work will not have been in vain. Therefore, over the next year we will expand our “Healthy Housing Embajadora (Ambassador)” project as well as use both traditional and technological methods of community outreach.
We are proud of our work so far, and excited to continue our efforts to ensure that every Perth Amboy resident has access to safe and affordable housing.