Passaic City Council Meeting – October 20, 2026

Note: The transcript opening states the meeting date as October 6, 2026, and some announced dates align with that date; the timestamp supplied for this summary is 2026-10-20 17:45:36+00:00, and that date is used here. No agenda or minutes were available, so this summary is based solely on the raw transcript.

The Passaic City Council met in person, with a view-only Zoom stream, and all six members were present: Council President Cher and Councilmembers Monk, Mello, Mayer, Garcia, and Colom Montanez. The council approved prior minutes, heard no public comment, adopted a camping/encampment ordinance, approved routine communications and resolutions including $1.1 million in HOME funds for an affordable housing project, and received Mayor's announcements.

Consent Calendar

• Minutes of May 19, 2026 were approved unanimously.
• Communications items 2–5, 7–9, and item 6 were accepted through separate unanimous roll-call votes.
• Routine agenda items 10–18 were accepted unanimously, and item 19 was approved separately and unanimously.
• The payment-of-bills list was approved unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony

• The council president read rules limiting public comment to five minutes and prohibiting bias intimidation or offensive language.
• No members of the public addressed the council.

Discussion Items

• Camping and Encampments Ordinance 2537-26 (second and final reading): This ordinance amends Chapter 207, Peace and Good Order, to add Article 3, Camping and Encampments on Public Property, and coordinates enforcement with Chapter 179 (Littering), Chapter 203 (Parks and Playgrounds), and Chapter 259 (Streets and Sidewalks). The Mayor explained that the ordinance requires a permit for tents on public property to avoid blocking pedestrian and emergency access and to address health and safety hazards such as unauthorized fires and encampments near rivers; it does not restrict tents on private property or permitted park events. In response to council questions, city officials stated that police and code enforcement can remove an obstruction immediately in an emergency, while planned removal of non-abandoned personal property requires a posted notice at least 25 hours before removal and property is photographed and itemized when possible.
• HOME-funded Lexington Avenue project (Resolution 30): Councilman Mayer asked about 181–185 Lexington Avenue. The project contains 13 total units, including 5 affordable units, using $1.1 million in federal HOME funds from the city. Officials described the funding as a grant, not a loan, at about $220,000 per affordable unit, with a 20-year deed restriction. The Mayor said the developer previously completed 199 Lexington Avenue, and the city had good results with that project, including timely completion and good cooperation with Community Development Director Joyce Hunt.
• Traffic ordinances 31 and 32: The council voted on an ordinance amending Chapter 295, Article 12, Section 20.2 (Schedule of Clergy Parking) and on an ordinance amending restricted parking for disabled persons by New Jersey license plate number. According to the transcript, both motions were for second and final reading at the October 20 meeting and were approved unanimously.
• Executive Session Authorization (Resolution 20): The council was informed of a resolution authorizing a closed executive session to discuss pending litigation, contract negotiations, and personnel matters. No open-session discussion of these items occurred; the transcript does not show a separate roll-call vote on this item.

Key Outcomes

• Ordinance 2537-26 was adopted unanimously by all six council members.
• Resolutions 21–30, including the $1.1 million HOME fund award for 181–185 Lexington Avenue, were approved unanimously.
• Ordinance 31 (clergy parking) and Ordinance 32 (disabled-person parking) advanced on unanimous votes.
• The meeting adjourned unanimously after the council recognized Councilman Garcia's birthday.

Mayor's Announcements and Reports

• The Mayor reported on autism employment initiatives: an autism job fair drew over 200 attendees from New Jersey and New York; participating employers included Netflix, the Perez Group, and Brightstone; the City Clerk presented about election-work opportunities for adults on the autism spectrum; and the Mayor is scheduled to speak at the Atlantic City Autism Conference, which has over 1,500 stakeholders.
• The Mayor highlighted the fifth annual community Sukkot event, with over 35 clergy and nonprofit leaders, more than 110 boxes of pizza, participation by Rabbi Eisenman, the Mayor, and Councilman Mayer, and noted that many attendees had never been inside a sukkah.
• The Mayor announced upcoming items including the Italian flag raising honoring Tony Fowala for 21 years of public service, a fire safety open house, the fall festival, passport clinics, breast cancer awareness events, a voter registration drive tied to small businesses, and a Medicare/Medicaid insurance information event led by Councilwomen Colom Montanez and Mello.
• The Mayor also noted a Facebook Live domestic violence awareness presentation with JBWS.