Photo Credit: Andrew Nemnich / Konnor Porro
The Montclair Pod asked all three candidates for Montclair’s councilor-at-large seat the same seven questions about their experience, priorities, and plans for the township—from property taxes and development to school finances and everyday services.
Below are Kyle Porro’s responses. Read the other candidates’ answers in our separate Q&As with Mariana Horta and Toni Martin.
Responses are presented in the candidate’s own words, with formatting standardized for readability.
The Montclair Pod: What makes you the best candidate for this seat? Please point to specific experience or accomplishments.
As an attorney with my own shop in town focusing on land use, tax appeals, and local government, I have been representing municipalities since I first became a lawyer. I have represented towns as they navigate through issues like master plan reexaminations and town-wide tax revaluations. I get how towns work on an intimate level and am ready to take those skills to Montclair. These skills carry over to my pro bono work, including assisting tenants as a member of the town’s Landlord Tenant Advisory Committee.
TMP: What are the top three issues facing Montclair residents right now, and which one would you tackle first?
Some of the biggest issues facing Montclair can be categorized into two areas: 1) affordability and 2) development. I have heard countless stories of longtime residents being priced out of town. Whether it’s seniors living on fixed incomes or renters seeing ongoing raises, we need to do what we can to create ordinances that allow these residents to remain in town.
As for development, this includes anything from the possible substation conversion of town hall to preventing larger developments from predominantly being in the 4th Ward. There is a lot of excitement around Montclair, and with that comes development, but we need to make sure we are building out a town that is as livable and sustainable as possible for the coming decades.
TMP: Montclair has added large apartment projects while longtime residents say they’re being priced out. What should the council do differently on development and housing costs?
I am a strong believer in transit-oriented development and keeping the density around our town centers. The master plan can use some work to encourage the development around where we already have downtown cores and prevent a future where major projects are solely being proposed in the 4th Ward. The increase in those transit-oriented projects, along with various other municipal efforts, will inherently help with the supply for renters. This is just the tip of the iceberg with what can be done on development.
TMP: The council doesn’t run the school district, but the district’s deficit hits every taxpayer. What, if anything, should the council do to help stabilize school finances?
Supporting additional oversight to prevent a budget issue like this happening again is step one. It’s one thing to have this happen in the first place, but what are we doing to get out of it stronger. On a more tangible level, regionalization of services as a general cost-savings method is something the town should consider in general, but this includes seeing locally what can be unified between the school board and municipality.
TMP: Beyond raising property taxes, how should Montclair bring in revenue?
As mentioned above, between encouraging transit-oriented development and regionalizing services, we are bringing in more revenue while cutting costs.
TMP: Tell us where you stand on Payment in Lieu of Taxes, including whether the schools should get a share.
I am fully behind supporting our schools, and as a result, ensuring they are funded so that we don’t see cuts to things like sports or the arts. If a PILOT is proposed in a way that will negatively impact the school system, on principle I cannot support it.
TMP: A councilor at-large represents the whole town, not one ward. Name one specific thing you’d push for in your first six months, and how you’d get other votes for it.
One of the main reasons I threw my hat in the ring in the first place was to further support and even elevate the Complete Streets initiatives in town. When I talk about livability as a campaign pillar, one of the most important indicators is what do the streets look like.
People like the idea of being able to walk or bike to our downtown centers and experience all that Montclair has to offer, while drivers are constantly frustrated dealing with congested streets, yet we are severely lacking in infrastructure that adequately supports both these parties. Slowly building out streets that support how Montclair residents want to live is something everyone will benefit from.
