JERSEY CITY — The city's $180 million plan to purchase a 100-acre site on the Hackensack River waterfront and act as a master developer for a long-awaited mixed-use development cleared a major hurdle Wednesday, with the City Council voting to give the plan its support.

The council's action came just one month after Mayor Steve Fulop pitched the idea of the city purchasing the site, which was expected to be sold to a real-estate developer by the end of this year. The formerly contaminated property is owned jointly by Honeywell International, which has overseen its cleanup, and the city.

Supporters of the city's plan said purchasing the site, known as Bayfront, would allow the city to retain the control it would need to expand the percentage of affordable housing planned for the development. Critics cited the speed at which the city had come to a decision to purchase the site and the nine-figure price tag (the city intends to bond for the costs). Even some council supporters said the administration has not answered all their questions.

The council voted 6-1-1 in favor of a resolution expressing support for the city's planned purchase of the site. Ward A Councilwoman Denise Ridley, who represents much of the formerly contaminated area, voted no and Ward D Councilman Michael Yun abstained. Ward C Councilman Rich Boggiano was absent.

The council's action represents a big victory for Jersey City Together, a group of local activists and religious leaders who have advocated aggressively for the city to take over the Bayfront site. The group includes members who spearheaded the effort to force Honeywell to clean up the site.

In her remarks before voting, Ridley cited a number of reasons she opposes the plan, including the affordable housing component. The original Bayfront plan, which dates back to 2008, includes approvals for up to 8,000 residential units, 5 percent of them affordable. The city's new plan could up the affordable housing component to 30 percent.

The southern end of the city does not need another massive affordable housing development, Ridley said.

"Why would you take people who are in need of affordable housing and place them on the outskirts of the city divided by a four-lane highway with little to no access to transportation?" she added.

Ridley was the council member to vote against the plan.

Yun, a frequent critic of the administration's plans, said he abstained because the council does not know yet how much it would be asked to subsidize Bayfront once construction begins.

Councilwoman-at-large Joyce Watterman acknowledged that tax abatements will likely be needed to subsidize the affordable units. Construction costs on market-rate and affordable units remain the same, she said, so developers need incentives to build mixed-income housing.

"We do need affordable housing," she said. "The question is, are we willing to go all the way to get the affordable housing?"

There remain some hurdles. The council still needs to give approval to bond ordinances so the city can purchase the site. The city believes the purchase price will be about $100 million, while the rest of the projected cost includes adding infrastructure.

The plan is for the city to buy the entire site from Honeywell then divvy up various lots inside it to one or more developers. One advantage of the city buying the site, according to Joseph P. Baumann, an attorney for the Jersey City Redevelopment Agency, is that it can choose which parcels to develop first, how to phase in the infrastructure and more.

It was another late night for the council, which sat through a nine-hour meeting on June 13 largely dominated by discussing of the planned removal of the Katyn statue. On Wednesday members did not vote on Bayfront until near midnight and did not adjourn until 12:23 a.m. The tone this time around was markedly more subdued. Council President Rolando Lavarro did not ask the police to eject anyone and no one told Lavarro to kiss their buttocks.

The council heard a mix of support and opposition to the Bayfront plan from members of the public.

The Rev. Willard C. Ashley, of Abundant Joy Community Church, said the city's plan is the only way to ensure Bayfront will "reflect the rich diversity of Jersey City."

"We are not looking to create a ghetto nor a slum nor a place where we can hang our heads down," Ashley said. "We're looking for a place where people can be proud ... where men and women, boys and girls, brown, white, red, yellow, gay, straight, all come together and they celebrate the American dream."

James Keating said he worries about what happens if the city buys the property and there's an economic downturn or worse. Keating urged the council not to be seduced by "something sparkly and grand."

"It's certainly not responsible."

Terrence T. McDonald may be reached at tmcdonald@jjournal.com. Follow him on Twitter @terrencemcd. Find The Jersey Journal on Facebook.