Moorestown Council Calls On Judge To Rule In Pennrose Case

MOORESTOWN, NJ - Moorestown remains committed to the affordable housing agreement it reached with the Fair Share Housing Council in 2017, council members reaffirmed Monday night. But with an obligation to build 1,667 new affordable homes by 2025 and a lawsuit slowing down that process, the township wants to see things start moving along.

That’s the message Moorestown Council said it was sending when it passed a resolution calling on the Superior Court of New Jersey to promptly render a decision in the case involving Moorestown residents and Pennrose.

The resolution was passed unanimously, but has no binding effect on the judge in the case. It is an action that sends a message from a township that is not a party to the litigation, but has a clear interest in the case’s outcome.

Last April, Pennrose served 62 residents and two businesses that own property near the site that the developer is looking to have a restrictive covenant invalidated so it can begin work on the project.

Pennrose is looking to build a four-story building with 75 units that will help to satisfy the township's affordable housing obligation by 2025. In order to build there, a restrictive covenant that states "no dwelling can be built on less than half an acre of land, and that no dwelling that costs less than $5,000 shall be erected on any lot of ground of said premises" must be lifted.

Property owners in the area have been named as defendants because they own real property in Moorestown and Mount Laurel that is subject to the restrictive covenant. Pennrose wasn't seeking any monetary judgment, but residents have spent thousands of dollars in legal fees fighting Pennrose.

They say that the introduction of a four-story building will change the character of the neighborhood. They say a two-story building would be better because it would fit in with the small neighborhood feel the residents wanted when they moved into the area.

The site near Route 38 in which Pennrose wants to build on at one time was a large, 61-acre farm, but has since been sub-divided into 47 individual properties, some of which are in Mount Laurel.
It’s been nearly a year, and the case has come to a standstill. All parties are awaiting summary judgment from the judge before it could go to court. Read more here: Pennrose Affordable Housing Plan Remains In Limbo Amid Lawsuit

“There is a settlement agreement with Fair Share Housing in effect,” Township Solicitor Kevin Aberant said. “The township has to make sure all units are accounted for. This is about the plan as a whole.”

Resident Carol Radomski was concerned that the township was blaming the residents for the lawsuit. She has been outspoken about the residents’ right to defend themselves in litigation she has said the township brought on them when they accepted the agreement.

Township officials clarified that language in the resolution was supposed to be supportive of the residents, saying they were running up exorbitant legal fees while the suit is being delayed.

In the resolution, council called on the judge to pass summary judgment to limit the legal fees being incurred by residents while helping the township move forward with its affordable housing plan.

“The intention was not to demonize residents,” Mayor Lisa Petriello said. “It was to show empathy.”

Before passing the resolution, council removed wording concerning the residents filing the lawsuit and telling the township they are incurring exorbitant legal fees as clarification.

See related: Moorestown Council Approves Deal With Fair Share Housing Center