Moorestown Resident Launches Petition Opposing Pennrose Proposal

MOORESTOWN, NJ — A Moorestown resident who has been outspoken about the 100 percent affordable housing site proposed for Route 38 has launched a petition to fight the project.

Carol Radomski, of Moorestown, is also asking those who sign the petition to invite 10 fellow Moorestown residents to attend Thursday night’s planning board meeting, in which the Moorestown Planning Board will consider approval of the preliminary site plans. The meeting begins at 7:30 p.m. at town hall, 111 West Second Street.

“This 4-story building will create many hazards to those living there,” Radomski wrote about the Pennrose project that would house 76 apartment units on Route 38, just west of Church Street.

“Wetlands occupy 70 percent of the site,” she wrote. “Hooten Creek runs thru the property and empties into Strawbridge Lake.”

She points out the potential for silt and debris to enter Strawbridge Lake.

“Entire building complex is shoved into southwest corner due to major constraints.
Transportation is not easily accessible,” she wrote. “Sidewalks do not exist and are not currently planned to provide safe walkways. Entrance and exit to site is one, 24' lane. There is no designated fire lane around the entire building.”

There is concern among residents about fire trucks having access to the site, and that the site is too small in general.

She also says the complex will bring more traffic onto an already extremely busy intersection, and the water supply isn’t enough for the area.

“The development is being built using minimal standards,” she concludes.

Seventy-five of the units would conform to affordable housing controls, while the 76th unit would be for the building's superintendent. The units are a mix of one-, two-, and three-bedroom rentals. The unit helps Moorestown fulfill its obligation of 337 new affordable housing units by 2025, per a deal reached between the township and the Fair Share Housing Center.

The deal was reached following a lengthy negotiation period, and a decades-long problem involving the Council on Affordable Housing. Officials have said if this project, the first proposed following the deal, isn't built, there could be even more affordable housing brought to the township, and it could pose an even bigger problem. Radomski said the township is just using scare tactics to push the project through.

To view and sign the petition, click here.

Read more here:
Council Approves Financial Agreement For Affordable Housing Site
Affordable Housing Proposal Goes Before Moorestown Planning Board
100 Percent Affordable Housing Site Possible For Moorestown

Photo credit: Anthony Bellano