Pennrose Affordable Housing Plan Remains In Limbo Amid Lawsuit

MOORESTOWN, NJ - Nearly a year after a group of Moorestown residents initially learned they were being sued by Pennrose as part of an affordable housing development project, the issue remains unresolved and frustration is beginning to mount.

“We still don’t know when the issue will be resolved,” resident Carol Radomski told Moorestown Council at its meeting Monday night. “It’s appalling we’ve been kept waiting for 10 months.”

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 Radomski and her neighbors 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.

The case has repeatedly been delayed, most recently after two new members were elected to Moorestown Council.

Council, though, has maintained they are not a party to the litigation, and the settlement must be reached between the residents and Pennrose. Judge Ronald Bookbinder is overseeing the case.

“I would ask Judge Bookbinder why there isn’t mediation in the case,” recently elected Councilman Brian Donnelly said. “If Pennrose agrees to build a two-story building in that spot, we can find another site for the rest of the units and Fair Share Housing agrees, that’s something I would personally consider.”

Radomski was under the impression that remediation wasn't possible in the case, but other residents were happy to have another perspective. Some commented that they've been talking to the township about this for a couple years, and this is the first time that possibility has been mentioned.

Councilman Mike Locatell, who was elected to council in 2016, said the township should be cautious of anything that changes the deal because that could open up more changes to the deal that may not be beneficial to the township and its residents.

In March 2017, council approved an agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center to work with four intervenor developers and three programs to help satisfy its obligation.

The Fair Share Housing Center had been asking Moorestown to build 1,667 new affordable units, and Locatell said any change in the agreement might prompt Fair Share to ask for a higher number of units throughout the township as a whole once again.

The Fair Share Housing Center is a public interest group established in 1975 to monitor, enforce and expand guidelines for affordable housing requirements. With the collapse of the Council On Affordable Housing (COAH) and the decisions on affordable housing falling to the courts, Fair Share Housing has positioned itself as an influential player in the affordable housing process.

“It’s a good idea, but I’m less optimistic about it because I’ve been immersed in this for two years,” Locatell said. “I don’t see this changing. I’m just being honest.”

Locatell added that the site scored 100 percent for getting affordable housing tax credits, and changing the plan for the site might have a negative impact on the credits and end up costing the taxpayers more money.

Nonetheless, the township may have to look for a new site altogether should the judge rule in favor of the residents. In that case, it wouldn’t be the township’s decision to alter the deal and Fair Share would have no ability to ask for an increase in total number of affordable units in the township.

Mayor Lisa Petriello said the township wants to see the plan move forward so it can meet its obligation. She was a councilwoman for much of the negotiation process, and was appointed mayor by the other members of council two weeks ago.

“We haven’t identified alternative sites,” Petriello said in response to a question from Radomski. “We have to work with Pennrose because they are an intervenor. If need be, we will identify an alternative site.”

Some have suggested the Moorestown Mall or the old K-Mart shopping center as possible alternative sites, but Locatell pointed out that the township doesn’t own either of those sites.

“They have their own plans and ideas,” Locatell said. “They’re not going to instead solve this other problem that’s not going to be profitable for them.”

Residents have been critical of the township for approving a deal that calls for residents to be sued in order for the project to be completed. Council said it didn’t know about the restrictive covenant before it reached a deal.

Locatell referred to a previous plan for a nursing home for that spot in which the issue never came up.

Deputy Mayor Nicole Gillespie also pointed out that Pennrose didn’t get a tax abatement it was seeking for the project.

“I don’t know how much it’s going to cost yet, but we have to consider the possibility of adding a lot to Moorestown’s debt,” Gillespie said.

She said the township’s also had discussions with the school district about being prepared for the increased number of students it will see once the affordable housing projects are complete.

Moorestown Council also took a step to maintain its obligation when it approved a proposed ordinance on introduction to purchase a property currently classified as affordable housing.

If the township doesn't buy the property, it would become market rate housing and trigger the need for the township to find an alternative spot for affordable housing to maintain its affordable housing obligation.

The township is able to buy the property at an artificially low rate and re-sell it as an affordable housing unit. The maximum restricted price on this unit, which is located at 468 North Church Street, is $124,348. The public hearing and final vote on the proposal is scheduled for the Feb. 11 meeting.

Photo credit: Anthony Bellano