Planning Board To Hear Preliminary Plans For Pennrose Site

MOORESTOWN, NJ — The Moorestown Planning Board will discuss the proposed four-story apartment complex being proposed by Pennrose to help the township meet its affordable housing obligation on Monday night, June 18.

The Planning Board will hold a special meeting on Monday night, June 18, 7:30 p.m., to discuss the project. Moorestown Urban Renewal Associates has filed an application for a preliminary major site plan approval with bulk variances for the complex.

The project includes 75 affordable housing units and one superintendent’s unit. The proposal includes internal roadways, associated parking, stormwater management measures, and associated grading in the AMF-1 Affordable Multi-family District.

The complex would be located on Route 38 West. The project is of interest to residents who have been served notice that the developer is looking to have a restrictive covenant invalidated so it can begin work on the project.

The property Pennrose is looking 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 restrictive covenant stipulates that 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. A letter attached to the summons received by the property owners in the area states that they have been named as defendants because they own real property in Moorestown and Mount Laurel that is subject to the restrictive covenant.

In the letter, Pennrose states it is not seeking anything other than the invalidation of the covenant. This includes “any affirmative judgment against any individual defendant.” The deed restriction has existed since the 1940s, according to a copy of the litigation provided to Moorestown Patch.

Pennrose says the restriction was clearly designed to restrict the availability of affordable housing in Moorestown. It also says it violates the constitutional right to affordable housing under the Mount Laurel Doctrine and sound public policy. It also claims the covenant has been ignored in some cases, rendering it invalid.

Moorestown has been told it must build 337 new affordable housing units by 2025.

All or some members of council will be in attendance for Monday night’s meeting. Council members won’t engage in official business, and official action will not be taken. The meeting will take place in the main council chambers at town hall, 111 West Second Street.

Patch file photo