Monroe takes stand against housing bill

Abill on Gov. Jon Corzine's desk that would allow builders to convert town-approved age-restricted developments into market rate housing projects for all ages has met with fierce objection by the governing body.

At its April 6 meeting, the Township Council unanimously approved a resolution opposing Senate Bill S-2577 and Assembly Bill A-3772, known as the age-restricted housing conversion bills. Mayor Richard Pucci has also written a letter to the governor outlining the township's opposition.

The bill would only permit a developer to convert housing in approved age-restricted developments where no units have been sold. According to Township Engineer Ernest Feist, there are two such approved developments in Monroe. One is Southfield Grand, a 130-unit project at the intersection of Applegarth and Halsey Reed roads; the other is a 348-unit Hovnanian Four Seasons development on both sides of Prospect Plains Road and Cranbury Station Road, parallel to Applegarth Road.

According to the resolution, the bill would impose an additional property tax burden on residents by increasing the number of schoolchildren in the community with concomitant educational costs and facility expenses. The legislation would restrict the ability of local governments to make sound planning decisions and would allow state government and developers to usurp those decisions, according to the resolution.

Pucci's letter states that Monroe enjoys one of the largest concentrations of age-restricted housing in the state. The 43-squaremile municipality contains 12 age-restricted communities, comprising more than 12,000 housing units. The additional two previously approved developments would add 478 units.