Suit alleges that age-restriction ordinance violates the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.
By: Leon Tovey
MONROE The township is "very close" to reaching an agreement with a pair of developers who filed suit to overturn a 14-year-old township ordinance forbidding the sale of houses in age-restricted communities to anyone under the age of 55, Township Attorney Peg Shaffer said Thursday.
"There have been ongoing discussions with lawyers representing the developers," Ms. Shaffer said. "I hope to be able to present something for the (Township) Council’s consideration on Monday."
WCI Communities, the parent company of Kalian/Spectrum, the developer of Encore, and Toll Brothers Inc., the developer of Regency at Monroe, filed suit against the township in federal court on March 4. The suit alleges that the age-restriction ordinance violates the Federal Fair Housing Act of 1968.
The township had sent letters demanding a census detailing the ages of the residents of both communities in January, after Township Council members learned that houses in the two developments had been sold to people under the age of 55.
Township officials have maintained that the regulations cited by the developers in their suit are trumped by the local ordinance. Ms. Shaffer said the ordinance, which was passed in 1991 at the behest of the residents of the township’s planned retirement communities, has survived legal challenges in the past.
Ms. Shaffer declined to discuss specifics of the negotiations with attorneys representing the developers, but said any agreement would allow anyone who had purchased or was under contract to purchase a house in either of the developments to remain, regardless of age.
Mayor Richard Pucci told more than a dozen such individuals at a March 7 Township Council meeting that they would remain "part of our community."
"The mayor will stand by his commitment," Ms. Shaffer said.

