Builder’s proposal may include houses for disabled residents

Builder’s proposal is expected to include at least 50 houses designed for physically disabled residents in Mansfield Township.

By: William Wichert
   MANSFIELD — Township officials have restarted negotiations with a developer they rejected almost two years ago, but the new proposal is expected to include at least 50 houses designed for physically disabled residents.
   The total number of units to be included in the Dallas-based Centex LLC’s plan for a development on Petticoat Bridge Road is still a matter of debate, but officials said 10 acres of the 500-acre site will be set aside for a community in which disabled people would be able to live independently.
   "I think it’s a real good step for the township," said Mayor Art Puglia. "It shows that we care."
   The township’s previous dealings with Centex ended in June 2004, when state Superior Court Judge John Sweeney rejected the developer’s original plan to build more than 300 houses on Petticoat Bridge Road.
   Centex had taken the municipality to court the previous year after the Township Committee ruled that the development plan was invalid. The committee had approved a plan in 1997, but it said in 2003 that the plan had undergone too many changes since then.
   Aside from the disabled community, the new development proposal also should include some age-restricted housing, making the impact on local schools very minimal, said Mayor Puglia. At the same time, the development will help the township satisfy its state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) obligations.
   Mayor Puglia said the township hopes the new development will bring sewer service to the nearby Columbus section of the municipality, where all residents use septic systems. Centex’s application for sewer and water service in its original proposal was rejected by the state Department of Environmental Protection in October 2003.
   The township plans on finalizing a deal with Centex within the next few weeks, but the mayor declined to discuss any more details of the proposal, simply saving it would be "150 percent better" than the original plans.
   "It’s going to be a very good settlement for the township," said Mayor Puglia. "What they’re (Centex) giving us is so good for the township — we can’t turn it down."
   Phil Seaton, the attorney for Centex, also refused to comment on the specifics of the negotiations.
   If a disabled community is incorporated into the Centex development, however, it would be the first of its kind in Burlington County, said Tim Doherty, executive director of Project Freedom in Hamilton Township, the non-profit organization that would construct the community in Mansfield.
   A Project Freedom community, three of which have been built in Mercer County, would provide affordable housing for disabled residents, he said. The communities normally consist of one-bedroom apartments in a one- or two-story building, where residents pay a monthly rental fee of about $475 and separate utility costs, said Mr. Doherty.
   With wider doorways and larger rooms, the apartments are built according to a barrier-free design that gives disabled residents greater access to their living space, he said.
   Project Freedom would continuously maintain the Mansfield community and help connect its residents to different support services, such as personal attendants and social events, but the greatest success of these communities is found in the residents’ ability to take care of themselves.
   "The other alternative would be to live at home with mom and dad," said Mr. Doherty, who said his organization mostly targets residents between the ages of 21 and 50. "For those who don’t have family (around), they stay in nursing homes."
   Mr. Doherty said he has seen many residents blossom into self-sufficient individuals after moving to such a community, including his own 31-year-old developmentally disabled daughter, who left home for a nearby Project Freedom community two years ago.
   "My daughter manages her own life and pays her own bills. She hasn’t spent a day home since she moved in," said Mr. Doherty. "It’s like knocking her out of the nest and she just flew."