BY SETH MANDEL
Staff Writer
MONROE — Just don’t bring the kids.
Township officials chose not to ease restrictions on children living in retirement communities recently when they made changes to an ordinance governing those communities.
After recent disputes involving the interpretation of laws pertaining to the planned retirement communities (PRCs), officials last week amended those guidelines.
The original ordinance required that all the residents of a PRC be at least 55 years of age.
The new ordinance states that 100 percent of dwellings must be occupied by at least one person age 55 or over, and that no other permanent occupant can be under the age of 48. There is an exception made if an occupant is between the age of 48 and 55, and is widowed, legally separated or divorced from someone who was an over-55 legal occupant.
In March, developers Toll Brothers and Kalian began selling homes in the new developments, Regency at Monroe and Encore, both age-restricted communities. Some of the buyers were under the age of 55, and therefore ineligible by township ordinance to live in those communities. The township intervened and did not allow those buyers to move into the new homes.
The developers sued the township, arguing that federal guidelines permit the sale of 20 percent of the homes in an age-restricted community to buyers of any age. A settlement was reached allowing residents who purchased their homes before March 7 to move in, regardless of their age.
“We felt we needed to take a humanitarian position in solving this,” Council Vice President Gerald Tamburro said.
The settlement also required the developers to make a joint monetary contribution to the construction of a new township senior center, and paved the way for the ordinance that was adopted at the Township Council’s June 8 meeting.
The ordinance will apply to the two developments involved in the settlement, along with the five existing PRCs — Rossmoor, Clearbrook, Concordia, Greenbriar at Whittingham and the Ponds — and future age-restricted communities.
Ron Post, a representative of the Regency at Monroe development, read a statement to the council last week expressing the concerns held by the residents of that development.
Post said that, not only was the restriction against children rarely enforced before last year, but he objected to the notion that if a sick or
handicapped child needs the care of his or her parents — who might live in one of the retirement communities — that child may not come home to live with the family.
Post suggested that if such a situation arose, and the family challenged the ordinance, the township’s position would not be upheld in court, as he said it is tantamount to discrimination against the disabled.
Township Attorney Joel Shain responded that the ruling has been challenged in the past, and the township emerged victorious.
Shain explained that the rule does not discriminate against handicapped citizens, but discriminates against young people, something that became legal when the federal government passed its original guidelines for the creation of adult communities.
Mayor Richard Pucci said the township is sympathetic to its handicapped citizens, but must also remain loyal to and protective of members of its retirement communities.
“We’re not trying to be [King] Solomon, but we wish he was here,” Pucci said.
The ordinance is designed to prevent those who are under the required age limit from taking up permanent residence in the communities.
Pucci said however that each community must individually define the term “permanent resident,” and will also be responsible for enforcing that determination.
Post asked the council why the township doesn’t simply set guidelines that communities can enforce more strictly if they so choose. Pucci said that such a situation encourages developers to look for loopholes, as was the case with the Regency and Encore developments.
“We always want what’s best for Monroe and what’s best for the communities,” Pucci said. “That’s the big picture.”
Post said he is not concerned with whether a policy is advantageous to developers, as long as it benefits members of the retirement communities.
“We’re not here to sell homes for Toll Brothers. We’re here to make sure the residents of Regency get what the residents want,” Post said, adding that, under this ordinance, a community could set “permanent residency” at 10 years.
“We don’t want to hear it, that’s up to you,” Pucci responded.
Residents also expressed concern that neighbors would have to “police” each other, and the restrictions would negatively impact the resale value on the homes.
Councilman Irwin Nalitt said he has lived in the Concordia development for 23 years, and the community has never faced an issue it could not manage.
“We haven’t had a revolution, we haven’t had a problem selling homes,” Nalitt said. “We’ve seen it all and we’ve handled it all.”