Legislature Adopts Bill to Allow Conversion of 55+ Housing to Non-Age Restricted Housing
By: Henry T. Chou, Esq.
On March 16, 2009, the New Jersey Assembly and Senate adopted a bill (A3772/S2577) that would allow certain approvals for age-restricted (55+) developments to be converted to approvals for non-age restricted developments. The bill would allow developers who have obtained approvals for age-restricted projects to apply to planning boards to remove the age-restriction, provided that the developer is not holding any deposits for the sale of age-restricted homes or has not already conveyed any such units.
The bill provides that developers are entitled to approval for such conversions if they volunteer to convert a certain percentage of the dwelling units to low and moderate income housing units in accordance with the regulations of the New Jersey Council on Affordable Housing. A developer must also demonstrate that the revised project meets Residential Site Improvement Standards for parking, that the recreational amenities of the development have been revised to meet the needs of non-age restricted persons, that the existing water and sewer capacity is adequate to serve the needs of non-age restricted persons, and that the revised development plan remains within the footprint permitted under the prior approval. If the existing parking areas and water and sewer capacities are inadequate to serve the converted development, the developer must reduce the number of dwelling units accordingly.
The bill is viewed favorably by the residential development community; however, it is unclear whether Governor Corzine will sign it into law given the municipalities' traditional opposition to development that generates schoolchildren and low and moderate income housing.