By Bob Vosseller and Chris Lundy
MANCHESTER – The Township Council is considering crafting an ordinance that would strengthen the 55+ requirement of senior communities.
Every senior homeowner association has bylaws that require someone living there to be of a certain age. However, as anyone living in those neighborhoods will tell you, there are always people who break the rule. The associations sometimes have difficulty enforcing those rules. Berkeley Township recently passed an ordinance that would allow the town to enforce these regulations.
Manchester resident Judy Noonan sent a copy of Berkeley’s ordinance to Manchester Business Administrator Brandon Umba. Noonan used to be a councilwoman in Berkeley, but she moved out of the town before this ordinance was written.
She noted the language of different homeowners’ associations in Manchester and cautioned the governing body about the use of terms ‘occupied’ versus ‘ownership’ in regards to who is living there.
She said this was a very big deal in her previous community of Berkeley. The Board of Realtors went to the state of New Jersey “because people wanted to buy houses that were not 55. This became an issue.”
“Homeowner Associations have to maintain 80 percent (senior population) for it to remain a senior community. There seems to be a problem where people (under the age of 55) are finding these homes easy to buy. It also becomes a renter issue. Then you get children. We had that so the issue became very big in Berkeley,” Noonan said.
It’s a quality of life issue for the seniors, who moved into these neighborhoods for the peace and quiet. Additionally, the development might lose their protected status as a senior community, she said.
“I did receive this from you,” Administrator Umba said referring to a copy of Berkeley’s ordinance. “It is under attorney review so we can introduce it here in Manchester. Once we have it through an attorney review and it is discussed at one of the Coordinating Council meetings the Council will review it.”
“It may not seem so important now, but it may become a big thing, a crisis. To keep your integrity is very important because people are moving like crazy,” Noonan said.
Berkeley’s Version
Berkeley and Manchester are similar in that there are a lot of large senior developments. Berkeley wanted to keep bad actors from taking advantage of senior communities. However, officials said they also want people to be able to buy a senior home for their parents. They also wanted to allow the practice of putting a home in an adult child’s name so that way it’s protected if the parent goes into a nursing home.
Berkeley’s version essentially codifies the 55+ rule, thereby making it possible for the township to enforce it. Language was added to explain that each homeowners association would still have home rule, and that the town’s ordinance wouldn’t overrule anything that the development had already.
When Berkeley passed this ordinance, it was in a standing-room only crowd at a clubhouse. Many seniors thanked them for the ordinance.
Real estate agents said there could be legal repercussions for this. They said it was discriminatory to sell to only people of a certain age. Berkeley Mayor Carmen Amato vowed that the town would defend this up to the Supreme Court if necessary.
