FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – Members of the Planning Board have determined that Archway Progams, an entity establishing a group home on Lutea Terrace, does not need variances relating to the single-family home parcel.
Lutea Terrace is off Three Brooks Road at Route 9 in the Juniper Farms residential development.
During a meeting on Nov. 9, attorney Peter M. Flannery appeared on behalf of Archway Programs to appeal a municipal ruling to the Planning Board, which handles zoning matters in Freehold Township.
The meeting’s agenda indicated that Freehold Township’s zoning officer had previously ruled Archway Programs needs variances to install ramps and walkways to support a single-family group home use on the property in the residential zone.
Flannery took the position that no variances are required to make the planned improvements and his position was supported by the board’s attorney, Frank Accisano.
Accisano told board members and residents in attendance that he reviewed relevant case law and determined that under the Municipal Land Use Law and Freehold Township’s ordinances, “the zoning officer was in error” and no variances are needed for the property.
Residents who had questions were instructed to focus only on the legal issue that was before the board and not to ask questions about the establishment of the group home in Juniper Farms.
Several residents veered from that specific topic and asked why they were not notified a group home is being established in a home in their neighborhood.
“How is it that a group home is going into the neighborhood?” resident Donald O’Brien asked. “None of us know anything about it.”
Accisano told O’Brien that according to state law, “a group home is like any other home and must be treated the same way. You would not be notified about any family or couple that purchased a home in the neighborhood.
“(Archway Programs) does not have to give notice. If the question of the variance had not come up, they would have only needed a (building) permit. New Jersey treats group homes exactly the same as single-family homes,” Accisano said.
“We are finding out about this at the last minute. It seems a little under-handed,” O’Brien responded.
Board member Kevin Asadi said, “If we were to treat this (use) differently, we could be guilty of discriminatory practices.”
After the residents had their say, the board members voted unanimously to accept Accisano’s determination that no variances are required in this matter. The board’s decision gave Archway Programs permission to continue preparing the four-bedroom home for the arrival of four residents.
In the hallway outside the meeting room, the residents had an opportunity to speak with Marge Conner-Levin, the chief executive officer of Archway Programs, which is based in Atco, Camden County.
She said Archway Programs, a nonprofit organization that was founded in 1965, will maintain the property.
Conner-Levin said four adults – two who are ambulatory and two who are non-ambulatory – will live in the home. The home will be staffed 24 hours a day. Federal law prohibits the release of more specific information about the residents’ health issues.
When a resident asked why the home on Lutea Terrace was chosen, Conner-Levin said it was selected because the individuals who will live there have family members living nearby.
She also said the neighborhood and the home are nice and added, “We strive to keep our homes warm and cozy.”
Occupancy is expected in early 2018. The residents will not have cars, but there will be a van that is accessible to individuals with a handicap parked at the home and the employees will park their vehicles at the home when they are on duty, according to the Archway Programs representatives.
Information provided by Archway Programs states that the organization’s group homes have been in operation for more than 20 years in several municipalities, providing support to women with developmental disabilities.
