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Seniors Prepare Fight To Protect Age-Restrictions
By Jo Ann La Russo
Leaders of senior communities throughout Ocean County plan a meeting soon to share their common problems and seek unified solutions.
Officers, directors and trustees of New Jersey senior communities are invited to talk about legislation designed, they say, to erode the integrity of the senior housing. The legislation is the Common Interest Community bill now in its final stages of legislative debate.
For more than a decade, lawmakers have wrestled with enacting legislation that would give residents a means to fight perceived wrongs by association leaders. None have made the push to final approval but a number have come close.
Many seniors don't know the ramifications of any bill to limit homeowners association, said Judy Noonan, head of the Holiday City-Silver Ridge Coalition.
Just two weeks ago, the Berkeley council passed a resolution supporting Assembly bill 3778 which supports senior living. It requires certification by a homeowners association before deeds can be transferred.
Assemblyman Brian Rumpf, who sponsored the bill along with Assemblyman Christopher Connors, said last week that the bill is likely to be voted on soon. Once the budget process runs its course, Rumpf said, a senior association rights bill will be among the first to be debated.
Senator Leonard T. Connors sponsored the companion bill. Connors has long been a senior advocate. He said state law must be written to back federal mandates which say age 62-older communities must be 100 percent seniors; 55-older must be 80 percent senior and underage residents are restricted to teenagers or older.
Some argue that the process of selling a home in a senior community has been abused during the hot housing market by some real estate agencies and private sellers. Most covenants state the buyer must be a certain minimum age and someone of that age must reside in the home.
In recent years, speculators have purchased these homes, resold or rented to younger adults, and bypassed the restrictions of the community. Legal fees to correct these wrongs have made some associations more vigilant about who moves in from the start of the transaction.
Noonan, the president of the senior coalition, said she hoped to bring in representatives from all over the Garden State. She wants a cable outfit to either televise the meeting live or tape it for later broadcast. Any way to get out the word can't hurt, she reasoned. Senior association leaders can call 732-505-1081 or fax 732-505-3223 to register or gain more information.
"We feel strongly about this because people chose to live here," Noonan said. "Seniors want to be around their own kind. They like a quiet, peaceful existence where they can keep up their property and share common interests and social lives."
When senior villages allow underage residents to stay, Noonan says, the village changes.
"When we have underage residents, we become rental associations and the tenants don't have the same pride of ownership and commitment to keeping up their property."
Everything changes, she says, because teenage children show disrespect to their older neighbors, cause tension by playing loud music, revving car engines and late-night noise-making.
"You can go back to the 1700's in England to find the legal basis for what we are," Noonan said. "They used to divide farms through covenant restrictions. It's perfectly legal."
Noonan pointed out that even among senior associations, there are different restrictions. Some limit residency to age 62 or older, some to age 55 and others as young as 52. She said younger people want to live in their communities because the houses are relatively small and cheap by today's standards, are in the lowest crime areas and make perfect starter homes.
"Taxes are reasonable, the houses are small and affordable - mainly two bedrooms, one bath - perfect for a small family," she concluded.
Noonan said many associations around the state have no idea what is at stake if the state decides to plant underage residents in vacant senior homes. If an association is de-certified, she said, insurance costs could rise, the sense of belonging to a group would be over and so would peace of mind and safety.
Noonan said every American should have that sense of community. What's needed is more affordable housing for young families.
"That's the American dream, to own your own home," she said. "We wouldn't want to cramp their style, but on the other hand they don't belong in our community."
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