Haddonfield residents wary of proposed senior housing

For 127 years, the Bancroft School has stood in the center of what is now Haddonfield's historic district, its tree-filled grounds surrounded by Victorian homes.

Officials at the private school, which serves children with neurological disabilities, have the Kings Highway campus up for sale and plan to relocate eventually.

No timetable is set, but the prospect of 19 available acres in a borough where open land is now virtually nonexistent has already triggered a fight among developers, politicians, affordable-housing advocates, and residents who cherish the small-town feel for which they have paid top dollar.

In a proposal submitted to the Haddonfield planning board this summer, the borough commissioners called for developing the school grounds into a senior living facility with an attached nursing home.

The parcel also would have 10 low- and moderate-cost housing units and five acres of athletic fields.

The plan would "change the neighborhood pretty drastically," said Kim Custer, president of Preservation Haddonfield, a citizens group. "We've spent the last year and a half fighting the demolition of historic homes and these McMansions that have been going up everywhere."

For years, Haddonfield did not meet its affordable-housing requirements. In 2004, the borough was sued by the Fair Share Housing Center, a New Jersey advocacy group that monitors adherence to state Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) rules.

The suit was settled this year when Haddonfield agreed to create 37 affordable units in future developments.

The borough commissioners have debated the land's future use since 2006, when they learned of Bancroft's intention to leave and declared the area a redevelopment zone. Under the designation, developers who meet the borough's requirements would receive tax incentives.

Senior housing would be "a very low-impact sort of development," Commissioner Ed Borden Jr. said. "There's obviously not going to be additional children in the schools, and there shouldn't be too much traffic."

In addition, Borden said, "we believe there will be substantial revenue that will help us control taxes."

Many area residents are on the warpath, planting lawn signs to broadcast their opposition to development of the land and holding meetings of like-minded neighbors in their living rooms.

The borough will hold a public meeting on the issue next Monday.

Some have urged Haddonfield to seek a bond issue to pay Bancroft's $15 million to $18 million asking price - down from the original $20 million - and make the land a park.

"I have yet to speak to one person who didn't say, 'I would gladly pay a little more in taxes because I want to preserve that open space,' " said Chris Maynes, who lives nearby.

While the protest thus far has focused mostly on traffic and open space, residents have expressed concern that the borough is jumping the gun with its commitment to build affordable housing.

In May, Gov. Christie announced a plan to abolish COAH and scale back towns' housing obligations. Legislation to that effect has passed the state Senate and is stalled in the Assembly.

And last week, an appeals court invalidated key aspects of the state's affordable-housing regulations. COAH was given five months to revise them. The ruling called into question towns' practice of discouraging development in order to sidestep affordable-housing compliance.

Even if COAH survives, Haddonfield's agreement "may not comply with the new rules," Borden said.

The consensus among housing advocates and local politicians is that while the rules might be modified, towns will still have a requirement to provide affordable housing under state Supreme Court decisions of 1975 and 1983.

"What Christie can do is fairly limited," said Kevin D. Walsh, associate director of Fair Share.

"In places like Haddonfield, what often happens is neighbors are afraid of even minor change, even when the change is completely positive," he said. "It's often irrational."

Haddonfield Commissioner Jeff Kasko acknowledged that there is resistance to the affordable-housing mandate.

Bancroft's proposed departure from Haddonfield reflects the shift away from institutionalizing children with neurological disabilities. For most of the school's history, the students lived on campus. Now most live with their families.

The school has not yet found a property to move to, president Toni Pergolin said.

While senior residential facilities have recently struggled with low occupancy, increased demand is predicted as the U.S. population ages, said Lauren Shaham, a spokeswoman for the American Association of Homes and Services for the Aging.

Haddonfield has hired the Philadelphia consulting firm ParenteBeard L.L.C. to analyze the market for senior housing.

Kasko, a public relations consultant elected last year, said he would like to see fewer affordable-housing units in the final plan, but he supports development of a senior facility. Nonetheless, he is treading carefully.

"We've been advised this is a good proposal for the town," he said. "But I haven't gotten that from an expert. We need a little more expert opinion."