Address of Victory Commons corrected from earlier version to 1223 Haddonfield-Berlin Road. A Voorhees Township resolution had the incorrect street address.
Two affordable housing projects being developed by The Michaels Organization in Voorhees were approved by the Township last week.
The projects — and another nearing completion on Haddonfield-Berlin Road — are part of the Township's obligation to provide affordable housing under the Mount Laurel doctrine.
Members of the Township Committee on August 11 voted that there is a need for the first phase of the Michael's development of 60 family rental apartments on the site of a now-closed L&L Redi Mix concrete factory at 600 Centennial Boulevard next to the post office. The resolution will permit Michaels to seek funding from the New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency.
The 60 apartments make up the first phase of a two-phase project that will result in a total of 120 affordable housing units on the 6.6-acre site, Nicholas Cangelosi, regional vice president of development for Michaels, told 70and73.com in an interview.
Members of the Township Planning Board on August 13 approved the preliminary and final site plans for a Michaels development of 60 affordable housing apartments at 3 Sheppard Road.
The 3.31 mostly wooded acres, with basketball courts facing Sheppard Road, after development will hold 10 one-bedroom, 35 two-bedroom and 15 three-bedroom units.
All of the apartments have income restrictions for prospective tenants.
Cangelosi said affordable housing often is misunderstood. He said he prefers to look at the rentals as "workforce housing," allowing people who work in stores, schools or for local governments the ability to live in the communities they serve.
Michaels, based in Camden, is the largest owner of affordable housing projects in the nation, with projects in 40 states, Cangelosi said. The company is building affordable housing apartments in Cherry Hill's Garden State Park and has other housing developments in Southampton, Burlington County, and in Atlantic, Bergen, Mercer and Middlesex counties.
Michael's $28-million Victory Commons apartment complex at 1223 Haddonfield-Berlin Road is nearing completion and will have 81 affordable homes, he said.
Cherry Hill Township Council approved the resolution on Tuesday evening.
Both Camden County and Cherry Hill this week are expected to join the list of local governments urging state legislators to let New Jersey voters decide if they want a proposed "Green Amendment" written into the state Constitution.
Cherry Hill Township Council on Tuesday evening is scheduled to consider a resolution pushing legislators to move, and the Camden County Board of Commissioners has a resolution supporting the amendment on its agenda for Thursday.
Although the Cherry Hill resolution notes it is in "support of New Jersey Legislature's adoption of a Green Amendment to the New Jersey Constitution," the proposed legislation actually provides wording for the amendment and, if passed, would put the amendment on the ballot at the next general election. If state voters give their OK, the amendment would become part of the state Constitution the following March 1.
"Every person has a right to a clean and healthy environment, including pure water, clean air, a safe climate and ecologically healthy habitats, and to the preservation of the natural, and scenic, historic, and esthetic qualities of the environment. The state shall not infringe upon these rights, by action or inaction," according to the resolution for the amendment stalled in the state Senate and Assembly.
Although New Jersey got an early start eight years ago in building support for the amendment, other states including Pennsylvania and New York have already added environmental rights to their constitutions.
The Pinelands Preservation Alliance, an environmental advocacy nonprofit, has been lobbying for the proposed amendment to appear on the ballot so voters get a choice. The organization is working with Green Amendments for the Generations, which has compiled a list of local governments in New Jersey that have supported putting the amendment before the voters.
The list includes the Burlington County Board of Commissioners, which unanimously passed a resolution four years ago. In Burlington County, Bordentown Township also has passed a resolution, according to the organization.
Others supporting getting the Green Amendment on the ballot include Ridgewood Village, Metuchen Borough, Essex County Board of Freeholders, Cape May Point Borough, Aberdeen Township, Bradley Beach Borough, Franklin Townships (ones in Somerset and Hunterdon counties), Princeton, Fair Lawn Borough, and Somerset County.
The amendment does have its detractors.
"It is crafted on the premise that the Legislature cannot be trusted to protect the public and make the right decisions," the New Jersey Business & Industry Association's Ray Cantor said in written testimony to the Senate last year. "It seeks to go around the Legislature, and the Governor and Executive Branch as well, and allow any person to go to the courts to get the result they want."
Previous 70and73.com coverage
Greening the state Constitution: How NJ is behind some others in environmental rights.