Mayor Tamburro Halts New Housing Development at “Lennar at Monroe Parke”
Lennar – A Nationwide Home Builder – Caught Violating “Court-Ordered” Affordable Housing Settlement
MONROE TOWNSHIP – August 14, 2019 – Monroe Mayor Gerald W. Tamburro today issued a stop work order for the interior of Building 6 at the “Lennar at Monroe Parke” development on Spotswood Englishtown Roadand suspended any new building permits at the site because the builder is in violation of a state court-imposed settlement.
The Township ofMonroe is one of 300 municipalities in the state that are under a state court order allowing developers to build affordable and market rate housing, despite previous zoning.
“Home builders have had some success in court against municipalities regarding affordable housing, but I will not allow them to exceed their court approvals by one inch,” said Mayor Tamburro. “That is why I am stopping any new construction on this site.”
As part of the state court settlement, Lennar received approval to construct a mix of market-rate homes and affordable-rate homes at a construction site at 647 Spotswood Englishtown Rd, at the corner of Mount Mills Road.
Under the agreement, once 76 market-rate homes are issued Certificates of Occupancy, then five affordable units must be built and issued Certificates of Occupancy.
Lennar quickly moved forward to construct 73 market-rate homes, yet municipal inspectors have found little evidence of progress that affordable units are being built. Municipal officials suspect it would take many months, if not years, for affordable housing to be built on the site.
That is why Tamburro has intervened.
“This issue, to me, is much more paramount than five affordable housing units,” Tamburro explained. “All too often, national home builders think they can come into a town and ignore the state and local requirements that protect our residents. If you ignore these requirements, we shut you down. Pure and simple.”
Tamburro noted the Township has other issues with Lennar in regards to Stonebridge, a Lennar development off Applegarth Road. The Township Council, with the recommendation of Tamburro, voted to authorize the taking of performance bonds if Lennar fails to make the long-delayed and needed repairs at Stonebridge.
“Our hope is that Lennar and other home builders will realize that we take our agreements very seriously,” Tamburro said. “All we ask of builders is to follow the letter of the law. And if they choose not to, then they have to deal with us.”
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All media inquiries may be directed to the Monroe Township’s Public Information Officer Stacey Kennedy at 732-521-4400 or