Concerns Over Special Needs Housing In Morristown Brought To Council

MORRISTOWN, NJ — A new housing development is set to open in Morristown, and some council members expressed concerns about its management at this week's meeting.

Max on Morris is a four-story residential building that will open next week and will include a mix of studio units, one-bedroom units, two-bedroom units, and a variety of three-bedroom low-income units.

In addition to their main units, they will have 14 units for adults with special needs. There was some confusion during the Tuesday night meeting about who will manage the Max on Morris apartments designated for those residents.

Local resident Bill Byrne, who is known for being an advocate for people with disabilities, spoke at the meeting, expressing his disappointment that the company ArcMorris was not selected for the project.

"I picked the Arc because, number one, I know that they are licensed, and I know I live on Franklin Street, and my apartment gets licensed every year, and all 24 group homes get licensed. I don't want to get into it, but I'm just very disappointed," Byrne said.

Failure to secure this potential agreement was not the council's intention, according to Councilman Stefan Armington, who spoke in response to Byrne's comment.

"Unfortunately, Billy, that was my fault. I was council president when the redevelopment agreement for the Morris Street apartments was put in place, and I did not include the requirement that the operational body had to be licensed. So I am sorry about that," Armington said.

ArcMorris is a non-profit organization that provides services and information to people with intellectual disabilities and their families in a caring and sensitive manner. According to the company's website, it operates 26 state-licensed programs in Morris County.

"A lot of kudos to you, Billy, for standing and bringing this topic up. It is important. Arc was involved in the initial discussions, and I'm very disappointed that the developer did not follow up with Arc," Councilman Robert Iannaccone said.

When discussing the importance of licensure, Iannaccone stated that state-licensed supervision is critical because it ensures that special needs housing is not limited to the wealthy. Licensure also includes biannual state inspections and related services to assist residents with special needs.

"Somehow we do not have a licensed operator in that facility. We did raise this concern, and it is something we are very, very aware of and we are going to keep a very close eye on the operation. We promise you. Not only are we continuing to open up our community to lower and moderate-income housing, but we're opening up our community now to a sector of our community that historically has problems getting housing," Iannaccone said.

Mayor Tim Dougherty supported Iannoccone's claims but stated that there was little the town was able to do. "We couldn't force the developer to do what only we wanted. He did what he did by law, he didn't break any laws, but we will keep a close eye on it."