Group Home Faces Opposition From Residents At Westfield Meeting

WESTFIELD, NJ — During Tuesday night's Westfield Town Council meeting, several residents spoke up and voiced concerns over a group home that will be built in the Township and financed by the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

Both the town conference meeting and the regular council meeting were held virtually on Tuesday, due to the recent rise in COVID-19 cases, and was live streamed on the Township's Facebook page.

The development of a single-family group home on 901 Morris Avenue was a contested topic among residents, as many spoke up during the public comment section of both meetings.

Residents were reacting to a resolution for the Council to allocate $192,908 to Arc of Union County from the Affordable Housing Trust Fund to develop the group home. The Arc of Union County is a non-profit organization dedicated to enriching the lives of individuals of all ages with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

According to Councilman Mark Parmelee, the trust fund currently has over $2 million already in it, and the Arc of Union County previously purchased the property at 901 Morris from a private owner. The single detached home for special needs housing will contain four beds.

Parmelee also stressed that this fund consists of money that was accrued from developers and that taxpayer money is not involved.

This project will help Westfield to comply with its responsibility to fulfill its state-mandated Affordable Housing requirements. It also helps the town to further achieve a goal specified in its settlement agreement with Fair Share Housing to work with non-profit affordable housing obligations to create 20 additional homes, half for families, by the end of 2025.

According Parmelee, Westfield already has a number of group homes — all of which have the appearance of detached single-family homes.

During the conference meeting, several residents brought up that they were only made aware of the project 24 hours before the meeting and that not enough information had been shared about what the project entailed.

Benjamin Echeverria of Westfield said neighbors in the area needed more information about what the impact this type of home would have on the street.

"This is very new, we had no clue about this," Echeverria said.

Another resident, Claudia Carnevale, voiced concerns over who would exactly be living at the property.

"I think it is very important to know the type of individuals who will be [living there]," Carnevale said. "Are they being supervised because some of these can be at-risk individuals with unpredictable behavior."

Carnevale, among others, said this type of home is "atypical" for the area and that it is unprecedented for the Council to vote on the resolution on such short notice.

Residents also repeatedly brought up that Morris Ave. is a dead end street where a lot of children often ride their bicycles unsupervised.

Despite these concerns, the Council unanimously voted at the end of the meeting to allocate the funds to Arc of Union County.

The new home must adhere to regular zoning requirements, such as building setback, height and coverage requirements.

"Beyond what our actual obligations are, I believe diversity among the housing and our residents, as well as prioritizing inclusivity, are important guiding principals here," Paramelee said.

Former Mayor Tom Jardim also said a group home is defined under state law as "an inherently beneficial use" and that it is meant to serve the public good.

"I think what you'll find, because I grew up in a town on a street with a group home, that the people who live in these group homes are beautiful creatures of God, and they'll be your neighbors pretty soon," Jardim said.

A full recap of Tuesday night's meeting can be found here, and people can watch the full Council meeting on the town's Facebook page.

Get a free morning newsletter with news in Westfield or another town: https://patch.com/subscribe