Monroe Council adopts PRC‑2 change on medical‑facility rule after months of Stonebridge debate

Monroe Township Council on Tuesday adopted an ordinance amending the township code’s PRC‑2 medical‑facility requirement, including language the council and administration said clarifies the municipality’s zoning standard for planned retirement communities.

The change, carried by a 4–1 roll call vote after public comment, updates Chapter 108, Section 6.23 of the township code to revise the medical‑facility requirement in the PRC‑2 zone. Councilman Charles DePiro voted no; Councilmen Michael Markell, Rupa Siegel, Terence Van Zora and Council President Miriam Cohen voted yes.

Supporters of the amendment said it was needed to make the treatment of Stonebridge consistent with other 55‑plus communities in town. Stonebridge residents and HOA leaders urged the council either to remove the original mandate or to include homeowner protections; several people asked the council not to insert language that would bind Stonebridge to a unique voting requirement.

Barbara Levine, president of the Stonebridge HOA, told the council during the agenda‑item public comment period: “We’re going to ask once again that the township consider removing the mandated nurses’ ordinance.” Levine said Stonebridge residents wanted “parity with the other communities.”

Several Stonebridge residents proposed a single sentence to be added to the ordinance that would tie any future reduction or elimination of nursing services to a two‑thirds homeowner vote. Stanley Fisher read the suggested wording into the record and said the language “takes what our HOA board has promised, and you just heard Barbara Levine’s statement, and codifies it.”

Stonebridge HOA board member Alan Stauber opposed embedding the two‑thirds voting requirement in a township ordinance. “If the council now adds that 2‑thirds voting requirement to the ordinance, now it doesn't become a Stonebridge requirement. It becomes a township requirement,” Stauber said, arguing that would make it harder for Stonebridge to change its own governing documents in the future.

Attorney and resident Irvin Rothfarb told the council that putting the two‑thirds rule into the ordinance would protect homeowners: “It would protect the homeowners, and it would prevent Stonebridge or more likely a future board in Stonebridge from succumbing to the temptation of simply doing away with a homeowner vote to change the nurse provision.” Rothfarb offered to provide the council the language and supporting materials he had mailed to officials.

Other speakers from Stonebridge said the township should avoid micromanaging HOA governance, with Lauren Sattinger urging the council to “pass the ordinance as currently written and do not include the amended language.” Jerry Morelli, vice president of the Stonebridge board, said if the council’s language applied to all 55‑plus communities equally, “then it doesn't apply just to Stonebridge, and we're being treated equally.”

Council discussion addressed future development in the PRC‑2 zone and the ordinance’s effect beyond Stonebridge. During roll call before adoption Councilman DePiro said he was “concerned about future development” in PRC‑2 and voted no; the ordinance passed on the recorded 4–1 vote.

The council and staff confirmed the ordinance adoption will take effect after the statutory post‑adoption waiting period specified in town code and state practice: a 20‑day period after signature and publication before enforcement. Council members also said the ordinance as adopted will not apply retroactively beyond the scope described in the text adopted by the council.

The council’s action came after months of public comment and exchanges between Stonebridge residents and township officials about parity with other 55‑plus communities and homeowner voting thresholds.