Glassboro zoning board approves Ascenda use variance for emergency shelter serving pregnant women

The Glassboro Zoning Board of Adjustment voted on Nov. 20, 2025, to grant Ascenda a use variance allowing a licensed emergency homeless shelter for pregnant women and mothers with young children at 48 Delsey Drive (ZB25-06). The board recorded affirmative roll-call votes and approved conditions described in testimony from the applicant and its planner.

Ascenda senior vice president Gwen Holdsworth told the board the program proposed for the site is called "A Place to Call Home," an existing, state-funded program the agency operates that offers housing and services to pregnant women and mothers in recovery. "The maximum that we are allowed to have, at any given time, is 10," Holdsworth said, adding that typical occupancy recently has been closer to six or seven residents and that stays generally run three to six months. Holdsworth said the facility would be staffed 24 hours and that, at any given time, the site would typically have two on-site staff and one agency vehicle available for client needs.

Planner Larry DiVicco presented site exhibits and a zoning analysis, telling the board the property sits in an I-1/office-park industrial zone and that the proposed emergency shelter use is not listed as a permitted use. DiVicco said no exterior changes, utility upgrades or additional lighting are proposed; he emphasized the campus has excess parking and argued the shelter is an "inherently beneficial" community use that meets the positive and negative criteria for a use variance.

Board members asked detailed operational questions. Holdsworth said residents are required to remain sober while in the program, that the program uses random urine drug screening and enforces consequences for positive tests (which may or may not result in immediate termination), and that visitation by friends or family on-site is not permitted. She told the board children are allowed in the program but that, in practice, toddlers and infants are the most common; Ascenda said children older than about 8 years are typically not accepted for this program. Holdsworth also said the facility has existing interior common areas and that residents typically prepare their own food; Ascenda plans to add refrigeration from its current location to accommodate food storage.

At least one nearby homeowner urged the board to impose measurable protections. Jolene Rudder, who said she lives at 43 Delsey Drive across the street, read a statement asking the board to require strong on-site supervision, clear boundaries, and protections for a public trail that abuts the property. "These are vulnerable individuals," Rudder said, and she urged stringent, measurable conditions to ensure neighborhood safety and minimal late-night impacts.

The board followed up on security and enforcement. Ascenda said the current program site in Salem County has required few police calls and that, if the relocation is approved, on-site security already stationed on the Ascenda campus would cover the shelter during evenings and weekends. Holdsworth described a curfew for residents between 8 and 10 p.m., but said she did not have the exact hour available at the hearing (the precise curfew hour was not specified in testimony). She also confirmed the facility is licensed by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs and must comply with DCA facility standards.

After questions and public comment, a member moved to grant Ascenda's request for a use variance to permit an emergency homeless shelter in the I-1 zone. The motion passed on roll call with recorded affirmative votes from Miss Lafferty, Mister Perner, Mister Santore, Mister Smith, Miss Wyman, Mister Lopez and Mister Moonen (yes:7; no:0; abstain:0). The board then moved on to other business and adjourned to its Dec. 18 meeting.

The board's approval authorizes Ascenda to operate the licensed shelter at the site subject to any conditions the board or licensing agency may impose; details of any written conditions, monitoring, or reporting requirements were not specified during the hearing. Ascenda and the town must comply with applicable DCA licensing rules before the program accepts residents.

What happens next: the decision allows Ascenda to proceed with final steps tied to municipal approvals and DCA licensing; the board’s resolution and any written conditions will be part of the official minutes and permit record.