Homes and lives in limbo

The South Jersey developer and philanthropist Roger J. Davis declared himself "elated" after a legal battle that had stymied construction of his Tricia Meadows project finally got resolved in 1983.

Thirty-one years later, Davis Enterprises Inc. is involved in another slow-moving court case about Tricia Meadows, a well-maintained community of manufactured homes in Mount Laurel where 46 of 432 units have long been set aside for lower-income residents.

This time, however, the Evesham Township firm seeks to phase out, rather than provide, affordable housing. And the glacial progress of the case is leaving Anna Sullivan and other Tricia Meadows residents in affordable units in limbo.

"We're just sitting tight and having faith that something will come through for us," the retired secretary, 81, says.

Sullivan and her husband, Edward, 88, a retired maintenance man, bought a home at Tricia Meadows 22 years ago. Rent for the ground, or "pad site," on which their home sits is $228 a month; it could double if Davis prevails.

Last October, Medford lawyer Paul Leodori filed suit on behalf of Sullivan and a majority of about 35 current low-income residents, seeking to block the rent increase.

On March 28 of this year, Burlington County Superior Court Judge M. Patricia Richmond agreed that Davis could raise the rents, but did not specify by how much, or on what timetable. The judge has not yet signed the order.

"The average age of my clients is the mid-70s," says Leodori, who earlier sought to have the judge recuse herself. "To put them in the situation where they have no idea whether they can afford the rent . . . is unconscionable."

Sullivan and other residents say they were shocked to receive letters from Davis 19 months ago, advising them that "all affordable housing leases" at Tricia Meadows would terminate at the end of 2013.

The company contends the affordability agreements are set to expire in 30 years under the New Jersey Supreme Court's Mount Laurel ruling of 1983 - which, among other things, paved the way for construction of Tricia Meadows. The community rose on a 107-acre stretch of former soybean fields along Church Road in 1984.

Stephen Eisdorfer, the lawyer representing Davis, did not respond to voice-mail messages left at his Princeton office Thursday and Friday, or to an e-mail Friday. Company president Miriam R. Nase and owner Mitchell Davis did not respond to voice mails I left with them Friday.

But in an Aug. 25 letter to Richmond, Eisdorfer cited "numerous" pending motions, as well as pending orders, and requested a case management conference "at the Court's earliest convenience."

Leodori agrees and also notes that Burlington County Presiding Judge Marc M. Baldwin has appointed a mediator to expedite matters.

Statewide, tenants of several thousand other affordable rental units also may find themselves facing the expiration of 30-year agreements, says Kevin D. Walsh, associate director of the Fair Share Housing Center, which litigated the original Mount Laurel cases.

"Thirty years ago," Walsh observed, "30 years seemed like a long, long time off."

A lot has changed in those three decades. Roger Davis, who named Tricia Meadows for his daughter, died in 2003, and his son Mitchell Davis has expanded into upscale retail developments, including the Sagemore complex on Route 73 in Marlton.

The younger Davis also has continued his father's legacy of community involvement; in 2013, he was honored as "Volunteer of the Year" by Habitat for Humanity of Burlington County.

Walsh says the company "could resolve this in a way that's considerate" of the small group of homeowners facing higher rents.

"We need help," Sullivan says. "I think [the company] should be able to grandfather us in."

I think so, too.