Bridgewater to rebuild a mold-infested home

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Bridgewater to rebuild a mold-infested home

The Star-Ledger,NJ

BY RALPH R. ORTEGA

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/somerset/index.ssf?/base/news-

2/1175666010157220.xml & coll=1

A woman escapes the mold infestation of her home in Somerset County

by visiting the Hamptons, she said, especially now in the spring,

when the ocean breezes are especially soothing.

But Elliott, claiming she is too broke to get rid of the

mold that has consumed her two-story house in Bridgewater, will soon

breathe easier at her home when the township spends more than

$400,000 in low- and moderate-income housing funds to replace the

property.

And there is an additional $150,000 in it for Elliott if the

township lands a settlement with the contractor who gutted her house

on Foothill Road to get rid of the mold, doing more irreparable

damage than good, according to local officials.

In exchange, Elliott, a once prominent real estate agent who said

she can no longer do 90 percent of her business because of health

problems from the mold, has agreed not to sue Bridgewater. She had

blamed the township for all her problems.

The township council is expected to finalize the agreement at the

Bridgewater municipal building tonight, an agreement that Elliott

called the " best " resolution for both sides a decade after her

troubles began.

" It's been a long road, " she said. " No one is going to walk out of

there very happy. "

Township Attorney B. Savo said after two years of

negotiations with Elliott's lawyers, a deal was hashed out that

relies on funding used to satisfy Bridgewater's affordable housing

obligation.

The state Council on Affordable Housing has approved the use of

housing rehabilitation trust money, to make a payment of

$411,000 " for the construction of a house by Elliott on her

property, " according to a township resolution authorizing a

settlement of claims made by the woman.

The resolution states Elliott, 59, began complaining a decade ago

that water run-off from Lane, which runs alongside her home,

and adjacent properties, was caused by the " negligence of township

employees. " Her house became saturated and mold began taking over,

according to officials.

Savo said a private contractor hired by the township to evaluate and

remediate the problem worsened the situation. Medical records also

showed Elliott had a sensitivity to the mold infestation that was

affecting her health, he said.

A loss of income, due to her ailments, qualified her for the COAH

funding, which the town decided to invest in replacing her entire

home, rather than repair it, according to Savo.

Township officials reported yesterday Bridgewater now has $5.8

million in developers fees collected for affordable housing

rehabilitation. Savo said currently there are " extra units, " of

affordable housing, and with the township facing a long and

potentially expensive court battle, " with an uncertain outcome, " it

was better to settle with Elliott.

" This is the first time I've heard of COAH funds being used in this

manner, " said , dean of the Bloustein School of Public

Policy and Planning at Rutgers University, who found the

deal " interesting, " but " complicated. "

Bridgewater, until now, has offered COAH funds in the form of

grants, capped at $20,000 for home rehabilitation and emergency

repairs. Home owners must qualify under income guidelines set by the

state, and do not have to repay if they live a minimum of 10 years

on their properties after the completion of the rehab.

said in Elliott's case, using COAH money to replace her home

could be viewed as taking the money away from future

applicants. " You could look at it as those are the people paying for

the township's actions. "

However, with Savo claiming there was a surplus of affordable

housing units in Bridgewater, said he could see the

justification of sparing taxpayers the expense of going to court.

said the outcome " may smell, " but it seemed " plausible, "

since the damage to Elliott's home was the equivalent of a township

bulldozer " breaking loose and bulldozing her home. "

Her lawyer said the litigation would have cost the town " seven

figures. "

" If the lady had filed the lawsuit, the sky's the limit ... The

township would have been clobbered, " said attorney Lime.

The township also has agreed to assist Elliott in seeking zoning

approval to subdivide her property. She could build a second house

on the additional lot, sell the properties at any time, and not risk

losing her COAH funding. The township, meanwhile, admits no

liability, said Savo.

Elliott, in a telephone interview earlier this week, said that she

had kept " many international friends, " from her years of selling

real estate. She also mentioned that she had just returned from

Montauk, Long Island, where she found relief from the mold spores.

" The sea air really does me good, " she said.

She invited the reporter to inspect her house yesterday. Mold was

growing on the exterior. The interior had been stripped down to the

wall studs. There also was extensive dust and debris. " It was better

before, " she said sadly, referring to the onset of the mold in her

life.

" I've been affected by the mold horribly, " she said.

Ralph R. Ortega may be reached at rortega@...