FRENCHTOWN BOROUGH, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — Frenchtown is advancing an ordinance aimed at making it easier for older residents and people with mobility or health conditions to make medically necessary modifications to their homes so they can continue living in the borough.
Ordinance 961, known as the borough’s Aging in Place Ordinance, would amend Frenchtown’s land use regulations to provide greater flexibility for certain residential improvements. The ordinance was introduced with unanimous support from the Borough Council on Sept. 2.
The initiative grew out of Frenchtown’s Age-Friendly Action Plan, which was adopted in June following a yearlong community planning process supported by a grant from the New Jersey Department of Human Services.
“One of the most important things we heard throughout our Age-Friendly planning process was that many residents want to remain in Frenchtown as they grow older, but our older housing stock can make that increasingly difficult,” said Mayor Brad Myhre. “If someone needs a wheelchair ramp, a first-floor bathroom or essential medical equipment to safely remain in their home, our local regulations should help them find a reasonable path forward rather than create another obstacle.”
The borough’s Age-Friendly Action Plan found that 1939 is the median year in which structures in Frenchtown were built, compared with 1979 for Hunterdon County as a whole. Borough officials said the age and design of many homes can create challenges as residents’ mobility needs change.
The plan also found that the cost and complexity of obtaining local approvals for home modifications could be a barrier for people seeking to remain in their homes.
Under Ordinance 961, the borough zoning officer would be authorized to approve limited exceptions for medically necessary improvements, including permanent accessibility ramps, first-floor bathroom additions of up to 100 square feet and pads for essential medical equipment such as generators and air-conditioning units.
Property owners seeking an exception would be required to provide a physician’s letter verifying medical necessity, comply with modified setback requirements for applicable residential zones and ensure improvements do not encroach on recorded easements or public rights-of-way. Approved improvements would also be exempt from the borough’s maximum impervious coverage calculations.
“This represents exactly what we hoped our Age-Friendly planning process would accomplish — listening to residents, identifying a real-world barrier and then changing municipal policy to address it,” Myhre said. “Being an age-friendly community is not simply about creating new programs. It also means looking at the rules we already have and asking whether they continue to serve our residents.”
“Frenchtown’s innovative efforts demonstrate what membership in the AARP Network of AgeFriendly States and Communities is all about: listening to residents and translating what they learn into meaningful local action,” said Katie Squires, Associate State Director of Advocacy for AARP New Jersey. “By rethinking policies and resources that shape where and how people live, Frenchtown is creating a more inclusive community where people of all ages can thrive.”
Borough officials said Frenchtown’s approach is believed to be among the first municipal policies of its kind in New Jersey to expressly provide zoning flexibility for medically necessary aging-in-place improvements.
Myhre also credited Frenchtown Planning Board member Jeanne Herb with helping lead the borough’s Age-Friendly initiative.
“Jeanne has been a driving force behind this work from the beginning, and I cannot overstate how much her leadership and countless hours of dedication have meant to Frenchtown,” Myhre said. “From helping shape our grant applications to guiding the planning process and turning community input into meaningful policy, Jeanne has brought extraordinary commitment and expertise to this effort. Our progress would not have been possible without her.”
Herb helped develop the borough’s successful AARP Community Challenge Grant application.
“The strength of Frenchtown’s Age-Friendly effort has always been the involvement of the community,” Herb said. “Residents told us what would make it easier for them to remain engaged and independent in Frenchtown as they age, and the Borough has taken those ideas seriously. The Aging in Place Ordinance moves us from planning into implementation and creates a tool that can make a meaningful difference in people’s everyday lives.”
Frenchtown also recently received approval from the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs to establish an Age-Friendly Municipal Trust through a dedication by rider, which borough officials believe may be the first of its kind for a New Jersey municipality.
The trust will allow eligible donations, grants and other revenues to be separately accounted for and dedicated specifically to Age-Friendly initiatives.
“This gives Frenchtown a way to build on the work that began with our state grant and ensure that future resources remain dedicated to helping residents age successfully in our community,” Myhre said.
“Frenchtown has always valued the idea that people should be able to remain part of this community throughout their lives,” Myhre added. “These initiatives put that principle into public policy and help make sure that growing older does not unnecessarily mean having to leave your home, your neighbors, or your community behind.”
