Live Where You Work approved
By ROBERT LINNEHAN
The Cherry Hill Sun
6/5/2009

Council approved the township’s participation in the state’s Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency’s “Live Where You Work” program last week. The program is designed to encourage employees who don’t live in the municipality in which they work to purchase homes and live closer to their place of business.

The program offers potential homebuyers a home mortgage incentive program that provides low-interest mortgages and other perks.

“Walking, biking, carpooling and public transit will become much more feasible ways for local employees to travel from home to work and back, as opposed to individual drivers motoring in and out of town,”

Mayor Bernie Platt said. “Getting cars off the road, of course, eases

traffic congestion and air pollution, and the overall concept of

‘Live Where You Work’ perfectly dovetails with our ongoing mission to make Cherry Hill a sustainable community.”

The program will go into effect this fall, Platt said. Communications Director Dan Keashen said the only cost to the township will be a $1,600 printing cost for brochures detailing the program. It’s the township’s hope, he said, that a local real estate agency will help with the fee.

The township will partner with area real estate agents, banks and the HMFA to offer attractive mortgage rates, flexible loan-application reviews or underwriting criteria, and down-payment and closing-cost assistance of up to 5 percent of the mortgage amount, Keashen said.

The assistance offered from this program does not have to be paid back, he said, if the homeowner lives in their new home for more than seven years. The goal of LWYW is to build stronger communities by promoting homeownership and encouraging people to live closer to their jobs, he said.

“Making Cherry Hill more sustainable means taking advantage of opportunities such as the LWYW program,” Platt said. “It combines many of our goals as an administration: strengthening neighborhoods and bolstering community involvement, adopting greener lifestyles, reducing the use of nonrenewable resources, providing access to alternative transportation, and building a diverse population that thrives within our borders.”

In other township news:

Keashen announced the township would have nearly 4,500 mercury-vapor street lighting fixtures replaced by PSE&G with cleaner, greener induction lighting heads.

Representatives are estimating the move could save the township $15,000 on its street lighting bill.

Cherry Hill is one of only 10 New Jersey communities selected for this pilot program. The traditional cobra-headed lights will be replaced with modern, green-colored models that use about half the energy, last twice as long, offer more illumination per watt, and remain virtually maintenance-free throughout their 10- to 20-year lifetimes, according to PSE&G officials.

“The only thing better than getting more efficient, aesthetic, and environmentally friendly street lights in place is getting them installed at no cost to taxpayers,” Platt said. “Being targeted for this pilot project spotlights the collaborative relationship we have been fostering with PSE&G – a company committed to helping us meet our goal of reducing electricity use and becoming a sustainable, energy-efficient community.”