Oroho, Singleton bill to amend Ch. 106, granted committee passage

By Mandy Coriston

S908, the bill to amend Chapter 106 of PREDFDA, which will end the 18-month-long membership battle in Cranberry Lake and other similar communities, was introduced to the State Senate and made its passage through the Community and Urban Affairs Committee on Monday, Jan. 27. Sponsored with bi-partisan support by Sen. Steve Oroho (R-24) and Sen. Troy Singleton (D-7), the bill is identical to the one passed by the Senate on conditional veto in August 2019. The Assembly was unable to take action during the last legislative session, leaving the bill to be carried over for reintroduction. Assemblymen Parker Space and Hal Wirths (R-24) are expected to introduce the Assembly version of the bill shortly.

A July 2017 amendment to PREDFDA caused some communities to interpret Chapter 106 in such a way as to mandate membership from all homeowners, but those opposed in Cranberry Lake have held to their stance that the Cranberry Lake Community Club is not now, nor has ever been, a homeowners’ association and does not function as such. Cranberry Lake itself belongs to the state and is a public lake, while the CLCC leases the land for its beach and clubhouse from the NJDEP. Passage of S908 would grant relief to those residents opposed to mandatory membership, who have been threatened with liens against their property if they fail to take up membership in the CLCC. Similar instances have been playing out all over the region, notably in Rainbow Lakes and Lake Parsippany in Morris County.