enforcing their own municipal zoning regulations. In Rutherford, for example, there are no particular municipal zoning regulations for addiction treatment facilities or sober living homes.
Most of the rehab centers and sober living homes in the area claim to be single-family units. And most New Jersey counties, such as Bergen, define a family as one or more people including employees occupying one nonprofit unit. Consequently, the facilities are allowed to operate in zones designated for single families without any specific municipal zoning approval.
Although sober living homes still have to get approvals from their local boards before being allowed to open in select areas, a new assembly bill could significantly facilitate these approvals.
The bill was just introduced by the Bergen County Assembly but if it gets approved by state the facilities will be allowed to alter their municipal zones if they meet the criteria for “inherently beneficial use.”
