NORCs, Zoning and Services

I think NORCs are cool. They give us an opportunity to cover some interesting issues in our classes.  I always include materials about NORCs when we are covering housing, supportive services and aging in place in my class.  NORCs bring up questions about the role of local government-something we don’t always get to talk about with other elder law topics.  When we get to the material, I like to tell my students that I bet they never thought about the role of zoning in elder law…

I was interested in the recent article published in Governing on NORCs and the implications for local governments. Tod Newcombe, senior editor for Governing, wrote the March 7, 2014 article Seniors Create Their Own Communities in Cities.  According to Mr. Newcombe, one of the reasons we live in cities is the independence it provides us. So too, as we age:

Independence is a key reason why people tend to enjoy aging in cities, too. This desire has led, in part, to a growing trend whereby seniors cluster together in cities. These clusters … are called naturally occurring retirement communities. NORCs, as they are known, aren’t purposely built for seniors. Rather, they evolve naturally, as adult residents age in place.

Although the number of folks living in NORCs vary, according to the article New York City is the heart of all NORCs:

27 across four boroughs. While most are clustered in high-rise developments …  some have spread into entire neighborhoods. These horizontal NORCs have morphed into “senior villages”, which today can be found in more than 120 cities and towns across U.S. Senior villages are different from NORCs in that people over a certain age band together and form a nonprofit organization that can provide a range of services from transportation and home maintenance, to medical and care management services. Members pay a fee …, with discounts for low-income elderly.

NORCs do face challenges–such as retrofitting housing so folks can age in place.  As well, how a city provides support is another challenge.  The article references responses by cities in establishing “supportive services programs (SSP), which are essentially partnerships between local organizations to provide services, such as transportation, to seniors. Once a NORC meets certain criteria it can be eligible for local, state and federal aid for support services.”  One of the SSPs in NYC is referred to as the model for other cities in creating such programs. 

Mr. Newcombe offers that NORCS will likely be more common as the population ages, forecasting a potential for friction between businesses, residents and elders who “create” the NORC. He references as an example the Queens McDonald’s that faced an issue back in January with a number of elders who would spend a significant amount of time there (socializing according to the article), leading to the restaurant to set a time limit to eat.