Jackson condo pool becomes latest battleground over religious accommodations
⚠️ Residents have filed discrimination complaints over gender-segregated pool hours at a Jackson condo community.
➡️ The HOA says the schedule accommodates religious observances, but some homeowners say it limits access to amenities they pay for.
🔴 A federal appeals court previously struck down a similar policy at a Lakewood condominium association.
JACKSON — Imagine moving into a brand-new condo complex and watching a beautiful pool and clubhouse area, as promoted in development brochures, being built before your eyes.
Then, just two years into your residency in 2025 — the landscaping changes — a tall fence is raised around the pool.
You also get a notice that there will be separate hours for male and female swimmers, 75% of the time.
In Ocean County, the situation has been a reality at a secular township complex.
The Club at Jackson 21 includes about 465 townhomes built by developer D.R. Horton.
Residents said the developer turned control of the homeowners association over before the development reached roughly 75% occupancy, which they describe as the typical transition point.
At least several residents have filed gender discrimination complaints with the New Jersey Division on Civil Rights, saying they are being denied equal access to amenities they pay for at a secular community.
Residents say religious-based pool rules limit access
The segregated swim hours are based on religious observances and requirements of a growing number of the complex’s residents.
In Orthodox Judaism, principles of modesty, or tzniut, require separate swimming for men and women. When swimming is permitted, both genders must wear modest swimwear that covers core areas of the body, as explained in this online forum.
Those religious rules are despite not all residents practicing Orthodox Judaism.
“It’s 2026 — how can we segregate by gender and/or religion? We should have freedom and we all live in this community. There are a lot of different ethnicities, races, religions," Jackson resident Sunny Burrough told New Jersey 101.5.
She was among the complex’s first tenants, starting in 2023.
Burrough was alarmed to receive the first notice of restricted pool hours for summer 2025.
“Our pool was beautiful. It felt like we were at a resort. As a single/divorced mom, it felt amazing to move my family here and I was so proud to start our lives over in this development,” Burrough said, calling the restrictions a real disappointment.
Parents say pool schedule makes family use difficult
Another resident, Anthony LoGrasso, and his wife have also filed a discrimination complaint with the state.
They moved into the complex last fall in the off-season as he transferred here for work from Alabama.
The family looked at New Jersey, starting in the north, where his job is located.
Based on affordability and amenities, their search moved south into Ocean County and they signed a sub-lease for a unit — and had been looking forward to pool time until the restricted hours were shared for 2026.
LoGrasso said when they received notice of the summer pool schedule in June, he started emailing the HOA, explaining that these gender restrictions pose a real issue.
He works overnight shifts, so his wife is the daytime parent with their two sons, ages 7 and 15.
Also under the pool rules, minors under 18 are not to use the facilities unaccompanied.
“The response I got was — oh, this is what accommodates everybody — so I brought it to the next board meeting that they had in June,” LoGrasso said to New Jersey 101.5.
He said at that meeting, roughly 15 or so residents spoke, to be rejected by the HOA, whose board members said the only children considered exempt from the gender rules were toddlers and infants.
“Accommodating everybody would be open-swim all the time, come as you like,” LoGrasso said. “We all pay into these privileges — fair is fair."
Read More: Lakewood condo can't sex-segregate its pool, federal court rules
Lakewood case found similar policy violated federal law
A similar, gender-restricted pool policy was struck down in nearby Lakewood in 2019 under a federal appeals ruling.
The 3rd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said the schedule adopted by A Country Place's condominium association was "plainly unequal in its allotment of favorable swimming times."
It was found to be a violation of the Fair Housing Act with its restrictive treatment of women.
“Other homeowner’s associations should take note that making rules based on outmoded gender stereotypes puts them at risk of liability under the Fair Housing Act,” ACLU of New Jersey legal director Jeanne LoCicero said of the previous ruling.
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