Developer sues after plan ruled ‘invalid’

Centex LLC has sued Mansfield Township after the Township Committee said the developer’s plan had changed too much and was invalid.

By:Eve Collins
   MANSFIELD — A developer filed a lawsuit against the township last week, challenging a Township Committee decision that invalidated the company’s plan to build 414 houses on almost 500 acres on Petticoat Bridge Road.
   The developer formerly known as Calton Homes, now known as Centex LLC, filed the suit in state Superior Court in Mount Holly against the Township Committee and Planning Board, said Planning Board Attorney Fred Hardt.
   The Township Committee last month declared the developer’s general development plan invalid. The committee, which had originally approved the plan in 1997, said it had gone through too many changes since then and was now invalid. Township officials say state law governing general development plans states that the approval for a project becomes null and void when more than 15 percent of the plan changes.
   The governing body based its decision declaring the application invalid on the legal opinions of Township Solicitor John Gillespie and Mr. Hardt. Both said the application has gone through too many changes since its initial approval.
   Centex challenges that decision in its lawsuit, saying there has been a conspiracy among township officials to impede the development process, Mr. Hardt said. The developer also is seeking damages, but Mr. Hardt did not have the exact Amount.
   Phil Seaton, attorney for Centex, could not immediately be reached for comment.
   The township granted general development plan approval for the 414-house project in 1997, said Planning Board President Joseph Lawrence. The company has continued to make applications for different phases of the project over the years, he said.
   Superior Court Assignment Judge John Sweeney ruled April 23 that the Township Committee’s decision could not go into effect until a hearing is scheduled and the suit is settled, Mr. Hardt said. A hearing before Judge Sweeney should take place in June, he said.
   Centex also said it should have been granted a hearing before the Township Committee to challenge the township’s decision, Mr. Hardt said. A hearing has been tentatively scheduled for May 12 at the municipal building.
   The company first filed civil action in federal district court in 2001, charging collusion between the state Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) and Burlington County. That suit is still pending, Mr. Hardt said.
   In 2001 the DEP refused to give permits for water and sewer connections to the company, based on the need to protect endangered bog turtles that live in the area, township officials said.
   Residents, along with township and county officials, went before the DEP at a March 27 hearing to provide testimony on the issue of water and sewerage hookup for a phase of the project involving 181 houses.
   The controversy stems from the developer’s plan to provide water and sewerage service for the new houses through the treatment plant located in the Homestead development.
   That service has been reserved for the village of Columbus, where septic systems often malfunction, township officials have said.