Judge rules farmer can build dorm for migrant workers

Decision overrules denial by township land use board

By: Eve Collins
    NORTH HANOVER — A farmer proposing a 4,000-square-foot dormitory to house 35 migrant workers has the go-ahead from a judge to build the structure.
    Superior Court Judge John Sweeney ruled May 21 that Neil Robson can build the dormitory, overruling a decision by the township’s Joint Land Use Board last year denying him site plan approval.
    After debate among board members, residents, and attorneys, the board voted 5-4 last year on a motion to deny the site plan application.
    Judge Sweeney ruled that the board’s decision was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable," and that the board acted beyond the scope of its authority by taking power away from the governing body when it decided that the site plan was not in the public interest.
    "The board failed to apply only the standards that were created by the Township Committee in the ordinance," Judge Sweeney said, explaining that the board had applied subjective standards based on the interests of nearby homeowners.
   Mr. Robson said he was very pleased with Judge Sweeney’s decision. "He told (board members) what we have been telling them all along," he said.
    Mr. Robson explained that his land is restricted by deed to be farmed, and so he has to make a living in agriculture. The migrant workers are needed for labor on farms, he said. "We have to make it work."
    Mayor John Kocubinski, who is a member of the Joint Land Use Board and voted not to deny Mr. Robson the site plan application, said he would have liked to have seen some mediation with Mr. Robson before the board’s decision.
    "I am sympathetic with residents, but people have to understand that North Hanover is an agricultural community," said Mayor Kocubinski last week. "Farmers need to continue to make (agriculture) a viable enterprise — they need to make money," he said.
    The mayor said he hopes officials can review the township’s ordinances so residences will be kept farther away from farms.
    The dorm, which Mr. Robson wanted 500 feet from his home on a 32-acre farm off Schoolhouse Road, has sparked debate between local farmers and area residents.
    The facility would include a built-in kitchen, lavatory, sleeping area and cafeteria, and would cost $250,000 to build. About 75 percent of the cost would be funded by a low-interest loan from the federal Rural Development Agency that makes money available to upgrade living conditions for migrant workers.
    Homeowners on Schoolhouse Road have asked Mr. Robson to consider moving the building farther from their homes.
   Township officials tried offering alternatives for the site of the building, but Mr. Robson said the dorm has to be far enough away from the crops to minimize exposure to fertilizers and pesticides.
    Most of the seasonal workers Mr. Robson employs are from Mexico and South America. They currently reside in Cookstown, Wrightstown and New Egypt.
    Mr. Robson has said that having the workers housed on site would reduce the possibility of losing them to other farmers and it would be more cost effective.