Residents suing over
age-restricted projects
BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer
Twenty-seven Aberdeen and Matawan residents are suing township officials and two developers over plans for 700 proposed residential units to be built in Aberdeen.
The area residents filed the 12-count complaint Nov. 3 in state Superior Court, Freehold, in an effort to stop approval of the two proposed residential projects.
Defendants named in the case included Aberdeen Mayor David Sobel, the Township Council, the Planning Board, the township’s Affordable Housing Agency and two developers, Greenwood Holdings, LLC, of Holmdel and Kara Homes, of East Brunswick.
The Planning Board denies all of the allegations in the complaint, Board Attorney Michael Leckstein said.
"We’re going to defend the lawsuit and we hope to be successful in our defense," he said.
Horizon at Aberdeen Forge, a Kara Homes project, proposes the construction of 389 age-restricted units on Route 516 and Wilson Avenue. Mirror Lake, the application of Greenwood Holdings, plans to build 234 age-restricted senior units on Greenwood and Ticetown roads.
The suit alleges the Planning Board took action out of its jurisdiction in the township’s General Development Plan application and asks that it be declared null and void. It also asks for legal fees.
The suit also alleges that both developers violated township ordinance by including a 9-acre township property on Wilson Avenue, owned by Richard Bennett, in its applications before the board for construction of the proposed housing developments.
Aberdeen’s Planned Adult Community Redevelopment Plan Ordinance requires proof that the applicant owns the land it wants to build on, is a property authorized agent, or the owner of the property has given consent under an option agreement to use it, according to the complaint.
Neither of the developers own the property or obtained any type of consent from Bennett, according to the complaint.
Some plaintiffs within 200 feet of the property in the applications did not receive notice of September board hearings on the potential development of the properties, according to the complaint.
Both developers did not file application requirements within the three weeks before scheduled hearings as is required by township ordinance. Application documents also were not made available to the lawsuit’s plaintiffs for examination, according to the complaint.
Changes have been made to the township’s zoning ordinance without notification to its residents, said Mark Teichman, of Wilson Avenue, Aberdeen, a plaintiff.
"There was no notification," he said. "When these changes were made to the ordinance, a lot of us had no knowledge of what was going on."
The changes will affect residents surrounding the application’s property values, he said, because the new ordinance allows for more buildings on less land. The Kara Homes project will decrease the value of Teichman’s house, he said.
Teichman said he would like to see the board do a better job exploring concerns about the property.
The board has not adequately cross examined experts testifying at its meetings on the projects, he said.
"In this case it seems like the Planning Board isn’t doing much to investigate whether or not the developers have met the requirements," he said. "It seems like the residents are cross examining the Planning Board."
The residents who brought the complaint have voiced concerns over the project at board meetings and have a right to do so in the courts as well, Leckstein said.
Leckstein said he does not think the complaint will hold up application proceedings.
"I think the applications have been mechanically correct, but that’s for the courts to determine," he said.
The Matawan Borough Council has come out in support of the residents who filed the suit, Matawan Mayor Robert Clifton said.
The projects will add a lot of traffic to Matawan’s roads, he said.
"We support the residents that have brought the lawsuit," Clifton said. "We feel the developments will negatively affect their lives and the lives of everyone in Matawan and its surrounding area."
Paul Rinear, Wilson Avenue, also a plaintiff said winning the suit would force the council to create a new ordinance for the projects.
A new ordinance would have to abide by state environmental legislation that is expected to pass in the near future, he said. The new legislation would allow more residential developments to be built in municipalities.
Rinear said the board is trying to rush the application process before those laws pass, he said.
Township officials also need to do more to let residents know about meetings for the projects, he said.
"This town is trying to push through a major development and hardly anybody in the town knows about it," he said.
The plaintiffs in the suit are forced to use their own time and resources to let other residents know of the meetings, he said.
Sobel chose not to comment due to pending litigation.