lawsuit
Town center developer
looking to compromise
Township officials wary of yet another
lawsuit
BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
Having received an order by a state Superior Court judge to halt all further applications for the much argued over proposed town center, the developer’s lawyer is pushing to meet with Middletown officials once again.
Gary Fox, attorney for developer The Mountain Hill Group LLC, has sent a letter to officials dated Jan. 13 saying he wants to end the angst over the issue and meet regarding a compromise.
This desire for give-and-take on the issue has come after Superior Court Judge Lawrence Lawson ruled in December that there will be no more applications for the proposed $150 million, 1.2 million-square-foot center, slated for Route 35 from Kanes Lane to Kings Highway East, until myriad lawsuits surrounding the issue are resolved.
With the developer at a stalemate, officials wonder if the attempt to reach out is based on a realistic desire to amend the proposal or on desperation to develop.
Officials, so far, say they have seen no evidence of any compromise and are skeptical to meet with people who have the township embroiled in costly lawsuits.
"We’re still contemplating the notion of such a meeting," Township Attorney Bernard Reilly said. "But, given all of the lawsuits which Mountain Hill has pending against the township right now, we wonder if a private meeting will precipitate yet another lawsuit. No final decision has been made yet; such a meeting is still in the discussion phase."
The proposed development has pulled political allies to opposite poles since its unveiling in the fall of 2000.
While Mayor Joan Smith has expressed her concern about the project’s proposed size for nearly the past four years, she also said that, first and foremost, "I want everyone to be a winner. Everyone can be a winner with a good project."
Fox did not return calls.
While Fox’s letter expressed that the need for compromise was imminent and the developer would meet with the governing body any time, Smith said that there have been meetings in the past which yielded no such compromise, only insistence that the project could not be cut.
"We met with Joe Azzolina (father of Mountain Hill principal Joseph Azzolina Jr. and Republican assemblyman) and saw the plans before they were made public. Then we did meet with the developer after the plans were revealed," Smith said. "They’re acting as if those meetings never happened. We have always stressed a need for compromise. They are very aware of what the township needs and wants. At the time we met with them, we felt that the project was too large and they were very clear that they could not compromise. Since then, we have not seen any new plans that show a substantial-enough reduction or are closer to what the new master plan recommends (active-adult housing and commercial development)."
Considering the numerous lawsuits filed against the township by the developer, both Smith and Reilly agreed that any initial communication about the project now should go through attorneys (Fox and Reilly) to determine if there is any foundation for a meaningful meeting at all.
"We can’t run before we even start to walk," Smith said. "We need to know what they are proposing first. We need to see some of their ideas before we sit down with them. We don’t want to end up in another lawsuit. If they have new plans that look closer to reality, then, yes, we’ll discuss them."
Reilly agreed saying that seeing a proposal first will tell him whether or not a meeting is warranted. "Unless there is something worth discussing on the table, then it would not be productive to meet," he said.
In the meantime, on Jan. 20, Judge Lawson reviewed two complaints by the developer against the township. One alleged that the township’s new master plan should be nullified because some members of the planning board who voted on the plan were in conflict as members of a group opposing the town center. The other challenged the township’s definition of open space as it applies to the development.
Lawson made no decision on the two suits because "the court has to determine priority order in the lawsuits," Zoning Board Attorney Gregory Vella said. "A lot of these suits are intertwined. Judge Lawson’s position was that the court has to decide how and in what order to proceed in hearing them so as not to duplicate efforts."
As far as the meeting between developer and township goes, Vella is all for I, but wonders if anything new will come of it. "The question is, ‘Are you going to submit a new proposed settlement plan to the township? Yes or no?’"