BY JOSH DAVIDSON
Staff Writer
ABERDEEN — The Township Council has passed an ordinance removing 45 optional redevelopment properties from its redevelopment plan.
The council voted 7-0 to adopt an ordinance removing the properties from its redevelopment plan at its March 2 meeting. The measure was passed in response to a lawsuit filed by residents opposed to two proposed projects to build over 700 residential units in the township.
"I am totally for this and I think you are doing the right thing, I am really happy you made this decision, thank you," said Paul Rinear of Wilson Avenue, a plaintiff whose property was removed from the optional redevelopment plan.
The properties could have been taken by the township under eminent domain, if they remained in the municipal redevelopment plan. The properties were the focus of a lawsuit filed by 27 Matawan and Aberdeen residents Nov. 3 in state Superior Court, Freehold.
The suit alleges the township Planning Board took action out of its jurisdiction by designating an optional redevelopment zone in the municipal General Development Plan application. The suit claims the optional zone violates the constitutional rights of the defendants who live in the zone.
The ordinance takes the optional redevelopment issue off the table and makes "that section of the lawsuit moot," Township Manager Mark Coren said.
The 12-count complaint was filed in an effort to stop approval of proposed projects by Kara Homes, East Brunswick, and Greenwood Holdings LLC, Holmdel. The complaint names Mayor David Sobel, the council, the Planning Board, and the municipal Affordable Housing Agency, as defendants.
Greenwood Holdings LLC’s proposed Mirror Lake, which calls for 234 age-restricted senior units on Greenwood and Ticetown roads, was approved by the Planning Board on March 3. Kara Homes’ proposed Horizons at Aberdeen Forge, a project with 389 age-restricted units on Route 516 and Wilson Avenue, is expected to be approved at the March 31 Planning Board meeting.