Critical remarks about condominium application in West Windsor seen by some as inappropriate.
By: Jill Matthews
WEST WINDSOR A mid-October appearance at a Planning Board meeting by the council president caused a flap at the Township Council meeting Monday.
Councilman Charles Morgan brought up the issue of the appearance because of comments made by Council President Franc Gambatese related to an ordinance for an application of a proposed five-story senior condominium complex on Bear Brook Road, across from the Toll Brothers’ Estates at Princeton Junction development.
During the Oct. 20 Planning Board meeting, according to a recording of the meeting, Mr. Gambatese indicated he was speaking as a resident and also as council president, but made clear he was not speaking for the council.
"Before we do any more work on this and I know the ordinance committee has been meeting and is putting together something for five stories I just want you to know that unless something happens in the next, you know, before it comes to council, I will not entertain this on the agenda unless you can show me a significant reason as to why we would change the existing ordinance," Mr. Gambatese said at the meeting.
Mr. Gambatese did say he was open to changing his mind and agreed when Mr. Morgan pointed out to the board that although the council president controls the agenda, council members can override him to ensure that something is included on the agenda.
"It doesn’t matter what the content of the subject matter is, it just seems to me that as a member of council, if I want something on the agenda and I’ve been part of a process that expects that an ordinance may come back to us, it ought not be short-circuited by any single one of us in any capacity," said Mr. Morgan.
He said he brought up the issue during public comment portion of Monday’s council meeting because it struck him as a fairly significant step that members of council deserve to speak to in open session and wanted to know how the council president would like to manage such agenda-setting processes going forward.
"I have a right, as not only a member of council but as a resident of this town, to voice my opinion on this," Mr. Gambatese said at the council meeting Monday, "and if people’s feeling were hurt that I didn’t run it by them first, then I’m sorry, but that’s within my rights."
Mr. Gambatese said in an interview that he decided to express his thoughts during the public comment portion of the Planning Board meeting because other council members have been "working behind the scenes and pulling strings" for the applicant. Without naming names, he said at least one council member, and probably two, have been influencing this project, and that he would not have gotten involved with this if he didn’t see some "shenanigans" going on.
Mr. Morgan called those comments "silly," saying the application has gone through a public process that included numerous public meetings. While he was invited by one of the landowners to view the project and offer his thoughts, Mr. Morgan said he has discussed the project only with a few people, namely the planning board attorney, the ordinance committee chair and three of the four council members. He said Mr. Gambatese’s comments are an unfair characterization.
Township Attorney Michael Herbert Sr. said there are two issues with the council president’s appearance before the board. The first is whether the council president could appear before the Planning Board to speak on a specific ordinance, which he said he clearly could. The second is whether the council president used his authority incorrectly.
After listening to a tape of the Planning Board meeting, Mr. Herbert said what he heard could perhaps be subject to different interpretations. But he added he did not believe Mr. Gambatese, who asked for his advice before appearing before the board, acted inappropriately, though he said he understood Mr. Morgan’s concerns.
At the Monday meeting, other council members, who were not at the Planning Board meeting but listened to recordings of it, offered caution when speaking in front of another township board.
"I think that members of council, however much we speak as citizens, can’t quite take off that elected-official hat and I think that we should be very careful in not prejudging anything that might come before us and very careful not to seem to speak for other members of council," said Councilwoman Alison Miller. She added that a council member once went in front of the Zoning Board of Adjustment and spoke so ambiguously for himself and the council that the township incurred legal fees as a result.
"There is a risk of perception of undue influence on an independent board, even if you don’t intend it," said Councilwoman Jackie Alberts, "and that perception of undue influence is a perception we have lost litigation on so you have to be very careful on these things."