BY TALI ISRAELI
Staff Writer
MARLBORO – The adoption of a rezoning ordinance has been put on hold by the Township Council.
The ordinance was introduced on May 4 and would, if adopted, rezone certain parcels of land in town from R-80 (2-acre residential development) to a Land Conservation (LC) district (5-acre residential development).
The ordinance includes a grandfather clause which states that any legal existing single-family home would be grandfathered in provided that no further subdivision would take place. The grandfathering provision also extends to the properties in the event they are sold.
The council held a public hearing for the ordinance on May 18 but was unable to vote because the Planning Board had not yet reviewed the law.
On June 1 the council tabled the ordinance again, stating that Marlboro would re-evaluate certain properties named in the ordinance due to concerns raised by several residents.
The ordinance was originally adopted in September as part of a package of nine laws that implemented Marlboro’s revised master plan.
Immediately thereafter, several residents filed lawsuits against the council, Mayor Robert Kleinberg, the municipality and Councilman Joseph Pernice, who was the council president in 2005. The plaintiffs claimed the rezoning unfairly devalued their property.
The residents who filed the lawsuits were Russell Reeves, who owns 11 acres on Beacon Hill Road; Sonny Schwartz, who owns about 70 acres of farmland on Beacon Hill and Reids Hill roads; the owners of Stattel Farm, a 78-acre parcel at the intersection of Route 79 and Route 520; Marlboro Holdings, which owns the 52-acre Marlboro Airport property on Route 79; Angelo D’Arpa, Carlo D’Arpa and Gioacchino D’Arpa, who own approximately 72 acres of farmland on Pleasant Valley Road; and James and Patrick Smith, who own about 32 acres of farmland on Harbor Road.
The lawsuits also made a claim against Pernice, stating that although he recused himself from voting on the ordinance because of a conflict he had with one of the lots in question, the council president failed to step down from the dais during the proceedings.
Pernice’s failure to leave the council dais during consideration of the ordinance was the basis for state Superior Court Judge Alexander D. Lehrer, sitting in Freehold, to rule on May 2 that the rezoning ordinance had been improperly adopted.
Following the ruling, Marlboro filed a motion to reconsider the decision. That motion is expected to be considered on June 23.
According to Township Attorney Andrew Bayer, Pernice did not have any legal conflict of interest with the ordinance and therefore the council believes the court’s May 2 decision was wrong.
Although the ordinance can be readopted without filing the motion to reconsider, Bayer said township officials want the court to recognize that the decision was not just.
The law firm of Scarinci and Hollen-beck was hired as co-counsel for the case.
When asked why another law firm was hired to work on the case, Bayer said he would not discuss litigation strategy. He added that it would cost the same whether it was Scarinci and Hollenbeck handling the case or whether Bayer’s firm, Gluck Walrath, was handling it.
Scarinci and Hollenbeck are retained as Marlboro’s labor counsel, however, Bayer said the individual who represents the township in labor matters is not handling the motion to reconsider case.