Township to judge: reconsider ruling on 10-acre zoning

By: Vanessa S. Holt
   SPRINGFIELD — The Township Council on Tuesday filed a motion asking state Superior Court Judge John A. Sweeney to reconsider his Sept. 13 ruling that overturned the township’s 10-acre zoning ordinances.
   Judge Sweeney had ruled that the ordinances, which had been adopted in March, were invalid because insufficient notice had been provided to residents and because the measures violated state municipal land use law.
   The township, however, states that the judge was mistaken and the notification provided was sufficient.
   "The court overlooked the undisputed facts that the defendant Planning Board conducted a general re-examination of the township Master Plan," according to the motion filed.
   In a letter to the judge, Township Attorney Denis C. Germano points out that state municipal land use law requires individualized notice to property owners in the absence of a re-examination report. However, the disputed ordinances were in fact adopted "as a result of a periodic re-examination report" and, therefore, did not carry with them the individual notice requirement, he wrote.
   The re-examination report had been adopted by the Planning Board on Nov. 1, 2005.
   The judge’s ruling followed seven suits brought against the township challenging the "downzoning" ordinances, which raised the township minimum lot size from 3 to 10 acres except in clusters designated for development. Some landowners have claimed at public meetings that the change devalued their land and have described the changes as restrictive.
   Henry Kent-Smith, attorney for one of the landowners who had filed suit, said he thought the township’s argument would not stand.
   "We’ve sent a one-page response saying that there is no basis for the reconsideration," he said.
   The motion for reconsideration filed with the court Tuesday states that representatives of the township will appear before the judge on Nov. 3.
Staff Writer Stephanie Prokop contributed to this report.