Morgan Estates suing township zoners over rejection

Bunn Drive tract was proposed for senior housing

By: Nick Norlen
   The owner of the 14-acre Bunn Drive site proposed for an age-restricted housing development by Morgan Estates has filed a lawsuit against the Princeton Township Zoning Board of Adjustment seeking a reversal of its Feb. 28 decision to reject part of the project.
   In an unusual decision, the board voted 4-3 against granting variances for a portion of the plot before voting 6-1 to allow approximately a third of the 96 proposed units to be constructed on four acres of the property.
   In its suit, site owner Ricciardi Family LLC, calls the board’s decision "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."
   "Just on proofs presented to the board, it was unreasonable for them to reach the conclusion that they did," the applicant’s attorney Frank Petrino said Wednesday. "Even the expert testimony from the township experts — the objective experts — effectively supports our position."
   Noting that the process entailed 12 hearings over 16 months, Zoning Board of Adjustment Attorney Robert Casey said the suit was "not unanticipated."
   He added, "I’m not surprised. It wasn’t an easy case."
   The fact that a full approval of the project would have allowed Morgan Estates to build on two tracts on the heavily wooded Princeton Ridge caused many area residents to voice opposition during the long hearing process.
   While the applicant stated the need for market-rate senior housing — a need acknowledged by the township — opponents cited concerns about the potential environmental impacts.
   However, Mr. Petrino, who represented Morgan Estates during the zoning board process, said his client proved that it could meet environmental protection requirements.
   "In our case, the positive criteria — the need for market rate housing in Princeton — greatly outweighed any perceived adverse impacts that the adjoining property owners might think they would suffer," he said. "There’s absolutely no basis for a number of their complaints."
   Mr. Casey disagreed.
   "I’m confident that the board’s decision will be upheld," he said.
   Both attorneys estimated that the case will be decided in the next several months.