Residents file suit over development

By Stephanie Prokop, Staff Writer
CHESTERFIELD — Two residents filed suit against the township this week, as a developer restarted its application to the Planning Board for a residential and commercial development.
    The application from Chesterfield LLC is to build 228 single-family houses and three multi-family units on a 96.9-acre lot, for a total of 282 residential units. The commercial units would have a total of 44,970 square feet of retail space on the ground floor, and apartments above.
    This development would place approximately 2.19 units per acre, and is located between Route 528 and Chesterfield-Crosswicks Road under the Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) program.
    Ernest Liptak and his daughter, Pam Liptak, who reside directly across Old York Road from the proposed development, filed a suit against the Chesterfield Township Committee, the Planning Board, and the developer of the project, Chesterfield LLC (also known as Renaissance Properties) in Burlington County state Superior Court on Monday, asking the board to “set aside or vacate” the TDR credits, according to a Superior Court clerk.
    Ms. Liptak and their lawyer, Jeffrey Baron, of Baron, Riefberg, and Brennan asked the Planning Board and the developer several questions about the proposal Tuesday at the Planning Board meeting.
    Ms. Liptak told the board the proposal seems to have changed since initial plans were approved in late May 2002, and are pictured in the Chesterfield’s Municipal Building.
    “The original plan from (the developer) had only one parking lot,” she said, “Now we’ll have two parking lots, and we’ll be bookended right in the middle,” she added.
    She said she was concerned that would add to noise and light pollution.
    “Our house has stood in that location since 1793, and the developer has never reached out to quell any qualms that we may have had about this development,” she added.
    A call seeking comment on the pending lawsuit from Mr. Hardt was not returned before the Register-News deadline
    The developer had to restart the application this week for several reasons, board attorney Fred Hardt said last week.
    There was dissention at previous meetings that Mayor Larry Durr had sold his TDR credits to the developer, and since he was a member of the board, he could not be a part of the discussions, said Mr. Hardt in a previous statement.
    There had also been an issue with the audiotapes of the previous Planning Board meetings being indecipherable, he added.
    The next and final meeting that will deal with the reintroduction of the proposal will be on Monday.