SOUTH AMBOY — A state Superior Court judge has dismissed a lawsuit brought against the city by Rocky Top LLC regarding the former Memorial Medical Center site on Bordentown Avenue.
The medical center closed in 1999, and in 2000 the city pursued a redevelopment analysis of the property, which was zoned residential. Originally, the redevelopment plan allowed for uses including mental health facilities.
According to published reports, Rocky Top purchased the property in 2001 with the intention of allowing a drug treatment facility to operate there. However, city offi- cials later amended the redevelopment plan to disallow that type of facility.
The original lawsuit listed Endeavor House and Recovery Centers as plaintiffs, but those entities, which would have used the site owned by Rocky Top, were no longer parties in the matter by the time of the lawsuit’s dismissal.
The plaintiffs argued that the local zoning ordinance did not apply to them, and that the zoning terms of the redevelopment plan would supercede the zoning ordinance. They also argued that the local ordinance violated the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Rehabilitation Act, Federal Fair Housing Act, Civil Rights Act and the plaintiffs’ civil and constitutional rights, and that the application of the local ordinance in this case violated New Jersey’s Municipal Land Use Law and their due process rights.
In 2006 the U.S. District Court declined to hear the matter. Earlier this month, the Superior Court decided to uphold the redevelopment plan, ruling that there are no constitutional rights at issue in this case.
“Rocky Top’s interest is strictly private,” the decision states. Some of the counts, such as the one regarding the Fair Housing Act, were dismissed because Rocky Top was serving only as a landlord and the rehabilitation businesses were no longer involved.
As for the ADA issue, the court did not determine that those who are addicted to drugs fall into a protected category.
This, however, may not be the final resolution of the matter. At the Feb. 17 City Council meeting, Business Administrator Camille Tooker said Rocky Top has 45 days to appeal the decision.
Residents criticize snow removal job
During the Feb. 17 council meeting, residents voiced their displeasure over the snow removal efforts during the recent snowstorms, making particular note of the South Amboy Train Station. Commuters who use the station said the parking lot remained unplowed for several days after the last major snowfall, and that their calls to the city went unanswered.
Resident Stan Jankowski suggested the city get a private contractor for the train station lot, and council President Fred Henry said it was something that officials could look into.
“You wouldn’t have all this commotion if you did it,” he said.
Resident Mary Bouchard said the area around Fourth Street was not properly plowed, but she noted that those in the higher-end townhouses of Lighthouse Bay had clear streets.
“I guess the more you pay in taxes, the better your streets get plowed,” she said.
Henry disagreed, but said he was awaiting reports from city departments, including sanitation, to determine how to improve the process going forward.