HOLLAND TOWNSHIP - A state Superior Court judge has overturned
the Planning board's preliminary approval for a 90-acre subdivision
of 15 homes on Shire Road.
Judge John Coyle, sitting in Warren County, ruled the
original application by developer William Scopetto of Hunterdon
Capital LLC was not complete. The court also ruled Friday
that the Planning Board did not insist the developer prove
that he met requirements for placing 3-acre lots in a protected
5-acre zone.
The ruling was a victory for the Friends of Holland Highlands,
a citizens group, and the New Jersey chapter of the Sierra
Club. Friends of Holland Highlands filed a lawsuit in January
2003 to throw out the preliminary approval, given in October
2002.
"Our Citizens group is very pleased that the court
agreed that the Holland Township Planning Board treated us
shabbily and violated their own ordinances in approving this
inappropriate subdivision," Michael Keady, president
of the Friends of Holland HIghlands, said in a prepared statement.
"now the board will get a second chance to do the
right thing and protect property," Keady said.
Keady said the property includes a trout production stream
and a state-designated protection area around a public well,
which serves hundreds of residents and the township's elementary
school. The stream has received a state designation giving
it the highest level of environmental sensitivity and protection.
The court also ordered the Planning Board to hold a public
hearing, where Scopetto must offer proof his plan meets requirements
for employing 'lot averaging." That would allow Scopetto
to place 3-acre lots along the ridge of Musconetcong Mountain
in return for creating a larger lot on which a suburban homeowner
could partake in agriculture.
Coyle said he wanted a decision within 90 days on the
issues remanded to the Planning Board.
Planning Board attorney Donald Morrow and Planning Board
Chairman Michael Miller did not return phone calls for comment.
Scopetto did not return repeated phone calls for comment.
Pamela Sroka can be reached at (908) 782-2300 or psroka@c-n.com
Copyright 2004 The Courier News |
