The Villadom Times Weekly Newspaper Online-Aug 25, 2010 Issue

August 25, 2010 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Mahwah Court declines to consolidate Pilot lawsuits by Frank J. McMahon At a recent case management conference, Superior Court Judge Joseph Conte declined to consolidate the two lawsuits against the Pilot Corporation and the Mahwah Board of Adjustment. Instead, Conte set dates for the trials of both cases. The suit filed by Paks Fast Service, Inc., which owns the Valero service station on Route 17 will be heard Sept. 24. Paks is challenging the Mahwah Zoning Board of Adjustment’s approval of the Pilot Corporation’s plan to upgrade and renovate its truck stop on Route 17 into a service station for trucks and cars. The trial of the lawsuit filed by Parents for Safety, LLC, a non-profit organization created by three parents of children who attend the schools on Ridge Road, was scheduled for Nov. 19. Pilot’s attorney, James Lott, explained the judge’s action not to consolidate the two trials, saying it was a matter of timing because it was impossible to reconcile Pak’s request for an early trial with the parents’ right to submit briefs on their case. “If they had been filed at the same time, I think they would have ended up in a consolidated trial,” he said. Lott added that he did not think the judge would render a decision from the bench, but would instead reserve his decision until after the second trial and then issue a consolidated decision. “We need both slices of the pie,” Lott said. “We have to win twice.” Both plaintiffs are seeking to reverse the zoning board’s approval of Pilot’s plan to clean up soil contamination and demolish the complete site and reconstruct it into a fueling service station with a six-station truck diesel fueling area and a 12-station car fueling area, each with overhead canopies, and a new 4,282 square foot convenience store. The plan eliminates 90 percent of the existing truck spaces on the property and all overnight truck parking and permits the local police department to enforce the state’s law restricting the idling of trucks. The Paks Fast Service lawsuit claims the expansion of the Pilot site into a service station serving trucks and cars will create an unsafe condition on the site due to the addition of the cars, which might come in contact with the trucks that will continue to use the site for fueling. It also claims that the expanded site will create more noise and air pollution in the area and that the large convenience store proposed for the site will be an attractive nuisance for the students who attend the schools on Ridge Road. The suit also states that the Pilot plan violates the township ordinance that prohibits service stations within 500 feet of a school property. The Parents for Safety lawsuit claims the zoning board’s approval of the Pilot plan was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable, and it contains some of the same arguments that are in the appeal filed by Paks Fast Service. However, this group’s suit places more emphasis on the board’s interpretation of the township’s zoning ordinance that the project proposed by Pilot was a service station. The suit claims this interpretation was legally erroneous and the board should have applied the proofs for a use variance and not a conditional use variance. The Parents for Safety lawsuit also claims that the zoning board failed to properly consider the expert testimony presented in opposition to Pilot’s plan and the board did not consider that the Pilot design contains serious safety concerns which are substantially detrimental to the public good. In addition, the lawsuit claims that the Pilot site plan design required a subdivision, but one was neither applied for nor approved and, as a result, the additional variances that were required were not granted. The appeal also claims that the board ignored the hazmat testimony that the proposed plan would present a substantial risk to the nearby schools and was, therefore, substantially detrimental to the public good. Pilot maintains the zoning board’s approval of its plan will permit the company to upgrade and renovate its run down truck stop and permanently separate the site from the schools. Pilot also claims it will prohibit any tractor trailers that refuel at the Pilot site from using its Ridge Road access. According to Pilot, the approval will also allow the company to clean up the fuel contamination on the site, install state-of-the-art storm drainage, reduce truck parking there, and renovate the entire property into a modern service station. The Pilot Corporation is moving forward with the demolition of its truck stop, and the construction of its new diesel and gasoline service station and convenience store is “approaching substantial completeness,” Lott advised. Township officials note that Pilot is proceeding with the upgrade and renovation of its site at its own risk because the company would be forced to deconstruct the site if the court were to reverse the zoning board’s approval and uphold that reversal on appeal. ���������� ���� ���������� ���� Second Hand Treasures �� Paul Banach Construction, LLC Home Remodeling Waldwick • 201-689-0765 • Windows • Doors • Garage Doors • • Finish Carpentry • Crown Moldings, Cabinetry, Walk-In-Closets, etc... • Kitchen & Bathroom Renovations • Take advantage of the Energy Tax Credit in 2010 www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=products.pr_tax_credits Speak to your tax advisor to ascertain if you qualify, as these credits will make a project more economical for you! 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