Mahwah January 19, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Judge invalidates township’s wellness center ordinance by Frank J. McMahon Superior Court Judge Estela M. De La Cruz has invalidated the 2009 Mahwah ordinance that added health and wellness centers and fitness and health clubs as permitted uses in the township’s GI-80 general industry and IP-120 industrial park zones. The ordinance was challenged in Superior Court by plaintiffs Mahwah Realty Associates, the landlord of the New York Sports Club on Leighton Place in the Fardale section of the township, and TSI Mahwah, LLC, the owner of the New York Sports Club. Judge De La Cruz’s decision is being appealed in the Appellate Division of Superior Court, however, and the township council has authorized Assistant Township Counsel Andrew Fede to represent the township and the planning board in that appeal. In their challenge, the plaintiffs criticized the township’s effort to create two different classes of health club uses, one called a health and wellness center, and another that is called a fitness and health club. The plaintiffs claimed the only difference is that a health and wellness center must be hospital sponsored and is permitted to feature full retail food service such as a café or restaurant, while a fitness and health club is permitted to have only a juice bar or snack bar. The plaintiffs also said certain members of the council and the planning board had conflicts of interest in the matter because of their relationship with Valley Health Medical Group, which originally applied for a use variance to permit a health club in the township’s industrial zone in 2007, and/or Valley Hospital that tainted the adoption of this ordinance. The township filed a motion seeking a summary judgment from the court to dismiss the case on the basis that the plaintiffs’ claims were the same as those that were made in a previous lawsuit about an essentially similar ordinance that was adopted in 2007 but overturned by a different Superior Court judge on procedural grounds. The 2007 ordinance was invalidated because the township failed to give adequate and proper notice to all interested and affected parties in the B-40 zone because township officials did not recognize that the addition of these two uses in the IP-120 industrial zone automatically would cause them to be treated as permitted principal uses in the B-40 zone. The plaintiffs countered with a cross motion, claiming the new ordinance was procedurally defective because the council failed to adhere to the requirements of the New Jersey Land Use Law with respect to the adoption of ordinances that are inconsistent with a municipality’s master (continued on page 17) �������������������������������� ��������������� ������������ SAT LAST DITCH? Your SAT Verbal-Writing-Math scores can go up 100 points or more before the cut-off. We’ve been doing it for years. Verbal-writing $60 per hour. Math $70 per hour. References from Princeton, Cooper Union, Cornell, NYU, many from Rutgers In Home PERSONAL TRAINING • Flexible Scheduling • Nutrition Guidance • Sports Specific Training • Men, Women, Children & Couples ����������� � Shoes & Sneakers Limited Sizes and Styles All Sales Final • No Coupons No Refunds or Exchanges on Sales Items �������������������������������������������������� ����������������� Annual With Brad Selected Children’s, Men’s & Women’s Lose 20 lbs in 10 Weeks Insured Degreed & Certified 201-445-1343 For Free Consultation call: TONE UP/LOSE FAT/ FEEL GREAT 201-925-0381 ��� 11-17-10 janine JohnKostner2x2(11-17-10) 2x2 Serving Cocktails, & Espresso o puccin Cap State Line Diner - Restaurant 375 State Highway 17 North, Mahwah The�������������������� Best Got Better! ��������������������� Join Us Fo ���������� r B 201-529-3353 reakfast, Lunch & Dinner Open 24 Hours, 7 Days Join Us For Breakfast, Lunch & Dinner Please Join Us In Celebrating Our 35th Anniversary with any Dinner Purchase, 5pm - 9pm, January 11 - January 31 FREE Balloons & Lollipops for children Complimentary Gift for Adults Free Cheesecake & Free Soup