Mahwah May 25, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 3 Lawsuits filed against rezoning of Crossroads property by Frank J. McMahon Two lawsuits filed in Superior Court challenge the Mahwah Council’s decision to adopt three ordinances to rezone of the 140-acre International Crossroads property from office park to a mixed retail, office space, hotel, theater, and recreational use. One lawsuit was filed by a group of Mahwah homeowners identified as the “Committee to Stop Mahwah Mall.” That suit was filed on May 16 by Michael Kates, an attorney with the Hackensack law firm of Kates Nussman Rapone Ellis & Farhi. The other lawsuit was filed May 13 by Attorney Howard D. Geneslaw of the Newark law firm of Gibbons, PC on behalf of the Village of Suffern, New York. The rezoning plan would create 600,000 square feet of retail space plus 150,000 square feet of office, hotel, and theater space with two big box stores on the Crossroads property with a maximum of 50,000 square feet of professional office space over the retail stores on a 300 foot long pedestrian walkway. The current zoning of the property permits 1.8 million square feet of office building space. One of the ordinances addressed the rezoning, a second pertained to the security that would be required at the new mixed-use site, and a third created a fund that would contain the fees that would be paid by any business owner who locates at the site. That fund would provide an estimated $6,750,000 in fees of which 40 percent would be used for infrastructure construction at the site and 60 percent, or $4 million, would be given to the township for its own use, such as for road improvements. The three rezoning ordinances were adopted by the Mahwah Council on March 31. The 4-2 vote followed a four-and-a-half hour public hearing attended by over 400 people. During that public meeting, a motion to place the rezoning ordinances on a non-binding referendum failed when there was a tie vote of the council. In the event of a tie vote, the mayor is called upon to break the council’s tie. However, the governing body had not yet filled the vacancy created when John DaPuzzo was appointed to the mayor’s position after the death of former mayor Richard Martel. Prior to the public meeting that day, the homeowners filed a protest petition with the township clerk in hopes of forcing the need for a five-vote supermajority of the council, but that petition was rejected on April 12 when the township clerk advised in a letter that it did not comply with state law pertaining to such a notice and protest. According to Michael Richards, a signatory on the homeowners’ lawsuit, the Mahwah homeowners held a meeting on May 11 and, after reaching an agreement to file a complaint in civil court, the group donated $4,500 towards the cost of the legal action. Donations grew to $5,400 after the meeting. There are several legal objections in the lawsuit filed by the Mahwah homeowners. They include the objection that Mayor DaPuzzo, who was then a councilman, participated in the discussions and the vote on the rezoning while his wife was the director of the township’s recreation department. The residents said the department would benefit from the rezoning, and that constituted a conflict of interests for DaPuzzo. The homeowners also assert that the township clerk erroneously rejected the protest petition that would have required a supermajority vote of the council, or five affirmative votes, to adopt the rezoning ordinance. The citizens also say the developer played an active role in initiating the township’s reconsideration of rezoning of the Crossroads property and, according to state law, direct negotiations with a property owner when predicated on private interests constitutes “contact” or “spot” zoning. The lawsuit asks the court to declare the rezoning ordinance invalid, illegal, null and void, and of no force and effect; to enjoin the township from proceeding under the ordinance; and to award the plaintiffs attorney fees and costs of the lawsuit. The Village of Suffern’s lawsuit lists several objections to the rezoning ordinances. That suit states that the traffic on Route 202 serves as an escape route when Route 17 and/ or the New York Thruway suffer peak delays, and no analysis of the impact on the Village of Suffern was provided. The suit further states that the development of the Crossroads property as a commercial center will substantially increase the amount of impervious surfaces, which could have a serious flooding impact on Suffern; the rezoning (continued on page 31) Co nsu FR lta tio EE n 201-652-4447 201-818-5673 MIDLAND PARK 1973 - 2011 ~ 38 Years of Excellence CALL NOW! 24 Godwin Avenue 246 No. Franklin Tpk RAMSEY Experience Counts ������������������������� ����������������������������� �����critical ������������ experienced ��������� contracted 55 homes in 2010. 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