Mahwah November 16, 2011 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 5 Planning board asks court to settle Crossroads debate by Frank J. McMahon An attorney for the Mahwah Planning Board has filed a civil complaint in Superior Court asking the court to declare that the board lacks jurisdiction to hear the Crossroads application. The applicant is seeking site plan approval for the development of the 140-acre International Crossroads property at the intersection of Routes 17 and 287. Planning Board Attorney Peter Scandariato claims the board lacks jurisdiction in the matter because the ordinance the township council adopted on Sept. 1 to repeal the ordinance it adopted to rezone the property to retail use in March, should apply in this matter. He bases that claim on an exception allowable in the state law that pertains to the zoning that must be considered by the planning board in the Crossroads application. On May 5, a state law known as the Time of Submission Rule became effective and replaced the previous law known as the Time of Decision Rule. The purpose of both laws was to establish the point in time that determines the zoning regulations that must be followed when considering a developer’s application. The original law established that time as being when a planning or zoning board made a decision on an application, while the latest law defines that time as being when an application is submitted to either of those boards for con- sideration. The new law states that the development regulations that are in effect on the date of the submission of an application for development must govern the review of that application, and any decision made with regard to that application. The new law, however, contains three exceptions that are based on “vested rights” and reasonableness. One of those exceptions is to protect public health and safety, and another is to protect a developer from ordinances adopted after a development is denied but should have been approved. It is that exception that may apply in the Crossroads matter because the township claims the Crossroads developer rushed to file with the planning board to defeat the public good by submitting an application prior to the completion of the lengthy process required for the adoption of the ordinance that was intended to repeal the rezoning ordinance upon which the plans would have to have been considered. Scandariato points out that the September ordinance that repealed the March ordinance to rezone the property for retail was not done for the purpose of frustrating the Crossroads developer’s application, but in response to health and public safety concerns that were raised prior to the submission of the application. He also points out that the process to adopt the repealing ordinance began prior to the submission of (continued on page 15) Students commended John P. Pascale, principal of Mahwah High School (right) congratulates Alexander Coda (left) and Kyle Dontoh (center), who have been named Commended Students in the 2012 National Merit Scholarship Program. Approximately 34,000 Commended Students in the nation are being recognized for their exceptional academic promise. Although they will not continue in the 2012 competition for National Merit Scholarships, Commended Students placed among the top five percent of more than 1.5 million students who entered the 2012 competition by taking the 2010 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test.