Mahwah May 9, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 9 Chai Lifeline zoning appeal trial set for October by Frank J. McMahon The lawsuit filed by Chai Lifeline Inc. has been scheduled for trial on Oct. 12. The Jewish non-profit filed suit against the Township of Mahwah, the zoning board of adjustment, and the former zoning officer after the zoning board’s May 2011 denial of the organization’s use variance application. Chai Lifeline is asking the court to reverse the board’s denial to permit the organization to continue to use a singlefamily residential property on Ramapo Valley Road as a respite for families of children with cancer and other genetic diseases. Families stay there one at a time for several days a week. The house is also provided to groups of 10 or fewer widows for once a month grief counseling on weekends. The property is located at the rear of an eight lot subdivision in the township’s R-80 single-family residential zone and is accessed by a single private road that leads from a dual driveway access from Ramapo Valley Road. It has an in-ground pool and access to the Ramapo River, which passes by to the west. Timothy Slade, a neighbor who strongly objected to Chai Lifeline’s use of the property during the zoning board’s public hearings, advised that the property is still being used seven days a week. He said he has asked the township, through its attorney, to issue a cease and desist order, but the township has taken no action on that request. The property, which was donated to Chai Lifeline Inc. by Pamela and Craig Goldman in 2007, has been named the “Pamela & Craig Goldman River Retreat.” The property has been used by the non-profit since then, even though a former zoning officer determined in 2009 that the organization’s use of the 4.4-acre property for single families a few days at a time is not permitted by the township’s zoning ordinance. The zoning board denied an appeal of that determination by the Chai Lifeline organization in August 2010 after a 16-month public hearing. During the appeal of the former zoning official’s determination that the use was not permitted and the public hearing of the application for a use variance, several neighbors objected to the way Chai Lifeline was using the property. They claimed the group’s use of the site disturbed their quality of life and brought a constant flow of strangers into the secluded neighborhood. In the nine-count, 63-page complaint filed by Chai Lifeline Inc., however, the organization’s attorneys, Marc E Liebman and Justin D. Santagata, claim the nonprofit’s use of the property is an inherently beneficial use. They dispute the zoning board’s definition of “family” as one that is made up of permanent residents of a singlefamily household. The attorneys also dispute the board’s determination that Chai Lifeline’s use is transient in nature. They maintain that the use is permitted in the R-80 zone, and claim the township’s interpretations of “singlefamily dwelling” and “family” violate case law and ignore legal precedent. In addition, they claim the township failed to recognize that the length of residency principle on which they relied did not, and could not, determine whether a home is being used as a single-family dwelling. The attorneys say A Mahwah Community Blood Drive will be held May 18. The event is being sponsored by the Bergen County Law & Public Safety Institute in cooperation with Community Blood Services. The drive will be held from 7 to 11 a.m. at the institute at 281 Campgaw Road. To schedule an appointment, call (201) 251-3703. Community Blood Drive set All types of blood are needed especially types O- and O+. Any healthy individual age 17 through 75 and weighing at least 110 pounds can donate blood. Donors should eat a moderate meal before donating and must bring identification showing signature. All donors receive a complimentary cholesterol screening with every blood donation. the board’s denial was arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable. In his formal answer to the lawsuit, Ben Cascio, the zoning board attorney, denied the allegations made by Chai Lifeline and specifically denied that the families who use the subject property constitute a “family” within the meaning of the township’s zoning ordinance. He also described the narratives in the lawsuit by some of the people who have stayed at the Chai Lifeline house as irrelevant and “intended to improperly prejudice the court,” harass and cause unnecessary delay, and create a needless increase in cost of preparing the zoning board’s defense in violation of the law. Cascio’s response also claims the testimony of Chai Lifeline’s professional planner, who testified that the current use is inherently beneficial, did not satisfy the criteria to grant a use variance, and the board did not find that testimony to be credible. He asked the court to dismiss the Chai Lifeline complaint with prejudice, meaning that the same complaint could not be filed again, and to grant the zoning board the costs of the lawsuit and other relief as the court deems is equitable and just.