January 22, 2014 THE VILLADOM TIMES I • Page 5 Wyckoff Judge finds no conflict in ShopRite case by John Koster A Superior Court judge has ruled that the Wyckoff Planning Board did nothing improper in approving the application for a new Inserra Supermarkets ShopRite in Wyckoff. Plans call for a 62,000 square foot ShopRite to be constructed on the Greenwood Avenue site that was the former location of an A&P food store. Judge William C. Meehan’s 30-page decision indicates that the Wyckoff Planning Board and traffic expert Gary Dean did not have a disqualifying conflict of interest or the appearance of impropriety and granted the defendants a partial summary judgment on the issue. Stop & Shop, which is located in the Boulder Run Shopping Center, near the location of the proposed ShopRite, claimed Dean had a possible conflict because his law partner was working on a project in New Milford where Inserra is a potential tenant. Wyckoff officials anticipate that Meehan’s ruling means Wyckoff will be out of the loop on subsequent arguments between Stop & Shop and Inserra Supermar- kets. “The judge held we proceeded correctly by not wait- ing to see if there was a conflict,” said Wyckoff Plan- ning Board Attorney Joseph Perconti. “Anything that can bring a little closure to this long-standing issue is good for Two new ordinances introduced The Wyckoff Township Committee has introduced two new ordinances pertaining to local streets and sidewalks. One ordinance, which would amend the property main- tenance code, would allow the borough to issue summonses relating to the repair of sidewalks that constitute a detriment or hazard. A summons would be an action of last resort to obtain compliance, a township official explained. Currently, code allows municipality to perform the repairs and place the cost as a lien on the property. This ordinance would provide another tool to accomplish the same purpose by use of a summons to be answered in municipal court. The second ordinance amends the time limit on parking on sections of Wyckoff Avenue and Highland Avenue from one hour to 15 minutes. Specifically, the parking on the east side of Wyckoff Avenue is limited to 15 minutes from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. from a point 180 feet north of the north curb line of Frank- lin Avenue for a distance of 66 feet. Parking on Highland Avenue between Wyckoff Avenue and Everett Avenue is to be limited to one hour from 8 a.m. until 6 p.m. except on (continued on page 23) the planning board and good for Wyckoff.” Dean had been taken off the case when the charges of conflict were mentioned, but the judge saw no conflict in any event. Other aspects of the case will be continued on Jan. 29, but Wyckoff officials believe the township is in the clear and the issues to be resolved are between the two super- market chains. Stop & Shop filed suit in March 2013 after two years of hearings resulted in a 9-0 approval of plans for a new ShopRite supermarket at the vacant parking lot that is zoned for supermarkets and had hosted a large A&P until about a dozen years ago. The vacant lot is regarded as an eyesore by several commercial neighbors. Most of the testimony for the ShopRite application was provided by expert witnesses for both sides, but two hearings that allowed the residents to speak revealed that about 80 percent of the Wyckoff people who spoke favored the ShopRite as planned, 10 percent would have liked a smaller building, and 10 percent objected to a second full-sized supermarket in Wyckoff.