Developer sues Cedar Grove over townhouses
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Developer sues Cedar Grove over townhouses was created by Vacant NJ
Developer sues Cedar Grove over townhouses
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
BY MICHAEL O'LEARY
VERONA-CEDAR GROVE TIMES
Staff Writer
A housing developer has filed a lawsuit against Cedar Grove, after the township council rejected its plan to build hundreds of townhouses last month.
Township Attorney Tom Scrivo announced this week that a legal representative from K. Hovnanian Homes, Andre Miesnieks, had called to tell him that the developer planned to sue the township in advance of a new law that may block such lawsuits for a year.
"He said he did not view (the lawsuit) to be adversarial," Scrivo said at Monday's council meeting. "It was only to protect K. Hovnanian's interests."
Miesnieks confirmed on Tuesday that the lawsuit had been filed and that Cedar Grove should receive a copy of it soon.
Township Manager Tom Tucci called the idea of a non-adversarial lawsuit an "oxymoron" on Tuesday.
"It's pretty odd because I don't know many friends who file lawsuits," he said.
The council and the developer have met numerous times over the past several years to discuss a handful of proposals to build homes at the site of the abandoned Essex County Hospital Center, but a lawsuit will likely narrow the scope of the previously frank and open discussion, Tucci said.
Miesnieks said that Hovnanian was proceeding with a lawsuit because one version of an affordable housing bill now working its way through the state legislature contains a clause that would put a year-long moratorium on lawsuits filed by developers against municipalities.
On Tuesday, Miesnieks said that it was not Hovnanian's preference to sue Cedar Grove but the legislation - which could be made law any day - forced them to proceed with the suit.
"It's still our intention to come to a mutually satisfactory resolution," he said.
In a letter dated Dec. 6, a Hovnanian official had requested a meeting with the council.
At Monday's meeting, Scrivo recommended the council not meet with the developer until the nature of the lawsuit is known. All four present councilmen agreed to not meet with Hovnanian in light of the impending lawsuit and because few details of Hovnanian's proposal have changed since last month's rejection, they said.
Hovnanian had most recently proposed building 464 townhouses on the site of the abandoned Essex County Hospital Center. However, the construction of that many new homes would likely require Cedar Grove to pick up the tab for building potentially dozens of low/moderate income housing units under the state's changing affordable housing regulations.
The unknowable costs such a project might burden the township with prompted the council to unanimously reject Hovnanian's proposal in November.
Hovnanian is already suing Essex County over the right to build on the land east of Fairview Avenue and so long as litigation continues between the county and the developer, none of the decrepit buildings there can be demolished.
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Original Article Link: www.northjersey.com/news/112258204_Devel...over_townhouses.html
Tuesday, December 21, 2010
BY MICHAEL O'LEARY
VERONA-CEDAR GROVE TIMES
Staff Writer
MICHAEL O'LEARY/STAFF PHOTOGRAPH
The Essex County Hospital Center site remains vacant and decrepit as Cedar Grove, Essex County and K. Hovnanian Homes wrangle over the fate of the land. Hovnanian sued Cedar Grove this week in advance of the passage of a law that may block developers from suing municipalities for one year.
A housing developer has filed a lawsuit against Cedar Grove, after the township council rejected its plan to build hundreds of townhouses last month.
Township Attorney Tom Scrivo announced this week that a legal representative from K. Hovnanian Homes, Andre Miesnieks, had called to tell him that the developer planned to sue the township in advance of a new law that may block such lawsuits for a year.
"He said he did not view (the lawsuit) to be adversarial," Scrivo said at Monday's council meeting. "It was only to protect K. Hovnanian's interests."
Miesnieks confirmed on Tuesday that the lawsuit had been filed and that Cedar Grove should receive a copy of it soon.
Township Manager Tom Tucci called the idea of a non-adversarial lawsuit an "oxymoron" on Tuesday.
"It's pretty odd because I don't know many friends who file lawsuits," he said.
The council and the developer have met numerous times over the past several years to discuss a handful of proposals to build homes at the site of the abandoned Essex County Hospital Center, but a lawsuit will likely narrow the scope of the previously frank and open discussion, Tucci said.
Miesnieks said that Hovnanian was proceeding with a lawsuit because one version of an affordable housing bill now working its way through the state legislature contains a clause that would put a year-long moratorium on lawsuits filed by developers against municipalities.
On Tuesday, Miesnieks said that it was not Hovnanian's preference to sue Cedar Grove but the legislation - which could be made law any day - forced them to proceed with the suit.
"It's still our intention to come to a mutually satisfactory resolution," he said.
In a letter dated Dec. 6, a Hovnanian official had requested a meeting with the council.
At Monday's meeting, Scrivo recommended the council not meet with the developer until the nature of the lawsuit is known. All four present councilmen agreed to not meet with Hovnanian in light of the impending lawsuit and because few details of Hovnanian's proposal have changed since last month's rejection, they said.
Hovnanian had most recently proposed building 464 townhouses on the site of the abandoned Essex County Hospital Center. However, the construction of that many new homes would likely require Cedar Grove to pick up the tab for building potentially dozens of low/moderate income housing units under the state's changing affordable housing regulations.
The unknowable costs such a project might burden the township with prompted the council to unanimously reject Hovnanian's proposal in November.
Hovnanian is already suing Essex County over the right to build on the land east of Fairview Avenue and so long as litigation continues between the county and the developer, none of the decrepit buildings there can be demolished.
E-mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Original Article Link: www.northjersey.com/news/112258204_Devel...over_townhouses.html
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