Politics & Government

No Decision From Judge On Birchwood Avenue Case

The township's case against the proposed Birchwood Avenue development continued Friday morning.

Superior Court Judge Lisa Chrystal chose not to issue a decision Friday morning on the township's motion to reconsider the lawsuit.

The township is working to fight a proposal by Cranford Development Associates LLC to build a flood-prone area of Birchwood Avenue. The company is a subsidiary of the S. Hekemian Group of Paramus.

According to Township Attorney Phil Morin, the judge heard two motions during the Friday morning hearing: one from the town and one from the developer.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The township's motion for reconsideration in the case was presented as a result of flooding evidence town officials gathered after Hurricane Irene to show the devastation the town experienced as a result of the storm.

, who is also serving as the interim township administrator, has certified for the court that it will be extremely difficult to evacuate 360 apartments in the event of a flood situation similar to the one that resulted from the recent hurricane.

Find out what's happening in Cranfordwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Hekemian Group's motion asks the judge to assign a special master to take jurisdiction over any permits the Cranford developer requests.

"The judge heard all of our arguments, but she did not issue a decision from the bench," Morin said, adding that Judge Chrystal also did not give a time frame as to when she might make her decision.

The township attorney said the latest hearing before the judge stems from incidents that occurred in October, when residents and officials noticed construction vehicles excavating soil at the Birchwood Avenue site. The township requested a stay in order to prevent the developer from working on the property but the court, Morin said, denied the request. At the time, the developer had promised to cease working on the property. Former Township Attorney Daniel McCarthy reported visiting the site frequently and not seeing any additional work performed. It is believed that the property was once used as a landfill.

According to Morin, no permits had been filed by the developer with the Department of Environmental Protection or the township before the work on the property began. Complaints were subsequently issued by the municipality for failure to obtain a soil removal permit with the Soil Conservation District, which regulates any disturbance in an area greater than 5,000 square feet, and permits with the NJ Department of Environmental Protection and the township itself. Although the developer did provide some of the information the township requested, Morin said, they did not provide everything that was required. Morin did not say which documents were left out.

When the township began to investigate whether or not soil had actually been removed illegally from the Birchwood site, Morin said, they found no "hard evidence" to prove it. Residents who live in homes adjacent to the Birchwood site, however, have agreed to submit signed letters stating that they witnessed the excavation. When a permit was not immediately issued, the developer filed a motion asking the court to force the township to grant permission for the work to continue.

A soil removal permit was issued on Jan. 11, when the town could not present any evidence to prove the developer had done anything illegal. The developer did not withdraw the motion, however. Instead, Hekemian asked that since the town took so long to approve the permit, a special master be assigned to take jurisdiction over permits being ordered in Cranford.

On Jan. 18 Police Chief Mason reported that in accordance with state, county and local requirements, "Cranford has been advised by Cranford Development Associates LLC, a subsidiary of the S. Hekemian Group, that starting today, CDA will begin sorting landfill material at . and removing the materials discovered on site, which includes construction materials and other miscellaneous debris previously buried at the property."

Officials have said that a member of the township's engineering department will be at the Birchwood property when the soil is removed from the site. The process could take several weeks to complete.

"Because of the strict permitting requirements for the removal of such debris from the site and winter weather conditions, the work may take as long as two months to complete," Mason said in a press release earlier this week.

There still have not been any construction permits issued, nor have there been any permits from the DEP other than landfill cleanup. The work being done is in accordance with state law, and not the start of any residential construction, officials said.

Although no decisions were made on the two motions during the Friday morning hearing, Morin said something positive did come out of the proceedings.

"We've now been able to get onto the record that this is the third 100-year flood in 15 years," he said, adding that the evidence of flooding in that area is now part of the record that will be considered by the court if the case goes to an appeal.

The attorney said that Judge Chrystal didn't give a time frame as to when she would give her decision on the two motions. Morin is hoping it will happen soon, and said there's a slight chance that it could be as early as the end of next week.


Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here