‘Unreasonable’ Rejection: Howell Twp Sued Over Warehouse Plan

HOWELL, NJ – A Monmouth County developer is suing the Howell Township Planning Board, alleging the board wrongfully denied its plans after a lengthy number of hearings and discussion. The full plan consisted of the construction of 9 commercial warehouses, accessory offices, loading spaces and hundreds of parking spaces on over 1.2 million square feet of land near Randolph and Oak Glen roads.

Filed in Monmouth County on May 21, the lawsuit alleges that, after 10 hearings spanning nearly a year, the board denied the plan “based on dubious pretextual concerns about the safety of the access to the Property, despite clear and uncontroverted evidence establishing the safety of the access.”

Traffic safety was largely a concern at the public planning board meetings, which brought expansive crowds to the typically quiet hearings, according to the Asbury Park Press. Residents concerned about the changing traffic patterns at Randolph and Oak Gen roads voiced their concerns about the projected dozens of warehouse vehicles and big-rig trucks traveling to and from the area at peak hours. While one traffic safety expert for the developer later testified that added congestion would be minimal, another expert – hired by opponents to the plan – said the opposite.

The lawsuit also alleges the township erroneously interpreted several ordinances, improperly denied a variance, applied unnecessary application fees and failed to bestow "extended vested rights," a zoning distinction that protects major developments. The developers are seeking a partial refund of hundreds of thousands of dollars it claims it spent on applications and fees for the proposal, “an amount which far exceeds the quantum of application fees as is permitted by MLUL,” the lawsuit reads. “For these reasons, Monmouth Commerce asserts that the Board’s denial of the application was arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable.”

The developer is now requesting that the planning board cover its attorneys’ fees and cost of the civil suit and approve the application, according to the lawsuit. In an answer to the civil action, the township planning board and council can “neither admit nor deny” the developer’s complaints.