Wall Twp Biz Sprays ‘Noxious’ Fumes Too Close To Homes: Lawsuit

WALL, NJ - A Wall Township woman is suing local construction firm Dearborn Builders, claiming that the facility is emitting noxious fumes near residents’ homes.

Resident Suzette Grimm, who lives across the street and filed the complain last month, said the surrounding neighborhood has been exposed to “substantial odor and chemicals in the air on a regular basis” since the firm, Dearborn Builders, moved to its current Route 34 location in 2019.

“When I purchased and moved into a house on a wooded lot in Wall Township at the Jersey only 7 minutes to beaches I thought I’d found a bit of paradise,” Grimm told Patch in an email. “Set back in the woods with trees and shrubs separating me from residential neighbors, I wasn’t concerned about the businesses across the road in an office zone.

“Without notice, a new business moved in across the street and started emitting noxious odors from a newly installed roof-top stack which impacted me and my neighbors ability to enjoy our properties."

The resident, who filed the lawsuit in state Superior Court in Monmouth County, also argues that, when Dearborn Builders applied to move across the street, neighbors were not notified of the application. Grimm lives within 200 feet of the property and was “legally entitled to specific certified mail Notice of said hearing,” according to the complaint.

The location is the former site of a sail fabric operation, with “few employees” and low activity operations that “Caused no disruptive [sic] or issues with nearby properties,” the complaint continues. However, since its new occupants moved in, an “overflow” of vehicles and trucks have been witnessed in the parking lot, resulting in spillover traffic in the surrounding residential streets.

The suit also names the Wall Township Board of Adjustment, who Grimm claims did not provide an accurate hearing, proper notice of the hearing or response to her complaints.

Grimm’s Nov. 23 filing calls the hearing for Dearborn Builder’s application held in March 2019 “misleading and inaccurate,” with the proposed use “inaccurately presented and portrayed as a relatively minor and innocuous change from its previous use, and of minimal or no adverse impact upon [sic] neighboring properties,” according to the lawsuit.

The litigation also states there was little to no public comment regarding the application, presumably due to the lack of notice residents received. Dearborn's application was approved on March 6, 2019.

A resolution was also passed by the Wall Township Board of Adjustment that set forth “only a summary of the claims and testimony presented”, and “fails to detail findings and justifying the substantial burden for a use variance,” the suit continues.

Dearborn Builders’ application called for a use variance, bulk variances and waiver of site plan approval to convert the property into a site for manufacturing of cabinetry and millwork, among other services. However, Grimm argues that there was no representation whatsoever of plans at the hearing to install a spray room or booth.

The spray room in question is used “several hours per work-day for the spraying of paints, varnishes or other noxious chemicals or finishes, the residue and fumes of which is then discharged on a regular basis out the roof-top stack and onto and into the nearby properties,” according to the complaint.

The Wall Township Board of Adjustment and Dearborn Builders did not return a request for comment.

The plaintiff is seeking the prohibition of all further operations on the property, as well as punitive damages and attorney fees. Grimm is also seeking a trial by jury.