APP reports, A group of residents at Eagle Ridge Development in Lakewood has filed a civil lawsuit alleging township leaders mishandled the planning process that has threatened to turn Eagle Ridge Golf Club into a 1,000-home complex. The lawsuit names the Lakewood planning board, township committee and GDMS Holdings as defendants.
A lawyer for the Fairways Homeowners Association, said the township's planning board and committee violated state law when adopting a master plan last year. Instead, the board members played to developers' interests, lawyer Michele R. Donato said Wednesday.
-The planning board did not follow state Municipal Land Use Law, particularly when it comes to considering environmental impact and requiring or preserving open space.
-There are inconsistencies between ordinances passed by the township committee and the directives of the planning board, particularly related to road improvements that must come before rezoning.
-Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein had a conflict of interest, and the mayor's designee on the planning board should have been disqualified because she does not live in Lakewood.
-Lichtenstein is president of MSL Property Management, and the lawsuit says his clients include three principals of GDMS, the company that wants to develop Eagle Ridge.
Lichtenstein initially voted in support of the ordinances enacting the master plan, but was absent when the committee took its second and final vote. He has previously told the Asbury Park Press he has no direct involvement in GDMS, but some of the people who have an interest in it are his clients. He was not sure if they’re principals or not. “I know they have some connection to that business. They have some business interest,” he said in December. Read More at APP
A lawyer for the Fairways Homeowners Association, said the township's planning board and committee violated state law when adopting a master plan last year. Instead, the board members played to developers' interests, lawyer Michele R. Donato said Wednesday.
-The planning board did not follow state Municipal Land Use Law, particularly when it comes to considering environmental impact and requiring or preserving open space.
-There are inconsistencies between ordinances passed by the township committee and the directives of the planning board, particularly related to road improvements that must come before rezoning.
-Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein had a conflict of interest, and the mayor's designee on the planning board should have been disqualified because she does not live in Lakewood.
-Lichtenstein is president of MSL Property Management, and the lawsuit says his clients include three principals of GDMS, the company that wants to develop Eagle Ridge.
Lichtenstein initially voted in support of the ordinances enacting the master plan, but was absent when the committee took its second and final vote. He has previously told the Asbury Park Press he has no direct involvement in GDMS, but some of the people who have an interest in it are his clients. He was not sure if they’re principals or not. “I know they have some connection to that business. They have some business interest,” he said in December. Read More at APP