JACKSON – On Jan. 15, the members of Jackson Zoning Board of Adjustment are expected to consider an amended General Development Plan (GDP) for Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing.
Developer Vito Cardinale of Cardinale Enterprises has approval to build athletic fields, a recreation center and two hotels on a 75-acre site on Route 537 between Interstate 195 and Six Flags Great Adventure. The property is near Anderson Road, Jackson.
Large-scale projects such as Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing have a GDP which describes the general nature of what is being proposed. Specific elements of the project require a site plan at the time they are proposed.
In November 2017, the zoning board granted preliminary site plan approval to the Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing application.
Residents who live near the development site later filed a complaint in state Superior Court, Toms River. All the plaintiffs, who are represented by attorney Edward F. Liston Jr., own homes near where Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing is being developed.
The parties reached a settlement during 2019 and an amended GDP was scheduled to be heard by the zoning board Dec. 18.
Attorney Salvatore Alfieri represented the applicant at the meeting. He said the public was notified of the hearing and he said all the professionals who represent Cardinale Enterprises were present.
Liston was not present at the meeting.
In remarks to the board members, Alfieri said, “This (amended) plan is 100% in conformance with the court settlement that was reached with Mr. Liston and his clients, therefore we believe it is not essential that he be here. This plan is exactly what we agreed to.”
He said Cardinale Enterprises was before the zoning board “simply to present what we settled the lawsuit on.”
The board’s chairman, Carl Book Jr., said his inclination was to allow Alfieri to proceed that evening, but he said the board would carry the meeting to a future date for public input.
The board’s attorney, Sean Gertner, told Alfieri the board would not take action that evening and would carry the application to January. Some of the residents who filed the legal complaint were present at the Dec. 18 meeting.
“(The board) will carry the application to January to allow those folks who are represented by Mr. Liston, and Mr. Liston himself, to appear to ask any questions he deems appropriate,” Gertner said.
Alfieri said Cardinale would prefer to carry the matter to January instead of “doing everything twice.”
“My client is disappointed the board has taken the position it has taken, but having said that, we would rather not go through two public hearings and we would rather carry the application,” the attorney said.
The hearing regarding the Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing GDP was carried to Jan. 15.
In their legal action, the residents alleged that the zoning board’s approval of the project was “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, unlawful, beyond the board’s legal power or authority and against the great weight of the evidence presented” to the board.
The residents made the same allegations regarding the approval of variances that were granted to Cardinale Enterprises in connection with the project. The residents sought a reversal of the board’s approval of the application and the GDP.
Phase one of the Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing project broke ground in July 2018 and is expected to consist of an indoor sports and entertainment venue (party rooms, arcade, laser tag and two sports bars) and an outdoor athletic complex.
Phase two is expected to consist of an indoor recreation facility and two hotels containing a total of 241 guest rooms. One hotel will have a bar-restaurant and a small seating area, according to plans that were approved by the zoning board.
The details of the settlement between Cardinale Enterprises and the residents, and the manner in which the Jackson Crossing 2/Adventure Crossing GDP will be amended were not discussed during the Dec. 18 meeting.
