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Judge orders Jackson Parke housing plans to be considered by board

JACKSON – A judge has ordered the Jackson Planning Board to reconsider an application that proposed the construction of housing at one location in the municipality and to move forward with a hearing on an application that proposed the construction of housing at a second location.

The applicant, Jackson Parke, is seeking municipal approval to construct 1,100 residential units in the Cassville section of Jackson. There are two applications to be considered.

One application proposes the construction of 551 single-family and multi-family residences on a 226-acre tract off Perrineville Road. That application is referred to as the Jackson Parke north section and it includes 120 affordable housing units.

In 2019, when a public hearing was held on the Jackson Parke north section, residents opposed the application and expressed concern about environmental issues, endangered species on or near the property, building on or near wetlands, drainage, flooding and traffic associated with hundreds of new homes.

At the conclusion of the public hearing, board members denied the application for the north section.

The applicant, El At Jackson LLC, filed a lawsuit on Jan. 27 and named Jackson Township, Mayor Michael Reina, the Township Council and the Planning Board as defendants.

A judge has ordered the board to reconsider the denial of the north section. Attorney Sean Gertner, who represents the board, said the panel will take up the matter on April 20.

“The discussion of the litigation will be in executive session, but any decision the board makes (regarding the north section) will have to be made in public,” he said. “The judge ordered us to have a meeting … so we have to roll up our sleeves and get it done to the best of our ability.”

The April 20 meeting will be live-streamed in keeping with restrictions on large gatherings that have been imposed during the coronavirus health crisis.

Gertner said if the denial of the north section remains in place, the litigation will go forward.

“There is a possibility the judge will appoint a special master over any application that deals with (affordable housing). So there is a big downside,” the attorney said.

A second application proposes the construction of 549 single-family and multi-family residences on a 129-acre tract off West Veterans Highway. That application is referred to as the Jackson Parke south section and it includes 100 affordable housing units.

The south section application is listed on the board’s April 20 agenda for a public hearing.

The lawsuit that was filed by El At Jackson LLC listed four counts against the defendants:

• The first count cited the board’s arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable denial of a fully conforming site plan and subdivision application for the Jackson Parke north section, and an unwarranted refusal to act within a statutorily mandated time for the Jackson Parke south section;

• The second count cited a failure to comply with court orders, justifying the appointment of a special hearing officer to hear applications for the north section and the south section and all associated applications for board approval and relief, and to recommend decisions, by report to the court or a special master;

• The third count cited deprivation of due process and equal protection of the law, and the temporary taking of property without compensation;

• The fourth count cited the violation of conditions of court orders affirming compliance and granting repose and immunity from builder’s remedy litigation.

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