Trenton Block & Hardscape Supply, Inc. has agreed to remove its business products and equipment from township-owned property, according to a consent order filed in Mercer County Superior Court on Oct. 31.
The company, which is located at 625 Cherry Tree Lane, had been encroaching on Lawrence Township-owned land at the end of Cherry Tree Lane. The company was sued by Lawrence Township officials earlier this year.
The company was given 30 days to remove the stone and equipment from the township-owned land, and 60 days to move the gate to its enclosure to another location.
Lawrence Township may install a fence, a landscaped buffer or any other improvements along the boundary between its land and Trenton Block & Hardscape Supply Inc.’s property, according to the consent order.
The consent order grew out of a lawsuit filed by Lawrence Township against the business in May 2023. The lawsuit sought to have the business relocate its products from the township-owned land.
At some point after Trenton Block & Hardscape Supply Inc. acquired the property at 625 Cherry Tree Lane in 2003, the company expanded its operations onto the municipality’s land “without the consent or authority and against the will of the plaintiff (Lawrence Township),” according to the lawsuit.
“The effect of (Trenton Block & Hardscape Supply Inc.) conduct has been to prevent the plaintiff’s (Lawrence Township) use of a portion of its property, resulting in the complete exclusion” of the township from its land, the lawsuit stated.
Several Lawrence Township residents approached the Lawrence Township Council to voice their concerns about the intrusion onto township-owned land by the company in July 2022.
Lawrence Township officials notified the company on Aug. 30, 2022 that it must remove its products and equipment from the township-owned land within 30 days.
The company allegedly did not comply and continued to store its products and equipment on township property, according to the lawsuit. It had also failed to restore the property to its former condition.
