Builder drops case for 90 senior units

Arbor Ventures, which sued East Brunswick last year in an effort to build 90 age-restricted housing units on Ryders Lane, has withdrawn its lawsuit.

The developer took its case to a state Superior Court judge after the East Brunswick Zoning Board of Adjustment rejected its application in December 2007. The plans for the development, known as Quail Cove, had faced strong opposition from area residents over the course of six hearings before the board.

Though Arbor Ventures sought to win approval in court, it recently withdrew that lawsuit in mid-April, according to attorney Michael Baker, whose firm handled the litigation for East Brunswick. Baker, the former longtime township attorney, said he was not certain why the lawsuit was withdrawn, but said he is glad to see the matter concluded.

The case had been proceeding in court for about a year. Attorney Brad Randell, one of Baker's partners in the law firm of Hoagland, Longo, Moran, Dunst & Doukas, New Brunswick, served as the lead attorney for the township. Baker said expert reports had been submitted in court, and the township's attorneys were preparing to depose Arbor Ventures' experts when the lawsuit was withdrawn through a letter submitted to the court.

"They sent a letter saying they are dropping the case," Baker said. "So, the town wins and can save a lot of money in not having to litigate it any longer."

Baker speculated that perhaps the case was dropped due to the economy, the housing market or the legal work of the township.

Since Arbor Ventures sought to build the 90-unit community in an area zoned for single family housing, it sought a use variance from the zoning board, which rejected that request.

Residents and board members said they felt that the 7.5-acre site at Ryders and Guernsey lanes was too small for the 90 units. Officials said at the time that a builder might be able to win approval for 15 singlefamily homes on the site, but that would be subject to Planning Board approval.

Many residents attended the hearings before the board, and some also staged a demonstration to protest the application. Traffic concerns were among the issues brought up at meetings, and the builder had sought to install a traffic signal in front of the development.

Paul Manowitz, one of the residents who opposed the plans, said this week he is glad to see the case come to an end.

"I hope the property will be developed according to the present zoning," he said.

"The plan as they presented it would have had too many dwellings on a small property, too much density," Manowitz said. "And it did not correspond with the property around it, which is primarily singlefamily homes."

He was grateful for the township's actions in the case, and credited the many residents who organized to fight the plans.

"Neighbors were united against this particular proposal," he said. "A lot of people deserve credit."

A call to Arbor Ventures' attorney, Kenneth Pape, was not returned for this story.