Residents Sue West Windsor Township Over Warehouse Project

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Residents Sue West Windsor Township Over Warehouse Project

On Dec. 22, 2022, two West Windsor residents filed a lawsuit against West Windsor Township and others to stop the construction of the large warehouse and distribution complex at Clarksville and Quakerbridge Roads, along the border with Lawrenceville. Also named as defendants were: the Township's Planning Board; site operator Bridge Development Partners of Itasca, IL, via its subsidiary the Bridge Point West Windsor, LLC; and land owner Atlantic Realty Development Corp. of Woodbridge, NJ via its subsidiary, Clarksville Center, LLC. The case is Docket # L-002205-22 in the NJ Superior Court, Mercer County, before Judge Robert T. Lougy. At issue is the validity of the Nov. 2020 Township Ordinance that rezoned the 650-acre area for warehousing, and all the subsequent approvals by the Township Planning Board of construction plans by Bridge Point. The lawsuit seeks to invalidate the Ordinance's rezoning, the Planning Board's approval, and to halt all activity at the site. The residents claim both the Township's rezoning and the project's approval to be invalid and in some respects, illegal, by way of a litany of complaints:

Council failed to properly notify neighboring residents of the Ordinance, as required by New Jersey's Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL). As it happens, the Ordinance was adopted by voice vote in an empty Council chamber at the Senior Center on December 14, 2020, with just a couple of people on line and no member of the public commenting.
Council failed to properly notify the general public of the major nature of the zoning changes, as required by the MLUL.
The Township never established that the land was appropriate for use for warehousing.
The Township's justification of the site by way of affordable housing issues amounts to an illegal "deal," trading favorable commercial zoning for residential commitments. The lawsuit reads, "Providing favorable non-residential zoning requirements in exchange for agreeing not to construct affordable housing amounts to an illegal quid pro quo."
The Township engaged in illegal "spot zoning," which is the granting of beneficial zoning to a specific party, without regard to the larger Township plan. The lawsuit reads, "The Township bestowed illegal favoritism on Applicant [Bridgepoint] and Owner [Atlantic Realty] by improperly manipulating the public process that led to the adoption of Ordinance 2020-25."
The Planning Board did not allow for full public participation during the COVID pandemic, by refusing to provide interactive Zoom access, where the public could comment, to its meetings. As it happens, on March 23, 2022, the Planning Board Chair acknowledged that Board Members themselves skipped meetings during this time period due to COVID safety concerns.
The Planning Board did not sufficiently consider the lack of studies done on the tract. The lawsuit specifically cites the many issues raised by Planning Board member Allen Schectel at its June 29, 2022, meeting where the project was approved by a 6-2 vote.
Like Council, the site operator, Bridgepoint, also failed to sufficiently notify the public as required by the MLUL.
Bridgepoint also failed to obtain review by the Township's Environmental Commission for completeness of their Environmental Impact Statement.

Residents Sue West Windsor Township Over Warehouse Project

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