Council to Discuss Liquor Lawsuit Wednesday

Members of council will meet this week to discuss the township's options after Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder shot down their ability to restrict liquor licenses to the Moorestown Mall. 

Council is scheduled to meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday in the conference room at the . The sole item on the agenda is the adoption of a resolution to go into closed session to discuss the outcome and implications of the East Gate lawsuit.

The owners of the , claiming its restriction of the issuance of liquor licenses to the mall was illegal, citing—among other things—the fact that the shopping center is in the same zone (Specially Restricted Commercial) as the mall. 

, invalidating both the township ordinance imposing the mall liquor restriction and . 

The township has a few options, ranging from appealing the judge's decision, filing a motion for reconsideration (if it can present new evidence), or rewriting the liquor license ordinance to be less restrictive, e.g. confining the issuance of licenses to the entire SRC zone (), which would include the mall, East Gate, the Kmart shopping center and the . 

When asked which direction council might head, Mayor John Button was reserved.

"We're putting our heads together on this," he said. "We always knew this could happen ... Everything doesn't go the way you planned it."