Tuesday, September 11, 2012
Moorestown council members seemingly found a compromise Monday night between the will of the voters and a judge's ruling.
- GOVERNMENT
- Rob Scott
-
Tuesday, September 11, 2012
CLARIFICATION: The amended ordinance passed by council last night confines the issuance of liquor licenses to just the SRC (Specially Restricted Commercial) zone on the south side of Route 38. _______________________ Caught between a judge’s ruling and the will of the voting public, township council tried to find a happy medium Monday night by confining alcohol to the Moorestown Mall and East Gate Square. After Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder ruled in East Gate’s favor and decreed the township couldn’t restrict liquor licenses to the mall, the township faced multiple options, ranging from an appeal to amending the ordinance passed earlier this year, which imposed the mall liquor restriction. Solicitor Thomas Coleman, after …
Thursday, September 6, 2012
The township attorney laid out council's options, but they haven't made a decision yet.
- GOVERNMENT
- Rob Scott
-
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Members of township council met Wednesday to hash out their options after a judge ruled they couldn’t confine alcohol to the Moorestown Mall, but won’t make any decisions until Monday at the earliest. Council met behind closed doors for roughly an hour while solicitor Thomas Coleman brought them up to speed on the decision rendered by Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder last month. Ruling on a lawsuit brought against the township by East Gate Square, Bookbinder shot down a township ordinance aimed at restricting the issuance of licenses to the mall, and also invalidated the second referendum question. Township manager Scott Carew said Coleman presented council with various options for how to move forward during the executive session. “…
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
The township is faced with a few options after a judge ruled it couldn't restrict alcohol to the Moorestown Mall.
- GOVERNMENT
- Rob Scott
-
Tuesday, September 4, 2012
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 township offices at 2 Executive Dr. 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 East Gate Square shopping center sued the township earlier this year, 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) …
Sunday, August 26, 2012
Following Judge Ronald Bookbinder's decision last week in favor of East Gate, Moorestown Township Council will discuss their options at a public meeting this week.
UPDATE: A meeting has still not been scheduled to discuss the outcome of the East Gate lawsuit, township manager Scott Carew said Monday. He said the township is looking at the end of this week or early next week (after the Labor Day holiday on Monday) to hold the meeting. _________________________ Township council will meet this week to discuss its options after Judge Ronald Bookbinder sided with East Gate in its lawsuit over the township's ability to restrict liquor licenses. Bookbinder ruled last week the township couldn't confine the sale of alcohol to the Moorestown Mall, and invalidated both the township ordinance imposing the restriction and the second referendum question the ordinance was based on. Township attorney Thomas …
Wednesday, August 22, 2012
Judge Ronald Bookbinder ruled the township can't keep the sale of alcohol confined to the Moorestown Mall, despite the result of the November referendum.
UPDATE: Check out the attached PDF to read Judge Bookbinder's complete ruling in the East Gate case. ________________________ A judge ruled Wednesday that the township’s attempt to restrict alcohol sales to the Moorestown Mall is invalid, along with the votes of thousands of residents who supported the restriction. East Gate Square sued the township back in April, arguing its restriction of the issuance of liquor licenses to the mall constituted spot zoning and was illegal. The township imposed the restriction in accordance with the will of the voters, who cast their ballots (by a margin of 3,750-2,876) in favor of keeping alcohol at the mall. However, Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder couldn’t find any reasonable justification for …
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Two Moorestown council members are seeking a compromise on using Open Space funds for the Wesley Bishop North project, but one member of STEM doesn't like the proposal.
- GOVERNMENT
- Rob Scott
-
Thursday, August 16, 2012
After more than a year of factious disagreement over Open Space spending, Councilman Chris Chiacchio believes it’s time to end the squabbling. In a recent letter addressed to Maura Dey, chair of the Open Space Advisory Committee (OSAC), Chiacchio—writing on behalf of himself and Councilwoman Stacey Jordan—signals a willingness to compromise on the use of the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund toward the Wesley Bishop North project. Up until now, Chiacchio and Jordan have staunchly opposed the use of the fund for improvements at Wesley Bishop. They’ve also voted against bonding the project, raising concerns over timing and taxpayer impact. Last month, council voted 3-2—with Chiacchio and Jordan dissenting—…
Wednesday, August 15, 2012
Attorneys were supposed to argue the case before Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder today, but the hearing was moved to next week.
A hearing on East Gate Square's liquor license lawsuit against the township originally scheduled for this afternoon has been moved to 10 a.m. Tuesday, Aug. 21. East Gate sued the township earlier this year, arguing its restricton of the issuance of liquor licenses to the Moorestown Mall was unlawful. Attorneys were set to argue the case in front of Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder today, but the hearing was moved while both sides seek more information. In other Moorestown legal news, attorneys involved in STEM's (Save The Environment of Moorestown) lawsuit against the township over the use of Open Space funds are scheduled to hold another conference call with Bookbinder sometime tomorrow (Thursday), according to attorney Donald …
Monday, August 6, 2012
As it awaits the final result of a lawsuit filed by STEM, Moorestown council isn't taking any chances with the use of the Open Space Trust Fund.
Pending the result of STEM’s lawsuit, council Monday night delayed a decision on whether to use money from the Open Space Trust Fund to pay for new lighting at two township parks. Council was set to approve the expenditure of up to $455,000 from the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund to install new lights at Jeff Young and Maple Dawson parks. Several lights were removed late last year after they were deemed unsafe. However, with the matter of how the township is allowed to spend money from the Trust Fund still unsettled, township attorney Thomas Coleman advised council to wait. Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder denied last week an injunction filed by STEM (Save the Environment of Moorestown) to keep …
39.9588
-74.97982
Jeff Young Memorial Park
New Albany Rd & N Lenola Rd, Moorestown, NJ
/articles/council-delays-decision-on-spending-open-space-dollars
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39.96802
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Maple-Dawson Park
W Maple Ave & Dawson St, Moorestown, NJ
/articles/council-delays-decision-on-spending-open-space-dollars
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Council will discuss the fallout from last week's ruling on the STEM Open Space lawsuit and is expected to award four liquor licenses to PREIT.
Looking for a sneak preview of tonight’s township council meeting? You’ve come to the right place. The following is a sampling of what’s expected to take place during the meeting: The council meeting begins at 7:30 tonight in the IT room at Moorestown High School.
Friday, August 3, 2012
However, STEM's challenge to the township's Open Space spending is still unsettled.
A judge ruled Friday that STEM (Save the Environment of Moorestown) couldn’t immediately stop the township from using the Open Space Trust Fund to pay for athletic field improvements, but the question of whether council is ultimately in the right is far from settled. Superior Court Judge Ronald Bookbinder wasn’t sufficiently convinced in the strength of STEM’s case to grant the injunction—intended to block the township’s use of the Open Space, Recreation, Farmland and Historic Preservation Trust Fund for improvements to Wesley Bishop North—filed by attorney Jeffrey Baron. Even with the favorable ruling, Moorestown likely won't move ahead immediately on the project in case the town loses the larger case. Bookbinder did not throw out STEM's …
MotownFan
1:33 pm on Wednesday, September 12, 2012
Birdseye wt* are you talking about? more ›