Developer sues N.B. for being unresponsive
Officials say they want to deal with both parties in dissolved partnership
BY JENNIFER AMATO
Staff Writer

NORTH BRUNSWICK - A division of the real estate developer Kaplan Cos. has filed a lawsuit against the township claiming it is being denied discussions about building on a piece of commercial property it owns.

K-Land No. 54 LLC has filed a civil complaint in order to develop retail or office space on a 23.82-acre site it owns on the Renaissance property, Route 130. The lawsuit states that in the fall of 2005, K-Land Chief Executive Officer Michael Kaplan provided a concept plan for a proposed development in anticipation of engineering the property. The suit says that "unexpectedly, and much to Kaplan's surprise, township representatives first raised a question as to whether the proposed retail use, as delineated on the plan, was permitted." It goes on to say that no explanation was provided as to why the retail use was questioned, and that several informal reviews by the Planning Board were not granted.

In February, the lawsuit states, Mayor Francis "Mac" Womack wrote to Kaplan stating that an "evaluation of the best use for the remaining land is under way." However, K-Land contends that the best use of the land had already been determined by the township and Planning Board and that Womack refused to meet with development company representatives. A subsequent letter by Michael Proietti, a township zoning official, was believed to be in violation of a state statute and unresponsive to the request for a zoning permit.

Therefore, K-Land has taken issue with the refusal on the part of the Planning Board to schedule an informal review of its development plans and the repeated refusal of Proietti to respond to a number of written requests for a zoning permit.

The suit also claims a violation of civil rights, in that the disregard of the statutory rights of K-Land was purposeful and not negligent. The Due Process Clause of the 14th Amendment applies to deliberate decisions of governments and/or their officials who deprive a person of property rights. The suit states, "The defendant's due process violations are exacerbated by the fact that, pursuant to case law, a property owner in general, and K-Land in particular, may develop its property and shall have approvals therefore granted if the plan of development complied with all provisions of the zoning laws and site plan ordinances of the particular municipality."

"It's a matter of an unreasonable delay and a delay without reasonable cause," said Bennett Stern, the attorney for K-Land.

However, Womack said that Kaplan is violating a former partnership with the Halpern development company, called the Brunswick Manor Associates, which developed the residential portion of Renaissance since the 1980s. He said a developer's agreement was reached in which a commercial development would be built off Route 130 to help offset the tax increases faced by residents due to the children attending township schools from the 2,000 homes built in the development.

Although the residential sector was completely built out, the commercial component, which was around 1.3 million square feet, was never completed.

Womack said that over the past few years, Kaplan and Halpern have discussed their ideas with the township in regard to what they would separately build, since the dissolution of their partnership, to ensure the township receives the income it would have received under the original settlement. However, he said that although the intended 1 million square feet would have "helped the town immensely with taxes, times have changed and residents don't want that much."

"Now we have all of the new residents and all of the new kids in school and we need to work with [the developers] so we all walk away from the deal in a good condition," Womack said.

Although Womack did not deny that an agreement was reached to build a commercial building and that some sort of facility is legally necessary, he said that the type of development should be amicable between the developer and the township.

"I think [Kaplan] is trying to bypass the Planning Board, the Zoning Board, and find a way to have a court, rather than the people of North Brunswick, decide how the town is going to be developed," he said. "The people over in Renaissance want to see limited and appropriate commercial development. They don't want to see a developer given free rein through the courts to ignore the desires and best interests of the township. Like the partnership, the town is bound by that agreement and eventually there will be development there, whether it is a community development or a planned adult community or something else; it remains something to be negotiated and best discussed between all parties involved."

The mayor also said the township remains willing to cooperate with the developers, but that although Kaplan and Halpern have split and own separate pieces of property, "the township had an agreement with the partnership, so from a legal point of view, the partnership has an obligation to the township." Nowhere in K-Land's lawsuit does it mention the former partnership, and Stern said although he believes such a partnership did exist, "it has nothing to do with the property" since Kaplan is the sole owner.

K-Land is seeking compensatory damages and counsel fees for the proceedings. Stern said that although the township refuses to address the issue, every property owner has the right to develop their land according to land use laws. He believes K-Land will eventually be able to develop 140,000 square feet of retail and office space in the manner it wishes.