JACKSON TOWNSHIP, NJ – The Jackson Township planning board on Monday met in private to discuss a resolution for the Jackson Trails project to receive a preliminary construction approval of the 367 single-family home development on South Hope Chapel Road. There action was not made public on the board’s agenda before the meeting, instead, after meeting in a private executive session before the meeting, the board introduced a resolution to be approved immediately, without a public hearing or public input beforehand.
The motion by the board to move forward comes hours after a motion was filed by the developer seeking U.S. court Judge Douglas E. Arpert to arbitrate the matter.
“As Your Honor is aware, this firm represents Defendants in the above-referenced litigation. The parties have been engaged in good faith settlement discussions for over a year and have made significant progress towards a mutually agreeable resolution,” the developer said in the letter to the court. “However, we have reached a point where all involved believe that the assistance of the Court may be necessary to help bring this matter to a final resolution. Accordingly, I am requesting on behalf of all counsel that Your Honor conduct a settlement conference, either virtually or in-person, depending on the Court’s status. We also request that the Court require that a representative of each party with authority to at least recommend a settlement to the client be present, as well as a representative of the insurance carrier.”
The motion by the Jackson planning board, at the motion of Business Administration Terrance Wall, a Holmdel resident agreed to allow the project to move forward and officially declared, “a willingness to grant preliminary approval for construction of Jackson Trails.”
The votes included yes votes by Jackson Councilman Marty Flemming and Township Business Administrator Terrance Wall, plus the body which was appointed by Mayor Michael Reina.
Ironically, Jackson Trails does not have an active application before the Jackson Township Planning Board as the matter is now being heard in federal court.
A meeting between the township and Jackson Trails is scheduled for August 16th.