JACKSON, N.J. – A Jackson Township resident has filed a lawsuit in Ocean County Superior Court seeking to overturn the local Planning Board’s approval of a large-scale institutional development along Frank Applegate Road, alleging that the project was approved without proper state environmental review and in violation of local and state land use laws.
The verified complaint, filed December 11, 2025, by Chris Podolsky, challenges the Planning Board’s approval of a proposed development on Block 4404, Lots 1 and 3, a site owned by Applegate Owner LLC. The filing also names the Township of Jackson and an unidentified institutional end user as defendants.
According to the 20-page complaint, Podolsky alleges that the Planning Board acted “arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably” when it approved the project without required New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) jurisdictional determinations. The suit claims that the board relied on incomplete environmental documentation and failed to disclose or properly account for a tidal Category-1 (C-1) waterbody identified on NJDEP mapping near the project site.
The complaint asserts that the omission of this C-1 waterbody led to missing or inaccurate data regarding wetlands, flood hazard zones, riparian buffers, and stormwater impacts. Podolsky contends that the project’s environmental impact statement (EIS) incorrectly stated that no mapped flood hazard areas existed and that the Planning Board approved the plan despite acknowledging that NJDEP review was required.
Podolsky, who represents himself, claims that no wetlands Letter of Interpretation (LOI), Flood Hazard verification, species surveys, septic or stormwater feasibility analyses, or archaeological studies were submitted before the project was approved. The complaint further argues that the public was not re-notified after changes were made to the project’s site plans, including the later addition of a Category-1 buffer line, which the filing describes as “unverified and internal.”
The complaint also references Ordinance 14-23, which created a new “institutional overlay” zoning provision allowing certain developments to bypass Zoning Board review. Podolsky claims that more than 1,000 residents opposed the ordinance and that over 500 signed petitions seeking its repeal.
In addition to vacating the Planning Board’s approval, Podolsky’s filing requests a temporary injunction halting all construction, clearing, or grading on the site pending a full NJDEP review. The proposed order would also require the township to hold a new hearing that includes complete environmental and flood analyses, endangered species surveys, and state coordination.
In his filing, Podolsky argues that allowing work to proceed could cause “irreversible environmental impacts,” including the disturbance of wetlands and riparian zones and the degradation of a regulated tidal waterway.
Applegate Owner LLC is tied a Lakewood-based developer seeking to build a new Orthodox Jewish boys’ school (Yeshiva Ner Moshe) in Jackson, NJ, on Frank Applegate Road, a project facing local environmental concerns due to its location near a sensitive waterway tributary.
Key Details about Applegate Owner LLC (the Developer):
- Project: Proposed private Orthodox Jewish boys’ school (Yeshiva Ner Moshe) with classrooms, gym, dining, and dorms.
- Location: A 25-acre site on Frank Applegate Road in Jackson, Ocean County, NJ.
- Status: Applied for approval from the Jackson Township Planning Board.
- Concerns: Local residents and environmental groups raised issues about the project’s potential impact on the Metedeconk River’s water quality, as the site is over a C1 tributary.
