BERKELEY TOWNSHIP, N.J. –New development could be coming to Berkeley Township after a 2025 land sale by the council is coming back to haunt residents in the form a new application to build on that property.
While the planning board denied the application and the council plans to memorialize that denial at the next council meeting, the developer is likely to file a lawsuit against the township.
A parcel of land that Berkeley Township sold just last year is now at the center of a major residential development proposal scheduled to go before the township’s Planning Board.
Developer Moshe Shohat has filed an application seeking preliminary and final major subdivision approval along with a road improvement plan for multiple properties located near Clifton Road and Cumberland Avenue, two currently unimproved roadways in the township.
The planning board rejected that application in June, but many fear the battle is not over.
The application, identified as PB#26-009, is scheduled for consideration by the Berkeley Township Planning Board.
Proposal covers numerous parcels
According to the Planning Board agenda, the application includes the following properties:
- Block 702, Lots 22, 24, 26 and 28
- Block 716, Lots 1, 2, 3, 4, 13, 15, 17, 19, 21, 23, 25 and 27
Planning Board documents identify the proposal as a preliminary and final major subdivision with associated road improvements, detailed site plans and the exact number of proposed residential lots are expected to be presented during the public hearing.
Township sold land in 2025
Several of the properties included in the application were acquired directly from Berkeley Township.
In 2025, the Township Council approved Ordinance 25-28-OA, authorizing the sale of Block 716, Lots 1 through 4 to Mosheil, LLC for $13,125 under New Jersey statutes governing the sale of municipally owned property.
The ordinance authorized the township to dispose of the parcels pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13(b) and N.J.S.A. 40A:12-13.2, which allow municipalities to sell certain publicly owned lands under specific circumstances.
Now, less than a year after that sale, those same parcels have become part of a much larger subdivision application encompassing numerous surrounding lots.
Road improvements part of proposal
In addition to subdivision approval, the application seeks authorization for improvements to Clifton Road and Cumberland Avenue.
Both roadways are currently identified as unimproved roads, meaning infrastructure such as pavement, drainage, utilities and other public improvements may be required before residential construction can proceed.
Major subdivision applications typically include engineering plans addressing stormwater management, roadway construction, utility connections and other infrastructure necessary to support future development.
