JACKSON, NJ – A Jackson Township homeowner has filed a sweeping lawsuit in Ocean County Superior Court to overturn the local Planning Board’s approval of a proposed Orthodox Jewish boys’ school, alleging that the township greenlit the project without proper environmental review and in violation of state and local land-use laws.
The complaint, filed December 11 by resident Chris Podolsky, targets the Planning Board’s approval of a 25-acre institutional complex planned for Frank Applegate Road. The site, identified as Block 4404, Lots 1 and 3, is owned by Applegate Owner LLC, a Lakewood-based developer seeking to construct the Yeshiva Ner Moshe school campus with classrooms, dormitories, and recreational facilities. The suit also names the Township of Jackson and an unidentified institutional end user as defendants.
Dormitories became legal in Jackson after a prolonged federal lawsuit, aided by current Council President Mordechai Burnstein, to overturn a dormitory ban ordered by former Mayor Michael Reina and the previous township council.
In a 20-page verified complaint, Podolsky accuses the Planning Board of acting “arbitrarily, capriciously, and unreasonably” when it approved the project without required jurisdictional determinations from the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP). The filing claims the board relied on incomplete environmental data and failed to account for a tidal Category-1 (C-1) waterbody mapped near the site, potentially affecting wetlands, flood zones, and riparian buffers.
Podolsky argues that the project’s environmental impact statement incorrectly asserted that no mapped flood hazard areas existed, despite the board’s acknowledgment that NJDEP review would be necessary. The complaint further alleges that the developer did not submit essential studies, including wetlands delineations, stormwater feasibility analyses, or endangered species surveys, before approval.
The filing also challenges the township’s use of Ordinance 14-23, which created a special “institutional overlay” zoning designation allowing certain large-scale developments to bypass Zoning Board review. Podolsky claims more than 1,000 residents opposed the ordinance and that more than 500 signed petitions seeking its repeal.
As part of the lawsuit, Podolsky is asking the court to vacate the Planning Board’s approval and issue a temporary injunction halting any site work until a full NJDEP review is completed. The proposed order would require the township to conduct a new hearing with comprehensive environmental, hydrological, and ecological assessments. He warns that continuing construction could cause “irreversible environmental impacts,” including damage to wetlands and the nearby tributary of the Metedeconk River.
Applegate Owner LLC’s proposed Yeshiva Ner Moshe project has been a flashpoint in Jackson for months, with residents and environmental advocates voicing concern over its proximity to protected waterways and its potential effects on water quality in the region. Township officials have not yet commented on the lawsuit.
Key points:
• Jackson resident sues to overturn Planning Board approval of Yeshiva Ner Moshe project
• Lawsuit alleges violations of NJDEP environmental regulations and local land-use laws
• Complaint seeks injunction to halt site work pending full state environmental review