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Nov 08, 2023

NJ developer fighting Branchburg's 'anti

BRANCHBURG – A developer has filed a second lawsuit in Superior Court

BRANCHBURG – A developer has filed a second lawsuit in Superior Court challenging the township's restrictions on warehouse construction.

Advance at Branchburg II, the owner of 32 acres on Route 22 in the North Branch section, is challenging the township's latest attempt at "anti-warehousing action" in an ordinance passed in March that prohibits warehousing, even as an accessory use, in the township's industrial zones.

In December 2020, the developer, based in Bedminster, went to court to challenge an October 2020 ordinance that removed warehousing as a permitted use to an accessory use in the I-2 Zone. That case is still pending before Superior Court Judge Kevin Shanahan.

In the latest lawsuit, filed May 1, Advance alleges the Township Committee drafted and adopted the 2023 ordinance without considering "appropriate empirical analyses from experts."

Advance also alleges the township "ignored recent and emerging non-residential development trends." The ordinance, the developer says, "will have adverse impacts on the township as a whole."

The suit also contends the ordinance is inconsistent with the township's master plan and is in violation of the state Municipal Land Use Law.

The developer is asking the court to declare the ordinance invalid.

Branchburg, which was served with the lawsuit on Monday, has yet to file a response.

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Advance's lawsuit is the latest legal action taken against Somerset County municipalities which have adopted ordinances restricting warehouse development.

Franklin and Bridgewater are both facing court challenges over their ordinances. Those cases are also pending in Superior Court.

Advance's parent company, Advance Realty Investors, has applied in Bridgewater for approval to build the Peters Brook Innovation Center on 61 acres at the south end of the former Sanofi campus on Route 202-206. The development, which would be one of the largest developments in Bridgewater since the Commons mall, includes office buildings and two warehouses totaling a little less than 250,000 square feet.

In Branchburg, the Planning Board is still considering a proposal by S/K Stoney Brook Associates, of Jersey City, to build almost 300,000 square feet of warehouse space in three buildings on the 43-acre property in the Evans Way Redevelopment Area bordering Old York Road between Route 202 and Stony Brook Road.

That proposal has drawn vehement opposition by neighbors, though the proposal is part of a redevelopment plan adopted by the Township Committee to settle litigation with the developer.

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Mike Deak is a reporter for mycentraljersey.com. To get unlimited access to his articles on Somerset and Hunterdon counties, please subscribe or activate your digital account.