Official wants to stop long-term approvals Large development plans circa the '80s wind up in court today BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer OLD BRIDGE - Citing current and anticipated litigation from three major development companies, a township official wants to repeal the town's general development plan (GDP) ordinance "Now that the fight against overdevelopment has moved into the courtroom, we on the council should repeal this relic of the Reagan era," council President Pat Gillespie said. "I will ask our township attorney to prepare a repeal of this ordinance." The ordinance allows for GDP approvals, as well as extended vesting period rights for developers, which offer a form of protection against changes in zoning laws as a project moves along in phases. "The original intent of this ordinance was to try and provide a balance in large projects between residential and commercial uses," Gillespie said. "The intent was also to allow for the orderly, well-planned development of large projects in phases. The end result, however, has been quite different. We have not achieved the sound planning goals of the ordinance and have wound up only providing extended vesting rights to developers. Our local land use ordinances should be revised to recognize this painful reality." Gillespie's assertions regarding the need for change were exemplified by the events of the Feb. 15 Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting. The board denied developer Michael Alfieri's request for an extension of his vesting period for the Metropark South project, which involves residential, offices, retail space and a hotel. The board then denied the developer's applications on the grounds that the GDP approval had expired. The board first denied Alfieri's plans a year ago, resulting in a lawsuit from the developer. A state Superior Court judge ruled that Alfieri could go back to the zoning board to request an extension of the vesting period, which began in 1985. In 1987, the board made a resolution to grant vesting periods that spanned as far as 20 years, also giving Alfieri a 20-year vesting period retroactive to 1985. Now that the board has refused to grant the developer the extra two years needed to make the vesting period valid through 2007, officials believe the developer may again challenge the decision in court. "The township either is already or will be in litigation over the Metropark South development, Woodhaven Village [Atlantic Realty] and the Oaks at Glenwood [John J. Brunetti]," Gillespie said. "Some of this litigation may come down to what local officials intended some 20 years ago when providing the original approvals for these projects." The Brunetti project, which includes nearly 1,500 homes near Route 9, is in litigation. Brunetti brought it to court for a second time because he did not agree with numerous conditions imposed on the development approval by the township. Gillespie said it is likely that Atlantic Realty will soon file suit as well. The Planning Board in November denied that developer's Woodhaven applications, which called for more than 3,000 residential homes and over a million square feet of retail space in the area of Texas Road. While Gillespie has yet to take any steps toward repealing the ordinance, he said gleaning input from Township Attorney Jerome Convery and the Planning Board will be the first course of action. At most, Gillespie said, he would like to see a five-year vesting period for development projects in Old Bridge. If the ordinance is repealed, instead of coming before the planning or zoning board for a GDP approval, developers would have to seek different forms of approval. "Last year, the township Environmental Commission recommended this change in our local ordinances," Gillespie said. "At the time, I thought it was too radical a step. The events of the past year have changed my mind."