Every once in a while you find a court case that is just a complete waste of taxpayers’ money and the system’s time. From my view, the recent court case against Monmouth University to block the construction of a 196-bed dorm is a great example of waste. There was no need to go forward with this case after the appeals process upheld the university’s right to build the dorm. The way that Joe Hughes (a local resident who is vehemently against the university’s advancement and running for office) pressed this case forward was shameful. Not only was he putting an undue strain on an already busted legal system, but his “coalition of neighbors” had already been outnumbered by another township-based neighbor group that supported letting the university move forward with their new dorm. A portion of the Asbury Park Press’ story:
WEST LONG BRANCH — The state Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by a group of residents seeking to block construction of a Monmouth University dormitory.
The Supreme Court issued its decision without comment, as is its custom. The action set the stage for construction of the 196-bed dormitory and adjacent parking lot in a residential zone near the school.
On nearby Kilkare Farm, the school plans to build a smaller parking lot, six tennis courts and a drainage basin. Neighbors fought for more than a year to block the plan that school officials said was necessary to house current students, not to expand enrollment.
Even the Borough Council got involved, when a majority of its members voted to sue their own Zoning Board of Adjustment for approving the portion of the project slated for Kilkare Farm. The council declined to pursue an appeal.
In June, a state appellate panel upheld a decision by then-Superior Court Judge Alexander D. Lehrer that determined the West Long Branch zoning board acted correctly in 2005 when it voted 5-1 to approve the project.
Property owners fought for more than a year to block the plan at the zoning board level before being rebuffed at the trial and appellate court levels.
There are so many variables at work here that it’s hard to put a finger on all of them. One of the things that gets me is that you have a minority of homeowners trying to make their stance the final stance when a majority of homeowners either disagreed with them or did not care about the issue. That’s wrong. America was not founded such that the minority position would win out and the legal system proved that in this case (although I am confident that was not the basis for their decision). The minority is to have a voice and that voice is to be heard and respected when possible. But when that voice is “my way or no way,” the majority rules.
I admire the passion of the minority homeowners group and they can never say that their voice is NOT heard in the township when it comes to university issues. They recently had the new sports complex at Monmouth University reduced in size thanks to their voices being heard. This is an example of public policy working as it should in terms of community input. But when your input isn’t taken as gospel, you shouldn’t immediately go to the courts. That’s ludicrous!
For me, this non-decision by the Supreme Court is one of their more sane actions lately. Let the university build and let these new beds take more students out of the surrounding communities and onto the campus. As a side note – I find it funny that these same neighbors are the ones that complain about students living in their neighborhoods. On the one hand, they don’t want more dorm beds. On the other, they don’t want students living next door. No logic there, folks.
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