Jackson gets big court win in land swap for 2,500 student religious school campus

JACKSON — The controversial land swap that would send a proposed private school development to the Whitesville neighborhood received a major boost after the main lawsuit threatening to overturn the entire arrangement was dismissed.

Superior Court Judge Valter H Must dismissed the complaint filed by the White Road Homeowners Association, filed after the township traded a 46-acre collection of undeveloped land on White Road to developer Mordechai Eichorn, who intends to build a four-school campus for the town's growing Orthodox Jewish community there.

If completed, the township will receive the 33-acre parcel along Leesville Road where Eichorn had originally intended his school project.

"We are very satisfied, on the behalf of the township, that the court ruled that what the township did in enacting these ordinances was appropriate and proper," said Jerry Dasti, an attorney representing the township in the land swap deal. "We're happy for the residents of the township."

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The case was dismissed with prejudice, which prevents the White Road neighbors from refiling or otherwise reviving the case, Dasti said. Must's order was not uploaded to the court docket as of Wednesday afternoon.

But Jan Meyer, an attorney representing the White Road residents, said Must also left another door open: If they file their own copy of an appraisal report showing the town vastly undersold its property, which would be a violation of state law, the judge would entertain a motion to reconsider the case.

In legal filings, Meyer argued that the township council hadn't actually seen an appraisal report before voting on the ordinances allowing the land swap. The report also wasn't provided in a records request by his office, only offered up as part of the township's legal documents.

"What went on was very underhanded, but the judge is the one who has to call it and I always respect the decision of the court," Meyer said. "I don't think it was the right decision."

He said his clients had yet to decide their next steps, including the possibility of an appeal.

The lawsuit, which also named White Road resident Estie Hertz as a plaintiff, accused the township of discriminating against its Orthodox Jewish community by relocating the schools, even though they're meant to serve the community itself. The complaint argues that the only reason the swap occurred was "to avoid Orthodox Jews spreading to live in new areas of Jackson."

The White Road area, on the other hand, is near the Lakewood border and around the corner from the eventual Oros Bais Yaakov high school, approved as part of a settlement ending decade-long litigation.

"They're saying the Jewish schools should be in this neighborhood with the Jews, and not in the area where they're not," Meyer said.

The lawsuit also argued that Reina himself should have never been involved due to a "close personal relationship" with Eichorn, the complaint states, and the township lost as much as $300,000 in value when it gave up its $4.4 million parcels for the $4.1 million Bellevue property. State law requires that any land swap must involve properties of equal value.

The township still hasn't reached an agreement on a price with Lakewood resident Yecheskel Schwab, who owns the two lots through two different companies, Getzel Bee LLC and Bellevue Jackson LLC. Now, the township is trying to acquire them for $157,000 total through eminent domain, according to court documents.

In an answer to the eminent domain lawsuits, Schwab argues that because the land will be included in the deal with Eichorn, "there is no evidence in the record to support a valid public use."

Dasti said he was confident that both the White Road and eminent domain cases would be resolved and not jeopardize the land swap. A Superior Court judges are scheduled to rule on a motion to declare summary judgment in the township's favor in the White Road case on Sept. 22. Oral arguments in the eminent domain cases are scheduled for October.

Mayor Michael Reina could not be reached for comment. Eichorn declined to comment.

The Bellevue Estates school plan has been tumultuous since its inception, originally proposed as a four-school campus that would serve 2,500 students on Leesville Road. Residents spoke of a looming traffic nightmare, and Bellevue's own traffic engineer didn't even try to hide it, estimating 1,500 new cars on the road.

More: Jackson religious schools would cause 'disastrous and catastrophic' traffic, residents say

After the original proposal was panned by residents, Eichorn — at the behest of then-Council President Martin Flemming III, in the midst of a mayoral campaign — drew up a new plan for the site that instead called for housing instead of schools.

But the zoning board balked at that idea, with board members turned off by the density of 48 homes on a 33-acre site. After the rejection in August 2022, Eichorn moved full steam ahead with the school plan until Reina announced the land swap in October 2022.

The announcement came a week before the most hotly-contested mayoral election in Jackson's recent history.

Mike Davis has spent the last decade covering New Jersey local news, marijuana legalization, transportation and a little bit of everything else. He's won a few awards that make his parents very proud. Contact him at mdavis@gannettnj.com or @byMikeDavis on Twitter.

This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: Jackson land swap for religious schools gets big court boost