Ordinance reintroduced to avert developer’s suit By ELAINE VAN DEVELDE Staff Writer MIDDLETOWN — Although it may be in sync with the township’s master plan, an ordinance defining a new commercial zone was reintroduced to avert a lawsuit that alleged technical flaws. Around December, the Township Committee passed an ordinance defining a new Highway Commercial Shopping Center zone. The ordinance was reintroduced June 18 and readopted last week to "get rid of the objection," according to Mayor Joan Smith, "by rectifying what was seen as a technical flaw." The zone was created as one component of an effort to make planning more consistent and prevent future suburban sprawl. It was unanimously passed, though not without at least one major objector on record. That objector was Century 21/Becker, the owner of a piece of property on the corner of Crestview Drive and Route 35, where Home Depot wanted to build. Objection to constructing "big box" retail buildings in the area was so staunch it prompted the Township Committee to ban the building of any such commercial structures in its B-2, B-3 (business), Planned Development and new Highway Commercial Shopping Center zones. Century 21/Becker filed a suit in an attempt to overturn the ordinance. According to Planning Director Anthony Mercantante, the suit alleged that protocol wasn’t followed in the adoption of the ordinance. According to the suit, the proper order of procedures dictates the Township Committee must have a written Planning Board report, complete with recommendations, to be reviewed by the committee before anything is approved, according to Mercantante. It was Century 21’s contention that the required report was not transmitted to the committee prior to adoption of the ordinance, thus voiding the validity of the ordinance. "There was a verbal approval from the Planning Board. It just wasn’t worth arguing about. We just went back to the Planning Board, got a written recommendation to adopt the ordinance and re-introduced it, eliminating the objection," said Mercantante. "The ordinance is in line with the master plan and that’s what the Planning Board reiterated. Now it’s been reintroduced and readopted in line with all proper protocol, omitting the justification of any suit."