They made it clear last night that if the ordinance was passed they would take action. It is a matter of time and it is their hands now. It is a shame that they can not see the plain truth and that they have had to make up lies in order for the town to look bad. This plan is not the proper size for the location and the land is simply too environmentally sensitive for such an intensity of use. The law is on our side - even though the strong armed bullies want us to think otherwise - RLUIPA allows for the protection of land when it is in the governments interest - clean drinking water and following the laws of the State of NJ are very much in the governments and publics interest.
This case would be a very interesting case to bring to the level of the Supreme Court - however I believe once cooler heads evaluate this plan they too will see the massive problems with the project and understand that this case will likely have the opposite effect they seek. This plan show all of the problems with RLUIPA not its benefits, thus it is a massive risk to litigate it as the test of RLUIPA. But if they want to take it to court I guess it will ensure that the Daily Record has something to write about for the next 4-6 years!
Time will tell!
Lisa
__________________
The truth wins out over slick PR and personal attacks.
The Christ Church Plan for the redevelopment of 140 Green Pond Rd is just too big for the area.
And dont forget that if they decide to downsize it again, they begin approaching what they already have. If they needed the huge size to practice their religion, then denying the equivalent of what they already have doesnt IMHO amount to restricting their right to practice their religion one bit.
Do not forget the little problem the rev is going to have with the DEP - when the new plans are forced to be reviewed, the DEP will have no legal ground for the granting of the exemption - their own words "null and void".
I dont know. We know they dont have a valid exemption now since they lied about the size on the plans that were submitted to the DEP. They have also added addnl surface coverage since then so their previous exemption is already null and void. It just hasnt been declared so officially by the DEP or in court, but I expect that is coming. If they continue to downsize the plans they might just reduce it to a size that would actually qualify them for an exemption under the 125% rule and they could reapply. The problem is going to be whether they want to continue to waste money on something that isnt going to give them the optimum space they wanted. I doubt the town would ever grant them a variance for the reduced parking space size and now with their parking decks off the boards, they will have to reduce significantly. The avail parking will dictate the size/occupancy more than anything else. What we have to worry about is being able to lock them into max occupancy and eliminating any possibility of expansion in the future if they get in. We also have to remember that with every downsizing in occupancy it increases the number of services each Sunday, thereby, making a more extended / all day headache with traffic. Dont forget, "the man with the gift", puts on 5 shows every Sunday now. It doesnt matter if he is performing for 100 or 10,000. Anything less than 5 Shows per Sunday is an improvement for him.
