I thought it was Wendy Berger who got annoyed when the reporter took photos...? If so, Fred should really correct this; the board may have made some faux pas, but jeez, so did the church's reps. _______________________________________________________
Light may finally be at end of tunnel in Christ Church saga The end may be near. And we're not talking about the rapture.
A month shy of the three-year anniversary of the first "VORT"-- Voices of Rockaway Township -- meeting about Christ Church, the planning board expects to vote on the application in October.
It is, of course, not all that simple.
There are factors swirling around the 5,000-congregation evangelical church that are beyond the purview of township planners. There's an exemption to the Highlands law that the church originally secured, but is now under review. There is also a suit the church filed in federal court. Such suits are normally filed after an application is denied, but in an unusual move that may backfire -- at least temporarily -- the church filed suit while the application process was ongoing.
Mort Dicker, the planning board chairman, acknowledged Monday night that some on the board may not take kindly to being sued in advance.
That comment notwithstanding, you got the feeling at Monday's meeting that the audience had come to the conclusion that the application was going to be approved.
Dicker at one point had to insist that "No decision has been made."
The audience may have thought that because of the board's discussion about a possible traffic light at what would be the entrance to the church on Green Pond Road. That discussion ensued as if the light and the church were a done deal.
As the public asked about red light cycles, if the light would be operational 24 hours a day and how police and emergency squads would be impacted, Dicker and others noted that the board would monitor operation of the light.
That, naturally, gave rise to speculation that the project would be approved. After all, why would the light be installed -- and monitored -- if there wasn't going to be a church there?
It's all hypothetical, Dicker said.
The most testy part of the session came when a resident suggested the light would cause traffic delays for Green Pond Road commuters.
Dicker, who at times tries to adopt the role of a township sage, ended that conversation by suggesting that a light is needed now because traffic has increased immeasurably on Green Pond Road.
"That's the way it is in modern times," he said.
The crowd groaned.
During a recess, Dicker explained that Green Pond Road hasn't changed since decades ago when 4,000 inhabitants were scattered among the township's 45 square miles. Rockaway Township has about 23,000 people today.
False reports have been a staple of these protracted hearings -- remember the one that the church was going to have a rehab center on site -- and that continued on Monday.
Tom DiScala, whose family owns a day care center across the street from the church site, expressed annoyance that the project would take a portion of his land, presumably for parking. He was supported by about a dozen employees, most of whom wore identical green T-shirts. DiScala said he feared that would put him out of business.
Not true, Dicker said, adding that no one is going to take the day care center's land.
At varying times, this three-year battle has included accusations of racism and religious bigotry, armed guards protecting the church pastor at meetings, the board's lawyer forgetting what a public meeting is and objecting to the presence of a news photographer and enough nasty Internet postings to fill a book.
