Developer Asserts Ownership Of Holmdel Horn Antenna In Lawsuit Answer

HOLMDEL, NJ — Crawford Hill Holdings, the owners of the site that is home to the historic Horn antenna, has now answered the township's lawsuit to determine ownership of the antenna, saying it is indeed the owner of the antenna and it has no plans to remove it from the site.

In a court filing May 11, the company said it admits Nokia, the previous owner of the site after a purchase from Bell Labs, reserved "a general right to preserve and/or relocate the Horn antenna that survived closing of title . . . .but only in the event that preservation of the Horn Antenna was put in doubt by CHH’s redevelopment of the property."

But Crawford Hill Holdings said in the answer that the company is "dedicated to preserve the Horn antenna at Crawford Hill," and so meets any requirement of the sale. The 43-acre tract is at 791 Holmdel Road.

The township said Tuesday it does not comment on pending litigation. But in a statement it repeated its reasons for the suit:

"The Township is not in a position to negotiate the future of Crawford Hill until we determine the ownership of the Horn antenna," Mayor DJ Luccarelli said Tuesday, as he did in April, after the filing of the lawsuit.

"For these reasons, the Township authorized this litigation to determine the ownership of the Horn antenna as well as . . . potential eminent domain rights relating to it.

"As Mayor, I remain steadfast in my commitment to use every possible legal avenue to protect Holmdel’s legacy," Luccarelli said.

A clause in the sales contract from Nokia of America Corp. to Crawford Hill Holding said it had a right to the antenna if the development plans did not include keeping the antenna at the site.

That uncertainty prompted the township to seek a judge's ruling on the matter in a filing made April 11.

The antenna is slated to remain on the site if it is developed, but it would be relocated there, according to the developer's latest plans for 88 townhouses. Rakesh Antala of Holmdel is the managing partner of Crawford Hill Holdings.

Meanwhile, a coalition of land use and preservation groups in Holmdel continues to emphasize that the entire Crawford Hill site must remain open space with the Horn antenna situated on the 42-acre property as it is now. The area could be developed for study and a museum, the groups urge.

The decades-old antenna is, as Luccarelli said, part of the legacy of Holmdel. It has a unique place in scientific history and it is also a designated National Landmark, since 1989.

The antenna is a landmark because it was used in Nobel Prize-winning research to detect the cosmic microwave background radiation that provided irrefutable evidence of the Big Bang theory of the creation of the universe.

So the private owner's plans for the townhouse development have raised concern among the coalition, and many other residents and non-residents, from scientists to homemakers, who have been speaking out at Township Committee meetings for months.

A petition circulated by the coalition has garnered thousands of signatures from around the country and beyond.

Terms such as a "sacred shrine to cosmology" have at times been applied to the antenna by various speakers before the committee.

The answer to the township's lawsuit continues, citing various other issues, as summarized in a news release from the company as well as the formal answer. Here are some excerpts:

• Crawford Hill Holdings says it would have provided evidence of ownership, but the town’s attorneys did not "give it time to respond to a question about ownership of the antenna before filing its lawsuit." Attorney Joseph Grather, representing the company, said the town did not "act in good faith when it sent a letter to CHH on April 10 asking about the ownership of the Horn antenna; giving the developer seven days to respond. But the town filed its lawsuit on April 11."
• Grather said the township could have "ordered a title search of the property before filing its lawsuit to determine that Crawford Hill Holdings owns the Horn antenna. Nokia Corp., which sold the property to CHH, has a limited right to relocate the antenna, but only if CHH did not intend to preserve the antenna on the property," the statement from the company said.
• Regarding a taking of the property through eminent domain, the response states that the township "has not satisfied procedural or substantive requirements of the state’s Local Redevelopment & Housing Law (LRHL) or the Eminent Domain Act that would authorize the use of eminent domain on the CHH property."
• The company also affirms that "since there is no question that CHH intends to preserve the antenna, the town cannot allege that the public purpose for the taking the property is to preserve an historic artifact."

In a news release sent out with the legal response, the attorney Grather said his "client is willing to negotiate with the town in good faith to reach an amicable agreement."

In the answer, Grather also advances the idea that there is a "political agenda." "It appears from newspaper publications that the purpose of the suit is to pursue a political agenda rather than present this Court with genuine issues of material fact," the answer says, in part.

Crawford Hill Holdings "demands judgment dismissing the complaint, awarding attorneys’ fees and costs, and for such other relief as the Court may find to be equitable just and appropriate."

The answer was filed May 11 in Superior Court of New Jersey, Monmouth County, Docket #MON-L-1118-23.