Howell's Rejection Of Monmouth Commerce Center Upheld In Court

HOWELL, NJ — A New Jersey Superior Court judge upheld the decision by the Howell Township Planning Board to deny the approval for the Monmouth Commerce Center.

After the project was struck down, the developers of the Monmouth Commerce Center tried to reverse the decision in court, but their complaint was dismissed.

"The court finds that there was sufficient foundation in the record below for the board to properly deny the application and the argument that the applicant did not receive a fair hearing is rejected," judge Owen C. McCarthy said on July 20.

The judge also noted that the board gave the applicant a total of 12 hearings, with "significant public participation."

In a meeting in January of last year, the board unanimously voted against the project. The application was for nine warehouse buildings totaling 1.24 million square feet, parking for 706 vehicles, 142 trailer parking spaces and 234 loading spaces on a 99,5 acres property by Randolph Road and Oak Glen Road.

READ MORE: Howell Planners Unanimously Reject Monmouth Commerce Center

After four hours of public comment, the meeting extended into late hours and ended with cheers and applause from residents, pleased by the decision.

One of the main points of contention with the application is the effect on traffic. Residents are concerned about the prospect of tractor-trailers traveling along Randolph Road and Lakewood-Farmingdale Road/Route 547, where traffic already is a serious problem.

Additional reporting by Karen Wall