Court Rules in Favor of Synagogue in Zoning Dispute

More than a year after being denied by the Millburn Zoning Board, the Chai Center Shul has won its appeal in Essex County Superior Court.

On May 31, Superior Court Judge Sebastian Lombardi overruled the township's decision, sending the synagogue’s expansion plans sending it back to the Zoning board, according to New Jersey Jewish News. 

Lombardi ruled the township ordinances were being unequally applied to the proposed site at the corner of Old Short Hills Road and Jefferson Avenue, according to the publication.

The judge also ruled the township and citizen group, Save Millburn, would be liable for synagogue's attorney fees, the article stated.

The attorney for the synagogue Elliot Ostrove, told the Item of Millburn and Short Hills, he did not have an estimate of how much the attorneys' fees. 

Hearings began back in November of 2010 at the Millburn Zoning Board of Adjustment meeting for the 16,350-square-foot synagogue in Short Hills.

In February of 2012, the Zoning Board of Adjustment denied the variances sought by the Chai Center, which would have allowed the synagogue to be built on residential property on Jefferson Avenue.

One of the main issues originally raised was parking and the opposition's perceived lack of spaces to accommodate the use of the structure.