Letter to the Editor: PREIT Pulling Wool Over Moorestown's Eyes

To the editor:

The New Jersey laws governing liquor license referenda forbid the presenting of the same referendum item for a period of five years. Four years ago, Moorestown defeated a referendum to permit the sale of all alcoholic beverages at retail by approximately a 2 to 1 vote.

In the “new” Referendum 1, PREIT took essentially the same referendum language and added the term “except for consumption on railroad trains, airplanes, and boats” (selecting the language from a law clearly never intended to apply to a township such as Moorestown) and is now claiming that it is not the same as the one four years ago. The absurdity of that claim is apparent by merely replacing the added terms with “stagecoaches and space shuttles.” In my 42 years in Moorestown, there have been the same number of railroad trains, airplanes, and boats as there have been stagecoaches and space shuttles adapted for the retail sale of alcoholic beverages: none! Thus, there is no meaningful difference between the two referenda; it is merely an attempt to flimflam the voting public. Hopefully, Moorestonians will respond to this insult appropriately, and in large numbers.

Referendum 2 is likewise a sham, but more complex and difficult to explain. A detailed legal, albeit anonymous, opinion can be found on the Internet at noliquorlicenses.com [Note the plural]. I have been an active, practicing lawyer for 50+ years and I have checked the citations and arguments, and consider the legal opinion’s conclusions to be well-founded:

"Question 2 [emphasis added] appears to be legally impermissible, either as a zoning amendment which can not be raised as a referendum, or as a discriminatory zoning or liquor license restriction, or simply because the Alcoholic Beverage Law is comprehensive and preempts local regulation except for a few issues which the question does not address. Without Question 2 [either by being defeated or by being declared invalid], a yes vote on Question 1 could result in a full allotment of liquor licenses, which could be issued anywhere in Moorestown to be administered between either City Council and the ABC or the Local ABC board and the State ABC Board." 

Please go to the aforementioned website and read the entire opinion, and satisfy yourself with the validity of its conclusions. The one sure way to prevent a scam is to become knowledgeable before you vote.

Donald Simpson
Moorestown