Developer Sues Morristown Over 5-Story Apartment Building Project

MORRISTOWN, NJ — A developer has sued Morristown after the planning board denied an extension for a mixed-use apartment building planned for the vacant downtown property near Grasshopper Off the Green.

Bakod Holding Corporation filed the lawsuit, alleging that after their initial proposal was approved by the planning board in 2018, they received two extensions due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the board refused to grant a third delay last year, according to the suit, which was filed in the state Superior Court this month. "The planning board’s findings, reasons for denial, and refusal to grant extensions were arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable."

The property, which sits at 45 Morris Street, has been vacant for several years and is located between the Grasshopper Off the Green building and Wilmont Street.

The lawsuit requests that the planning board's decision be reversed and that the extension denial be declared illegal under state law. It asks the board to follow the terms of the original approval and sign off on the plans within two weeks of the case judgment.

Bakod asserts that the board's decision to reject the application also violates their earlier agreement with the Fair Share Housing Center ("FSHC") in its Mount Laurel Declaratory Judgment Action.

In August 2022, Morristown acknowledged that the development project—which includes six affordable housing units —was necessary to fulfill the town's unmet need obligation under the Settlement Agreement with FSHC, the Compliance Plan and the Judgment of Repose.

According to the lawsuit, the property was zoned for commercial business at the time Bakod applied to the planning board and received approvals for his mixed-use multifamily residential building.

The initial approval in 2018, included 1,200 square feet of retail space and 38 apartments in the rest of the building.

However, the town rezoned the area from a commercial business district to a "town center" zone after the plan's approval, according to the suit, which reduced the maximum height of buildings in the area and imposed stricter density restrictions.

According to the lawsuit, Bakod then requested the extensions in order to protect the application's approval from the more stringent regulations.

The applicant first applied for a six-month extension shortly after Governor Murphy signed the "Permit Extension Act of 2020" at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the suit. However, the planning board refused to recognize the PEA-mandated extension.

Instead, the board approved two consecutive one-year extensions, which lasted through Oct. 25, 2022, according to the suit.

The planning board’s reasoning for the first extension was that “the relevant statutes have been amended to permit extensions to six months after the end of the recognized pandemic,” the suit states.

Bakod claims that the planning board granted only two one-year extensions when three extensions are permitted under the Municipal Land Use Law.

According to the complaint, in 2021, the applicant repeatedly requested a proposed developer's agreement to continue progress on the project, but the "Planning Board and/or Town refused to authorize or provide," the agreement.

"In one particular instance, the Planning Board attorney, responding to a request for a proposed Developer’s Agreement, even asked 'what the urgency is in getting the plans signed'," the lawsuit alleged.

Officials from the Morristown Planning Board did not respond to Patch's request for comment on the lawsuit.

Bakod claimed that the project was also hampered by the construction of the nearby M Station commercial redevelopment project and its accompanying roundabout.

The M Station Project removed two on-street parking spaces on Morris Street, a county road, and widened the curb line next to the applicant's property.

According to the lawsuit, Bakod was, "not provided notice of the commencement of construction of the M-Station Project including the roundabout. Rather, the M-Station project’s contractor began removing concrete and sidewalks without any notice to the Applicant."

Bakod then claimed that in September 2022, for the first time since the last plan submission in 2019, the planning board attorney informed them that Topology had an issue with the submitted plans, forcing the applicant to request a third extension.

On Oct. 27, the Morristown Planning Board unanimously denied the extension, with the mayor recusing himself after Topology determined that the applicant was late in complying with the conditions, which Bakod refutes.

The decision was memorialized on Dec. 1, 2022, with the official notice being published on Dec. 9, 2022.