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Emerson council says it will pursue enforcement over Block 419; court-ordered mediation set Friday
Summary
Emerson officials said the borough will press enforcement actions related to redevelopment of Block 419 and will review a newly filed lawsuit in executive session; borough counsel said recent appellate rulings validated the borough’s prior actions.
Emerson officials told residents on Dec. 2 that the borough will continue legal action to resolve long-running problems at Block 419 and that a court-ordered mediation on affordable housing is scheduled for Friday.
Mayor John DePaola told the governing body the borough has voted to pursue enforcement to protect taxpayers and that an evaluation of the property is underway, with litigation to follow. DePaola said the borough’s posture has been to get the project built but that the site cannot remain in its current condition.
The mayor introduced borough litigation counsel Brian Giblin Jr., whom he identified as the law firm lead for previous suits involving the same redeveloper. Giblin declined to discuss the newly filed lawsuit in public but summarized an appellate-division opinion from several months earlier, saying the court noted the developer failed to answer written questions the borough sent and recognized the borough had offered alternative sites. “The court took note of that in their decision to ultimately rule in our favor,” Giblin said.
DePaola and Giblin said the new lawsuit will be discussed with attorneys in executive session to avoid jeopardizing insurance coverage and to comply with legal-ethics restrictions on discussing litigation in public. The moderator confirmed the council will take no public action on the new filing at this meeting.
DePaola also briefed the council on an upcoming court-ordered mediation related to Round 4 affordable-housing requirements, saying the process is court-ordered and part of the state’s new allocation method that assigns regional obligations to groups of municipalities. He explained the borough must consider both municipal and regional allocations in its negotiations.
No votes were taken on litigation strategy during the public meeting; the council voted to enter executive session to discuss the matter with counsel.
Next steps: borough officials said the property evaluation will be completed and that attorneys will pursue appropriate legal steps after the closed-session review.
