Montville Residents V. Destruction of 29 Acres

Montville Residents for Responsible Growth LLC, and Neil Boyle, are working with an attorney to appeal the wrongful Montville Township Zoning Board Of Adjustment decision that was made on October 4, 2023 regarding Diversified Properties LLC’s proposed development “Brookside at Montville.” We are asking our fellow residents and concerned individuals to please support the effort to protect the 29 acres of undisturbed wetlands and woodlands in Montville by making a donation towards the appeal's legal fees. This case would've been approved without opposition a year ago if we didn't have a collective voice that kept showing up. We've amassed 3,266 supporters on our change.org petition, 700 members on our Facebook group , and record turn-out at countless town meetings over the course of multi-year process - we know the power of coming together for this cause!

On October 4th 2023, the Montville Township Zoning Board of Adjustment (ZBOA) voted 5-2 to grant the developer’s, Diversified Properties LLC, request for 18 variances to allow 266 multi-family units for “active adults” (i.e., age restricted to seniors 55 and over), to be built on the undisturbed land between Main Road/Route 202, River Road, Route 287, and Valhalla Road, effectively overstepping their authority and rezoning the area from single-family to multi-family, and further allowing the destruction and/or interference with 29 acres of undisturbed forest, wetlands, two historical homes, groundwater recharge areas, & endangered wildlife natural habitat, over countless Montville residents’ objections.

Despite (a) the governing body, Montville Township Committee (TC), recently deciding to keep these parcels zoned for single-family, (b) Chairman Marinello telling members he thought voting for this variance overstepped their authority and was, in effect, a rezoning, and (c) ZBOA lawyer, Mr. Michael Carroll, reminding members right before the vote that the TC refused to rezone (and telling them it is not within the ZBOA’s purview to change the zoning), ZBOA members still blatantly voted for this development against the advice of the TC, ZBOA Chairman, and their legal counsel.

Further, ZBOA members voted in favor of the development with no consideration as to the legal requirements for granting a D1 variance, and despite ZBOA Chairman Jim Marinello saying (a) the Diversified’s witnesses’ testimony on the “inherently beneficial” standard was “not specific to this property,” (b) the project did not meet the “peculiarly fitted to the particular location” standard in order for a variance to be granted, and (c) there were so many negatives at this site that Diversified’s witnesses “bent over backwards” to minimize them.

ZBOA Member Richard Moore said the quiet part out loud before he voted “yes” on the project, “My point is I don’t think that this group of properties is appropriately zoned.” To which, ZBOA Counsel Carroll, immediately jumped in to say, "You've got to be very careful when you use words like ‘I don't think the property is appropriately zoned’. That kind of thing is an open invitation to a court to reverse you because you're substituting your opinion for that of the governing body." ZBOA Member Moore further provided grounds for the ZBOA decision to be overturned when he publicly showed that he had a conflict of interest, by stating before he made the motion to approve the development, that he’d like his oldest son to move back to Montville with his grandchildren and buy his home, so maybe he could live in this development.

In addition, ZBOA Member Ray Giordano voted “yes” when he also had an obvious conflict of interest. Giordano owns “Right at Home Montville,” an in-home senior care service in Montville, which stands to benefit financially with approval of this senior development in town. Of note, Giordano did not deliberate prior to voting, nor did he contribute to much discussion of the project throughout the entire process, and his ownership of Right at Home Montville was not shared as a potential conflict of interest. Diversified’s "Brookside at Montville" proposal was explicit in stating that there will be no senior care services provided to residents; therefore, any care needed will have to be privately and locally hired by the seniors themselves, meaning ZBOA Member Giordano has an incoming influx of potential senior customers for private in-home care.

Notably, with the exception of Chairman Marinello, ZBOA Member Annabel Pierce, and Counsel Carroll, the ZBOA had no in-depth and fact-based deliberations about whether the developer’s 266-unit “active adult” gated project met the requirements for a D1 variance to be granted, including whether the project met the “inherently beneficial use” standard under relevant statutory or legal case law. The two ZBOA members who tried to provide justification for their “yes” votes (ZBOA Members Moore and Miller-Sanders) gave no reasoning based on legal requirements, but instead, gave arbitrary and capricious reasons. ZBOA Member Moore, as mentioned above, said he may want to live in the development, and ZBOA Member Margaret Miller-Sanders, justified voting for this project by speculating what else may go on this land if they don’t approve it, such as a “drug rehab or a jail”, thereby basing her decision on fear & “what ifs”, instead of the law. The remaining three of the five votes in favor: Ronald Cain, Jr., Ray Giordano, and Jake Kovalcik simply said, “Yes,” one after another, without giving a single reason to support their decisions. Collectively, these three members did not participate more than a handful of times over the course of the year-long process, involving hours of testimony, and they also failed to deliberate during the discussion leading up to the vote.

Montville residents and taxpayers have attended further TC and ZBOA meetings (post-decision) to cite the ZBOA overstepping its authority in rezoning, ZBOA Member Moore stating publicly that he doesn’t think the land is appropriately zoned, and further citing ZBOA Members Moore and Giordano’s conflicts of interest, which invalidate their votes. We have now taken the extra step and hired an attorney to appeal this decision , to ensure this case gets before a judge who will use the law to rightfully overturn the ZBOA's invalid decision. There were too many red flags in this proposal and now approval to allow this to proceed. Several attorneys have shared that this is an incredibly strong case, and it is well-worth the fight to reverse this wrongful decision. Please support this appeal and Montville by donating whatever amount you are able to during this time, no amount is too little! Your continued support is greatly appreciated, and your support will be invaluable to preserving this beautiful space for many years to come. Thank you!