After 20 Years, Country Classics Litigation Nears End

The Planning Board made quick work of a short agenda Thursday, including bringing a more than 20-year history of litigation closer to its end.

In what one board member referred to as a “record 9 minutes and 7 seconds” meeting, the board considered an amendment to revise the Land Use and Development ordinance referring to “nonconforming uses, structures of lots.” Board Attorney Eric Bernstein explained that the amendment was the result of 20-plus-year-old litigation related to the development.

The key difference in the amendment is a change in the amount of impervious surface from 20 percent to 25 percent.

“This is sort of the last end of the litigation, settlement and ongoing actions,” Bernstein said. “It should be close to putting it to an end.”

The board voted unanimously to approve the amendment and send it to the Township Committee for a final vote.

Board members also heard from a Belle Mead resident regarding a proposed zoning change issue that had been raised last week before the Township Committee. At that time, several Belle Mead residents, whose properties are split between Hillsborough and Montgomery, from an agriculture zone to a Highway Service zone.

Deputy Mayor Gloria McCauley, who sits on the Planning Board, assured fellow board members that Township Planner Robert Ringelheim is researching the options and will report back at a future meeting.

The board also voted to cancel its April 26 business meeting because there is nothing currently on the agenda. The Planning Board’s next meeting will be May 3.