Thursday, August 16, 2018
Woodcliff Lake denies illegally stopping Jewish group from building a bigger temple
Borough officials in Woodcliff Lake say they didn't discriminate against an Orthodox Jewish group that attempted to construct a larger synagogue.
The borough filed an answer on Tuesday in U.S. District Court, asking the court to dismiss a federal lawsuit the U.S. Department of Justice brought against Woodcliff Lake and its Zoning Board of Adjustment, alleging the borough changed zoning laws to keep Valley Chabad from expanding its facility.
The lawsuit also alleges the borough improperly rejected requests Valley Chabad made to modify zoning rules and regulations so it could expand its existing facility.
"Woodcliff Lake handled the Valley Chabad request for various property uses in a legal and businesslike fashion," said Henry Klingeman, Woodcliff Lake Borough Attorney for this case.
"There was no improper treatment or improper discriminatory treatment by Woodcliff Lake," Klingeman said. "Woodcliff Lake has consistently treated Valley Chabad like any other property owner."
Valley Chabad had proposed to construct a house of worship on a 1.27-acre residential lot at 100 Overlook Drive almost four years ago. The application was for making Valley Chabad a fully functioning outreach center with a temple, a school and a banquet hall.
The zoning board denied the application along with eight variances and four waivers because the lot size was less than 3 acres as required under the borough's zoning laws. Valley Chabad had operated in a 3,194 square foot building on a 1.27-acre sit in Woodcliff Lake since 1998.
Originally, the application proposed to construct a 20,924-square foot building at 100 Overlook Drive and tear down the house that was there. Then a revised plan reduced the size of the building to 12,427-square feet.
That wasn't the first time Valley Chabad considered expanding onto another property in Woodcliff Lake.
The Jewish group, which is affiliated with the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic movement, started its quest to find a new space in 2005.
In 2007, Valley Chabad cancelled a contract it had for a property on Werimus Road over a dispute about oil contamination on the property.
Valley Chabad tried to purchase a property on County Road, but the seller of that property cancelled a contract of sale in 2012 with the group, according to the Woodcliff Lake answer.
In 2013, Valley Chabad showed interest in purchasing Galaxy Gardens, a landscaping center on Woodcliff Avenue. According to the answer, Valley Chabad "voluntarily terminated the contract to purchase Galaxy Gardens."
The borough paid $1.65 million in February to buy Galaxy Gardens through a purchase agreement with the property's owner. According to the answer, the borough "never instituted eminent domain proceedings with regard to the property." The borough closed the deal to purchase the property on June 29.
Earlier that month on June 13, the Department of Justice filed the federal lawsuit against Woodcliff Lake and the Woodcliff Lake Zoning Board, claiming Woodcliff Lake and its zoning board improperly rejected the group's attempts to expand its house of worship.
The borough permits houses of worship in all residential zones as a conditional use as long as they met the requirements to include a minimum lot size of 3 acres, one parking space for every three seats, one space for each staff member, a 400-foot-wide lot, as well as other requirements regarding building setbacks, building height and surface coverage, according to the answer.
"Woodcliff Lake has always been willing to consider variances. What the parties have not been able to agree upon is variances to the extent and to the degree that Valley Chabad has proposed," said Klingeman.
Some of the variances were to put a 20-foot retaining wall within one foot of a 24-inch storm sewer "making it virtually-impossible to construct the retaining wall," a proposed front yard setback of 48.5 feet when 50 feet was required, a proposed rear yard setback of 49 feet when 50 feet was required, and a proposed side yard requirement of 47.3 feet when 50 feet was required, according to the answer.
An email sent to the Department of Justice seeking comment wasn't returned Wednesday. A message sent to Valley Chabad seeking comment also wasn't returned.
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