Agenda - Planning Commission - 02/02/2012

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December 25, 2011 Volume 5 J No. 24 Zoning Bulletin Notice — Landowner Challenges City's Published Notice of Public Hearings on Adoptions of Ordinances Landowner says notices should have identified new zones being created Citation: Rockaway Shoprite Associates, Inc. u City of Linden, 2011 WL 5515222 (N.J. Super. Ct. App. Div. 2011) NEW JERSEY (11/14111)—This case addresses the issue of the suffi- ciency of a published notice for a public hearing on the adoption of an ordinance and an amendatory ordinance that rezoned 47.5 acres in a city. The Background/Facts: Linden Development, LLC purchased a 105 - acre parcel of property in the city of Linden (the "City"). The parcel was the site of a former General Motors ("GM") assembly plant. The parcel was zoned heavy industrial and light industrial. Linden sought to create a combination of retail and commercial uses, multifamily residential use, and industrial and warehouse uses. Accordingly, Linden sought a change in zoning for 45 acres to allow retail and commercial uses. Linden applied to the City for the zone changes. Eventually, the city drafted an ordinance, Ordinance 52-71, to imple- ment the proposed zoning changes. The City published in the local news- paper notice of Ordinance 52-71 for public hearing and possible adoption. The notice read in pertinent part: "AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT CHAPTER XXXI, ZONING, OF AN ORDINANCE EN- TITLED "AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AND ENACTING THE RE- VISED GENERAL ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF LINDEN, 1999 ... ." The notice further stated the block and lot numbers of the site of the proposed zoning. It also noted that the ordinance would amend regulation for the use of the site of the)former GM facility. Ordinance 52 -71 was eventually adopted. After its adoption , the City determined that certain limited revisions were necessary as to the newly created Planned Commercial Development ( "PCD ") zoning district. The City introduced a new Ordinance 53 -10 to enact those revisions. The notice for the public hearing for Ordinance 53- 1 0 did not identify the property affected by the proposed ordinance, but simply read: "AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND ORDINANCE NO. 52- 71, ENTITLED `AN ORDINANCE TO AMEND AND SUPPLEMENT CHAP'T'ER XXXI, ZONING', OF AN ORDINANCE ENTITELD `AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AND ENACTING REVISED GENERAL OFDINANCE FO THE CITY OF LINDEN, 1999' ...." Ordinance 53-10 was eventually adopted. Rockaway Shoprite Associates, Inc. ("RSA" ) operated a supermarket near Linden's property. After adoption of Ordinance 53 -10, RSA filed a lawsuit against the City and the City Council, seeking reversal of the adop- 6 © 2011 Thomson Reuters