JUDGE BACKS
CONSTRUCTION
Edison Loses Wal-Mart
lawsuit
By ERICA HARBATKIN
Home News Tribune Online, April 28, 2007
MIDDLESEX COUNTY, NJ -- Edison
Township has lost its legal battle with Wal-Mart's developer, which will receive
a court-ordered building permit within 20 days.
Superior Court Judge James P. Hurley, sitting in New Brunswick, has ordered the
township to grant the building permit by May 14.
"The township will comply with the judge's order," Mayor Jun Choi said.
"But we continue to oppose this project."
The order was issued Tuesday, three weeks after Edison Route 27 Associates filed
a civil lawsuit against the township for failing to grant the permit despite
prior approval by the Planning Board.
The lawsuit accuses Choi of "interference and obstructionist tactics" and
contends that Wal-Mart has threatened to terminate the lease because of the
delay.
The Planning Board granted site plan approval in December 2004 for a
140,000-square-foot Wal-Mart to be built on Route 27 at Vineyard Road.
Edison Route 27 Associates already has paid the township $1 million for traffic
improvements near the site and has contributed $96,000 to the township's
tree-replacement fund, a fund that generates money from developers that don't
replace trees on their sites.
The developer also has claimed a daily loss of $2,970 in carrying costs, or
costs incurred before a building is occupied, such as property taxes, mortgage
and maintenance.
Gage Andretta of West Orange-based Wolff & Samson, the attorney for Edison Route
27 Associates, could not be reached for comment.
eharbatkin@thnt.com
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