When last we left the redevelopment plan, the Planning Board was still reviewing the site plan, while the Township approved another $7,500 for its legal defense of the plan, bringing the total to $17,500.
That legal defense was for the lawsuit filed by Village Keepers, Inc., the group opposing the three-story, 20-unit, five store complex slated for the former post office site. Village Keepers had sued accusing the Maplewood Village Alliance of failing to follow proper procedures, but dropped the suit when the MVA held further reviews.
The TC, however, approved the higher legal payments last week after being told the defense had reached the $17,500 level.
The Planning Board, meanwhile, will continue its review of the site plan from JMF Developers tonight. See the agenda below:
It's unclear when or how this process will end. Village Keepers and other opponents appear willing to delay and battle the plan until at least the end of the year when two new Township Committee members will take their seats on January 1, 2016.
With TC Member Kathy Leventhal choosing not to run for re-election and Jerry Ryan losing in the Democratic primary, the TC will change dramatically. Candidates Nancy Adams and Greg Lembrich won the Democratic nomination and have both questioned at least some aspects of the project.
Adams, meanwhile, is currently on the Planning Board and will have at least one vote on the plan being reviewed there. TC members India Larrier, Marlon Brownlee and Mayor Vic De Luca, who all voted for the latest post office plan, will remain on the governing body and would still outvote the new members if it comes to a standoff.
With four months left until then, however, nothing can be counted on our out related to the post office's future.
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