Hopewell Valley Citizens' Group, Inc. v. Berwind Prop. Group Development Co., L.P.

Hopewell Valley Citizens' Group, Inc. v. Berwind Prop. Group Development Co., L.P.

Opinion

 [*571]  [**212]   JUSTICE LONG delivered the opinion of the Court.

Over the objections of members of the public, the Planning Board (Board) of Hopewell Township (Township) granted preliminary site plan approval to the Berwind Property Group Development Co., L.P. (BPG) to develop a  [***12] parcel of real estate on Carter Road in the Township. On September 27, 2008, BPG published a notice of the resolution in a newspaper of general circulation, and notified the Board of its action. On October 2, 2008, the Board published a second notice in another local newspaper. A pro se objector contacted the Board and was informed that the notice had been published on October 2, 2008.

In reliance on that information, the objector calculated the forty-five-day period within which to bring an action in lieu of prerogative writs and filed a complaint on November 17, 2008, against BPG, the Board, the Township, and the Township Committee (collectively, defendants). Defendants moved to dismiss the complaint as untimely based on the forty-five-day window provided by the first publication. The objector contended she was misled by  [**213]  the information conveyed by the Board and that the representation regarding the later publication date warranted enlargement of the limitations period. The trial court disagreed, as did the Appellate Division.

We granted certification, 201 N.J. 497, 992 A.2d 792 (2010), and now reverse. We conclude that the circumstances presented in this case satisfy the standards in Rule 4:69-6(c)  [***13] and warrant enlargement of the forty-five-day period because "it is manifest that the interest of justice so requires." This ruling is not intended as a comment on the merits of the complaint, but only on the timeliness of its filing.

At the heart of this matter is a 359.8 acre parcel of real  [*572]  property (the property) located on Carter Road, in the Township. ¹ The property is presently zoned "RO-3" (Research/Office). In 1999, the prior owner of the property (Townsend Property Trust, L.P.) received approval for a general development plan (GDP) from the Board. The property is presently owned by BPG. In 2005, BPG sought and received a two-year extension of the vesting period for the Townsend proposal, which is currently set to expire on May 19, 2011. On November 15, 2006, BPG filed an application for preliminary site plan approval that was deemed complete in late 2007. In it, BPG proposed eight buildings for the property, totaling 800,000 square feet, as well as the addition of a daycare center, parking, interior roads, and a new wastewater treatment plant.

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