Judge upholds Hackensack rejection of proposed acute-care hospital in residential neighborhoodMonday, August 26, 2013 Last updated: Monday August 26, 2013, 8:41 PM
BY HANNAN ADELY, STAFF WRITER The Record
HACKENSACK — A state Superior Court judge on Monday upheld the city’s zoning board denial of an application for a 19-story long-term acute care hospital — a plan that sparked fierce protest in the city.
Residents and officials had packed hearings to argue that the hospital would have brought traffic hazards, congestion and parking problems to their neighborhood. On Monday, they cheered the court’s decision. Meanwhile, the attorney for the applicant, Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital, pledged to appeal.
“This has been three years of waiting to see what happens and trying to stop it from being built in this area,” said Murray Runin, a member of the Prospect Avenue Coalition, a residents’ group that opposed the project. “This would have disrupted the whole area.”
Mayor John Labrosse called the decision a “victory for the community.”
“While the city needs and welcomes responsible development, I feel this particular development was too big and too intrusive for the neighborhood,” he said. “It would have caused horrendous traffic problems and serious concerns about the safety of nearby residents.”
In his 20-page decision, Judge Alexander H. Carver III said the application got a fair hearing and the board reasonably determined that the harm to the neighborhood would outweigh the public benefit.
Bergen-Passaic Long Term Acute Care Hospital sought to tear down residential structures on Prospect and Summit avenues and build a medical center including 10 floors of patient rooms, a dialysis center and an adult medical day care center for up to 180 adults. The applicant claimed the medical center would fill a public health demand and meet the needs of a growing senior population.
The project needed special city approval because the property is zoned for residential use and the facility would have exceeded lot, parking and other building restrictions.
The board unanimously denied the application in January 2012, saying it would hurt traffic safety and parking and that the proposed uses were contrary to the city’s zoning plan and ordinances.
The applicant sued the board and the city in November, claiming it didn’t get a fair hearing, was subjected to delays and unnecessary fees and that city officials conspired to delay the process and prejudiced the outcome with their comments.
The court found there was credible evidence of increased traffic and dangerous traffic situations on already-busy streets. Carver also found no evidence that the board was influenced by officials’ statements and concluded that council members statements were not improper.
The court refuted claims of delays and unnecessary fees; out of 23 total hearings, 20 were special meetings that required a $3,000 fee be paid to the city. The fees, though, were set by city ordinance, not by the board. The applicant also didn’t object to special meetings and delays during the proceedings, Carver wrote in his decision.
Attorney Joseph Basralian, who represented the hospital, said Monday his client will appeal the judge’s decision but declined further comment.
Deputy Mayor Kathleen Canestrino said the building would have been “completely out of character for the neighborhood.”
“It’s far too intense of a development in a residential neighborhood,” she said. “In his decision, the judge gave considerable weight to the safety issues, and I have to agree that public safety was and is a major concern of the council and the people living near the proposed development.”
Email: adely@northjersey.com
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