under God indivisible with liberty and justice for all thank you here good evening and welcome the December 5th 2023 special meeting of the Jackson Township Council will now come to order councilman Bernstein here councilwoman cun here councilman Sergeant Council vice president barelli here and council president Chism here also present this evening is our Township attorney Mr Gregory M mcgucken and our business administrator Mr Terence wall as Clerk of this meeting I hereby publicly announce that in compliance with the provisions of the open public meetings act adequate notice of this meeting has been advertised in the manner prescribed by law we'll continue with opening comments from Township Council councilman Bernstein thank you everyone for coming out have a good evening thank you councilwoman cun thank you everyone for coming out and have a safe trip home that's thank you councilman Sergeant thank you for coming out and have Drive nice drive home thank you Council vice president barelli thank you uh clerk Moss I just wanted to thank everybody for all coming out and happy Hanukkah Merry Christmas Jackson residence and have a safe can you hear can you hear me now okay excellent all happy Hanukkah Merry Christmas to everybody and uh have a safe and enjoyable holiday season thank you thank you council president Chisum well since we're in a little bit of a delay I will read a couple of prepared comments not for the reason we here but I'm often asked why I focus so much on issues that relate to our state and federal levels the answer is really quite simple because bad ideas have a tendency to trickle down especially to the local level they do it at a much more rapid rate than any good ideas that's for sure we've often felt safe and isolated here from some of the craziness you see in big cities but here in Jackson and small communities we don't see it as much covid and our government's reaction to it were a glaring example of government overreach and how small town USA can be affected by bad ideas promoted by the elitists in government and their allies in Academia and the media this week the house of Representatives is going to be considering HR 4468 it's going to overturn EPA guidelines concerning electric vehicles why is this important to you as a Jackson and Resident aside from the fact that they're based on faulty science and promotion of leftist ideas well new standards proposed would mandate that all light and medium duty vehicles meet new emission standards that is going to increase the production of these EV vehicles to an unachievable level and unachievable time frame according to their own manufacturers aside from the disputed facts whether they're carbon neutral or not or if it makes a difference in any climate initiatives what does it really have to do with Jackson well first of all it's more expensive for you as a taxpayer you have to buy them they're more expensive to maintain ensure and fuel over their lifetime and of course and more importantly it's expensive for you to build because you're subsidizing them with your taxpayers and even if you don't own the car you're paying for somebody else's they're heavier they do more damage to our roads and our parking lots which are a shambles anywhere you go in New Jersey you've already seen several parking garages that are not made for that weight level to have collapsed they're not going to be able to make these mandates these increased mandates are going to be causing Builders and businesses to build more fueling stations it's going to increase the chance of car and house fires which we've already seen so what does that really mean to Jackson what it means is Trenton and DC don't happen in a bubble these things are going to have real life consequences here it's going to cause problems for emergency responders and safety risks to our own residents that's why I focus on these things we're often so nearsighted we just can't see the forest for the trees so if you think these things don't trickle down and bother little people here in Jackson they do that's why I focus on them and I know you're all here tonight because other things that have happened at the state and federal level trickle down to Jackson thank you for coming have a great evening thank you consideration of ordinance public hearing and final consideration this is the second reading of ordinance 30-23 entitled an ordinance of the township of Jackson County of ocean state of New Jersey amending and supplementing chapter 244 of the Township Code of the township of Jackson entitled land use and development regulations for Pinelands areas of the township this ordinance was introduced on October 31st 1st 2023 I need a motion to open the public hearing motion second all in favor I I I if any member of the public has any comments to make please address council at the microphone and state your name and address clearly for the record you will have five minutes and may only speak once thank you hold on one moment Madam clerk that's that's fine we have a statement from the council who was going to start this before we take questions and comments from the public so counselor thank you Mr council president good evening council president members of the council members of the public on tonight's agenda is the public hearing for two ordinances these ordinances represent the effectuation of the final terms of the settlement agreements reached in the litigation with the Department of Justice the New Jersey attorney general's office and the private action of gudith plaintiffs the public hearing takes place before the second reading of an ordinance it is an opportunity for the members of the public to speak on the two ordinances generally the time for public hearings consists of members of the public coming up and placing their comments on the record however this evening council president we will begin with an overview of the ordinances it is important to note that the settlement agreements which resolved the various lawsuits have been finalized and are no longer Up For Debate they've been executed Ed those Agreements are final the public hearing this evening will consist solely of comments on the specific ordinances this also is not a time for debate there are professionals here this evening to provide technical information about the standards but not to debate the merits of those standards additionally members of the governing body and the Township's professionals cannot entertained hypothetical questions or potential applic or questions about potential applications the reason for this is simple this is a public Hearing in which a formal record is being created should there be any comments or opinions regarding hypothetical or potential applications those comments could be used by a unsuccessful applicant before one of our land use boards going forward in the future in regard to the interpretation of these ordinances and would be admissible in a court of law because this is a public hearing creating a public record finally And to clarify the reason that there are two ordinances this evening is because the township has both Pinelands and non P non- pinland properties changes to zones that are located within the Pineland commission Pro areas are subject to Pineland commission review prior to being approved and effective in and um implemented it is the policy of the piland commission that it will not review an ordinance until after has been adopted by the municipality and the reason for this is practical that it does not want its professionals to incur time and cost reviewing a do an ordinance until it is finalized and adopted however as a practical matter after the vote on the ordinances this evening the piland's ordinance will not go into effect until after it has been reviewed by the Pineland commission these ordinances represent the conclusion of almost 10 years of litigation beginning with the 2014 oros lawsuit continued with the udith litigation the United States Department of Justice action and the New Jersey attorney general lawsuit the lawsuits and the actions that gave rise to them occurred long before the election of the members on this governing body and the appointment of the members of this Administration is an Undisputed fact that this governing body and administration did not take any action or commit any Omission that gave rise to these lawsuits and the potential liability the ordinance that gave rise to these lawsuits were drafted introduced and voted upon by individuals who are no longer part of the Township's government the lawsuits alleged violations of arupa which is the religious land use institutional persons act the Fair Housing Act title seven of the Civil Rights Act and the New Jersey law against discrimination however the lawsuits can essentially be boiled down to three distinct issues the first is the enactment of ordinances that were intended to interfere with the ability of people of Faith from practicing their religion within the township the second is that ordinances that treated religious uses less favorably than non-religious uses and the third that there was an improper application of zoning in Code Enforcement processes and procedures I can confidently represent to this Council that there was no evidence induced during the discovery of these litigations it demonstrated that the township zoning or code enforcement departments ever took any action that was improper illegal or treated one group less favorably than another so the public is aware when the township receives concerns about a property those concerns are forwarded to an to the appropriate Department the Professionals in that department then use their knowledge experience and independent judgment to deter determine if there is a potential violation of an ordinance or a standard the mayor council or administrator cannot direct a Town Township official to make a specific finding it is within the township official employees own judgment and experience and knowledge regarding the law and the facts to make such a determination if that person has a legal question they are certainly as you're aware authorized to contact the Township's Le legal council for interpretation looking to the ordinances the law requires that religious uses not be treated less favorably than non-religious uses a simple example of this is if a public school was permitted within a Zone then a private religious school would have to be permitted in the same Zone this is a bright line rule the 2017 ordinances which limited where private schools could be located in prohibited dorms put the Township in a very difficult position from the outset because it appeared on its face to violate this bright line rule the act of affirmatively reducing the zones where private schools could be located was what on its face gave the basis for these various plaintiffs to allege violations of AR Lupa title 7 in the NJ L they view that religious schools were now being treated less favorably than non-religious schools because private schools are no longer permitted in certain zones when we review the complaints that were served upon the township at both the private level as well as the two public complaints we could see that the plaintiffs the government entities and individual private action plaintiffs relied very heavily upon a public record that was created not by members of the governing body or Administration but by individuals outside of that who made comments that the plaintiffs pointed to is having a discriminatory animus I am confident in saying that I do not believe that the prior council members who were named in this litigation and who had previously served when these ordinances were enacted that they had a single discriminatory bone in their bodies but the timing of the ordinance in the public commentary at the time created a very difficult backdrop against which the township had to defend these allegations you see the complaints contained quotes and emails that were received by the township which were very discriminatory and derogatory towards members of the Orthodox Jewish and religious communities those quotes served as the basis for essentially the Department of Justice and the New Jersey AG's claims the purpose looking at the dormatory ordinance the purpose of it was equally questionable in the reason for that is that the ordinance after enacted in 2017 had no effective change in the township you see Mr council president under the New Jersey municipal land use law and Township ordinances if a use is not expressly permitted then an applicant must obtain a variance so prior to the 2017 dormatory ordinance if an applicant wanted to develop a school with a residential component the applicant would have been required to appear before the township Zoning Board of adjustment and obtain a use variance now after the 2017 ordinances if an applicant wanted to build a school with a residential component the applicant would still be able to go before the Zoning Board of adjustment and obtain a use variant and the reason for that is even though the 2017 ordinances quote unquote prohibited dormitories under New Jersey land use law an applicant is still permitted to seek a use variant all the 2017 dorm ordinance did was essentially paint a Township a Target on the township and unfortunately some of the actors who created that Target and backdrop continue to advance misinformation regarding this government's actions there have been some false allegations that the P the passage of these ordinances will result in the removal of Township residents 14th Amendment due process rights first as a matter of law that is is just false however regardless of how a resident participation is defined it is important that everyone is aware that this council's actions will not result in the diminu of any public participation all applications for private schools houses of worship will still have to go before either the planning board or the Zoning Board of adjustment there has also been a false narrative pushed that claims that all permitted you us es will be decided by one person this again is fake news whether a use is permitted conditional or accessory is determined by the ordinances not by a person after years of Discovery it can certainly be said that groups that have spread fear and uncertainty regarding these ordinances should be looking in the mirror because they are partially responsible for the lawsuits being filed in the first place the township was put in a position where it was had to defend against comments submissions and actions taken by individuals who attempted to influence Township action but were not part of the government there is a very difficult position to defend and one of the consequences of these derogatory public comments which were made surrounding the 2017 ordinances was that the township was sued by the Department of Justice in the New Jersey attorney general's office and it resulted in the township having very weakened defenses the governing body was presented with multiple lawsuits in which the township had very little chance prevailing on all claims and in these types of actions if you fail on one claim it is almost the same as failing on all for purposes of exposure to damages the governing body was charged with resolving high-risk litigation that it did not create in response to this the Township's leadership directed the Township's professionals to negotiate a zoning plan that was constitutionally compliant which was step number one and two that would also provide for smarter growth and avoid the adverse effects that other local municipalities are dealing with because they may not have implemented a fully comprehensive growth plan the constitutionally compant portion of this part was easy as we discussed the township cannot treat religious uses less favorably than non-religious uses and the zoning plan must provide for the realistic development of religious uses the second half of that task was more difficult and that required considering locations Road size current development Trends and anticipated future development Trends it required being Forward Thinking as opposed to reactionary which is what this council did it chose to make a plan for the future we can begin by discussing and reviewing where primary and secondary schools would be permitted after I'm done our engineering and planning professionals will display a map that will reflect this but primary and secondary schools we permitted in PV rg2 RG3 rg1 PM R1 35295 MF PMD NC HCM LM north of 195 I NLC Higher Learning is much more limited that is limited to PV rg2 3 pm1 R3 R5 overlay NC LM north of 195 I NLC in the dorm locations match the higher learning locations in order to plan for smart growth and have limited impact the township has negotiated ordinances that require that schools must be placed on higher order roads this is intended to prevent local roads from being inundated with traffic in buses schools and residential structures are subject to bulk standards for their underlying uses I believe there have been some concerns sir that there may be towers built or uh huge dorms however that's is just not the case as the underlying bulk standards apply for each Zone there are few instances in which setback standards were modified because of the specific operational issues related to a school and it it was determined with consultation of experts that it would actually be better to adjust those standards because it would have would create less of an impact in the neighborhood to avoid creating a cluster that would overburden one area of the township with increased traffic and drop off and pickup the township is permitting educational uses in various areas throughout Jackson and an effort to separate and move out where schools may be and similar to how a rental property must register its new occupancy the schools that have residential component have to certify as to their occupancy each year there have been parking standards that are designed to ensure that there is sufficient off street parking for all students faculty and staff but also to provide for green banking so that we do not have seas of asphalt where it is not necessary with respect to the houses of worship the township previously had houses of worship as conditional uses in all but the LC Zone where they were actually permitted uses in the state of New Jersey as a matter of Statute and judicial decisions houses of worship are what are considered inherently beneficial uses inherently beneficial uses are defined as a use which is universally considered of value to the community because it fundamentally serves the public good and promotes the general welfare such uses include but are not limited to a Hospital School Child Care Center group home house of worship a wind or solar or photovoltaic energy facility or structure once a particular use is determined to be inherently beneficial it has a significant impact on its ability to be approved because it is then presumed as a matter of law that the positive criteria which is one of two steps necessary to obtain the use variance are satisfied an applicant need not prove the existence of special reasons that means that a zoning Board of adjustment only has to determine if negative criteria exist however even in that regard our state has given inherently beneficial uses a decided Advantage under the controlling case of sea versus the Board of adjustment of Township of wall the New Jersey Supreme Court created a four-prong balancing test it said that a zoning Board of adjustment must evaluate negative criteria for inherently beneficial uses in a much different manner they must evaluate the public interest served by the inherently beneficial use identify any adverse consequences consider the conditions that might be imposed to mitigate such consequences and then balance the public interest versus granting it or not granting it less any conditions imposed by the board only if the detriment is substantial can a board deny a variance to an inherently beneficial use this then requires that the township Zoning Board of adjustment must evaluate the public interest for each house of worship this is a very difficult analysis that can lead to significant litigation there are currently houses of worship throughout the township and residential zones as would be expected since House of worships have been conditional uses for decades this ordinance revision changes the uses from conditional to permitted first as a per per per New Jersey land use law a municipality is supposed to review varian's granted each year to determine if there should be ordinance changes made the reasons that a municipal land use is not supposed to be governed by variants if a zba is granting variances on a regular basis and that's an indication that there should be a change in fact each year the zba must issue a report to the planning board and the council indicating how many variances were issued and what types in order for those two entities to determine if a change is needed based on the types of variances being issued it is clear that in the Township's Zoning Board of adjustment history they have not denied a house of worship variant this tells the governing body these are not matters that should be before the zba anymore but rather before the site plan before the planning board for site plan control and review the revised house of worship ordinances create better defined standards specifically for houses of worship while recognizing that it's been the Township's practice in history to approve these uses no settlement is ever perfect generally all parties are somewhat dissatisfied with the outcome given the underline facts the township was in a position where it could have had the court dictate Zoning for schools and dorms and have no input the township negotiated settlement that is constitutionally compliant and establishes a zoning plan that attempts to head off and address the potential adverse impacts related to the development of additional schools that is the reason these ordinances were presented before this Council were approved on first reading and are here before you this evening sir thank you I would now I would now turn over to our Township Engineers engineering team and planning team for review of some visuals uh that will better explain or may help people understand the changes to the zoning plan good evening everyone can everyone hear me okay I'm usually pretty easy to hear but please let me know if you can't hear me and I'm happy to get louder my name is Ernie Peters I'm the township planner um I have with me this evening the team of planners who worked on this um these sets of ordinances with the municipality to my left Ashton Jones our director of planning and to his left Mike Davis our project manager uh in our planning division um for the record and for clarity um before Ashton gives an overview of the ordinances and the visual aids that we have for you this evening um to address the litigation matters before the governing body in July of this year the planning board reviewed the master plan and made some changes those initiated ordinances by the governing body that were introduced in October on first read reading and which were referred to the township planning board for review and recommendation back to the governing body um which occurred last evening at the planning board meeting in advance of this evening's public hearing um so with that brief overview I'm happy to turn it over to Ashton to give you an overview of both the documents and the um map that we have up on the board h Hello Council so up on the screen we have the Township's existing zoning map that's just for a reference if obviously it's uh large and you probably can't see it all from the back there but that is the Township's the Fire Marshall is having a discussion with the attorney so pardon me pardon me I I hear you we're all right so excuse me ladies and Gentlemen please let's not be shouting or be rude you what you are being heard so the attorney is speaking pardon me sir the Fire Marshall is speaking with the attorney they are trying to come up with a resolution to accommodate everyone here so while that is being worked out if we can just bear with it for a couple of minutes here until they come back and give me a legal answer then we will continue so if you guys all want to wait for five minutes we will wait and see when they come back out with that resolution so Ashton I'm just going to give you the the timeout here disrespect right now no no I'm what um we are going to take a 10-minute recess to have a executive session so that we can get some legal advice and we will be back out so if anybody body needs to stretch go out in the hallway use a restroom we have a 10-minute recess while we're in executive I need a motion I'm making a motion I yes to go exec I'd like to make a motion to go to exec second all in favor I thank you we'll be back in 10 ladies and gentlemen if I can get your attention for a moment please I'm going to turn it over to our legal councel Gregory mcguin to make an announcement for us thank you Mr council president I've had a chance to speak to the fire marshal uh based on his recommendation uh the the council's going to M based on a recommendation of the Township's Fire Marshall the council is going to take a motion in a moment to carry these ordinances to their regular meeting of December 12th the location of that meeting will be in a larger uh venue notice of that venue will be provided in the newspaper it'll be available on the TP website sometime tomorrow but these ordinances will be carried assuming there's a motion adopted by the council the ordinances will be carried to December 12th at 6: pm at a location to be determined so Mr council president be appropriate to adopt a motion in that regard motion second roll call or yes all in favor I you want motion to adjourn motion to adjourn we have a second second all in favor thanks for coming everybody you a Shan