JUDGE SUPPORTS BOROUGH’S EFFORTS TO STOP ENCAP FROM SELLING PROPERTIES
NORTH
ARLINGTON - Superior
Court Judge Jonathan Harris ruled yesterday that Cherokee Investment Partners
is prevented from transferring the Bergen County Utilities Authority property
in North Arlington to one of its subsidiaries.
EnCap
actually transferred ownership of the property from Cherokee North Arlington
LLC to another corporate entity -- Cherokee EnCap Phase II – in late
August.
Judge
Harris’ decision came a week after he heard arguments by lawyers representing
North Arlington that Cherokee should be enjoined from selling properties it
owns until the courts make a decision on pending litigation about the viability
of the redevelopment agreement between the borough and EnCap.
The
borough has argued that the agreement is voided because EnCap breached the
contract by failing last March to either demonstrate that it has the financing
for the project or to ask for a one-year extension of the deal.
The
borough not only wants to void the contract, but it is also seeking damages
because EnCap is preventing the borough from seeking alternate redevelopment
options from the site and thereby stopping the town from generating tax
revenue.
Robert
McGowan, the special attorney hired to litigate the EnCap matter said he was
very pleased that Judge Harris agreed with the
borough as to the importance of making sure that the property held by EnCap
North Arlington stays as part of the North Arlington redevelopment plan.
“The
judge agreed with us that there is a substantial public issue with regard to
protecting the property for the redevelopment project,” said McGowan.
There
is a public interest in having the property deemed in need of redevelopment
controlled and properly redeveloped.”
Mayor
Peter Massa said he is hoping that EnCap will recognize that its efforts in
North Arlington are counterproductive. “My community needs to move forward
beyond the debacle that Cherokee has created for North Arlington.
“We
need revenue, we need tax relief and the redevelopment of the meadowlands in a
responsible manner holds great promise for giving our residents that
relief,” said Massa. “I am hopeful that Cherokee will come to the realization
that they are not being good corporate citizens, nor are they acting
responsibly.
Council
president Tanelli echoed those sentiments and said the borough’s redevelopment
advisory committee will be meeting next week to begin sorting through
options for redevelopment of the Meadowlands district.
“Given
the legal and regulatory problems faced by EnCap, the borough need to move
forward to do what is best for our citizens. We need to look at realistic
development options and we need to bring the state in here and see if we can
get commitments from the Corzine administration to help us move beyond EnCap,”
said Tanelli.
