Neighbors Rally To Stop Development On Tallwood Way In Berkeley
BERKELEY, NJ — A group of neighbors are challenging the prior approval of a variance on Tallwood Way that would pave the way for the construction of a 24-apartment complex.
It’s a “David and Goliath story,” according to Mike Baldi, who along with his wife Anne and neighbor Kelly Czupkiewicz filed a lawsuit against the Berkeley Township Zoning Board of Adjustment and the applicants, 2310 Highway 9 LLC and La Pierre LLC, who went before the board seeking approvals earlier this year.
It was this past April when the application initially had a public hearing. Many neighbors spoke out and ultimately, the Zoning Board rejected the request to subdivide the property. Read more: Neighbors Oppose 24-Unit Apartment Complex In Berkeley
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But just a month later, and without any additional notice, the board held a revote on the matter, claiming an illegible board member voted. This time, the subdivision of the property was approved, meaning that the applicants would have to come back later to get site plan approval. Read more: New Vote Held On Tallwood Way Variance In Berkeley
This didn’t sit well with the Baldis and Czupkiewicz, who explained why they filed the suit in a phone interview with Patch.
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“It’s really so interesting to a bystander, but to us, it’s really emotional in a number of ways,” Mike Baldi, who’s lived a street over from the proposed development for nearly 50 years.
He acknowledged that real estate companies are businesses and need to make money.
“I don’t want to step on anyone’s toes and prevent the advancement of business,” he said, but he felt that this particular situation was done in all the wrong ways. The lawsuit claims that applicant La Pierre LLC is a “shell company,” calling it a fictional entity.
“It’s just absurd,” Czupkiewicz said. One thing the applicants said at their hearing was that having a three-story apartment building in that spot was beneficial as “this part of town is really devoid” of similar housing, and said it would be better than single-family homes – particularly as the property faces the back of the post office. To her, it made no sense, and was one of the many issues she and the Baldis had with the application.
When La Pierre LLC presented their proposal to the board, many residents were concerned about traffic issues with regard to the existing care center and exacerbation of existing flooding problems.
The flooding problem is “so real,” said Czupkiewicz, a resident of Butler Boulevard for 38 years. She noted that just this past week roads flooded, even without a significant amount of rain. That’s why the three hope to see an environmental study complete, especially as the property is near a contaminated waste site.
They’re also worried about how it will impact the residents of Tallwoods Care Center, many of whom are terminal.
“They’re going to have a construction site in their backyard,” Mike Baldi said.
The hope of the lawsuit is to get the matter remanded to the Zoning Board and have another vote held, addressing the issues named in the lawsuit. The three also hope to get more neighbors involved. They want homeowners to be more powerful and use their voices.
They’re not sure how it will go and acknowledged that it’s a “David and Goliath” type of story, with three neighbors facing off against a larger entity. But the Baldis and Czupkiewicz said they will keep fighting.
“Some people think we can’t win,” Mike Baldi said. “I think we can.”
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