TEWKSBURY TWP. - A Superior Court judge granted a group of township residents' request this morning, Jan. 11 to join in the Johnson helistop appeal as a "defendant-intervenor."
The group, known as Friends of Cold Brook Historic District, sought to join in the Johnsons' appeal of the Tewksbury Land Use Board's decision to deny the family's application for a helistop on the Johnsons' 2,000-acre farm, located on Homestead Road in Oldwick. Members of the Friends include Larry and Amelia Ross and Chris and Lois Kennedy, who live near the helistop's proposed site, as well as Nancy Held, who rides horses in the area.
The Johnsons, of Johnson and Johnson health products fame, submitted the appeal to the Superior Court in Flemington on Oct. 5. In a preliminary decision released yesterday, the judge hearing the case, Peter Buchsbaum, asserted that the Friends "soundly demonstrated" that they satisfied the criteria to become intervenors in the lawsuit via the 83-page brief the group's attorney, James Rhatican, submitted on their behalf.
The Johnsons' attorney, Miles Winder, contested the judge's preliminary ruling in oral argument this morning, but was unsuccessful in reversing Buchsbaum's decision.
The Land Use Board and the Township of Tewksbury were the original defendants named in the Johnsons' lawsuit; the Friends' acceptance as intervenors will bring the family's adversaries in the case up to three.
In an interview yesterday, Jan. 10, Rhatican explained that as intervenors, the Friends will submit briefs and participate in oral arguments in the suit. He said he expected it would take about six months before the judge reaches a decision on whether or not to deny the Johnsons' appeal.
In addition to the lawsuit, in September the Johnsons submitted an application to the state Department of Transportation for a helistop license. Rhatican submitted comments on his clients' behalf opposing the application during the public comment period in October, as did the Tewksbury Township Committee.
Source: http://newjerseyhills.com
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