Lakewood's Eagle Ridge Golf Club: Lawsuit fights houses, says town screwed up master plan

LAKEWOOD - A group of residents here has filed a civil lawsuit alleging township leaders mishandled a months-long planning process that has threatened to turn Eagle Ridge Golf Club into a 1,000-home complex.

A lawyer for the Fairways at Lake Ridge Homeowners Association, which filed the case, said the township's planning board and committee violated state law when adopting a master plan last year.

Instead, the board members played to developers' interests, lawyer Michele R. Donato said Wednesday.

"It wasn’t a master plan process. It was simply responding primarily to developers who wanted increased density," she said.

Fairways residents have been exceptionally vocal in opposing development of the adjacent 27-hole golf course in southwest Lakewood. Their concerns largely surround environmental and traffic impacts, and their lawsuit caps months of debate.

See why one couple opposes construction in the video at the top of this story.

The civil complaint filed Jan. 12 in Ocean County Superior Court puts new legal firepower behind their effort. It came one day after state environmental regulators gave the green light to build on the golf course.

On Jan. 11, the state Department of Environmental Protection issued permits to developer GDMS Holdings LLC to build 1,034 homes, duplexes and basement apartments at the site.

The environmental approval cleared the project to move forward, though there's a significant amount of work to be done – such as gaining approval from the township committee and planning board – before houses spring up. The lawsuit presents another challenge to that construction.

Read more on the Eagle Ridge development:

Lakewood's Eagle Ridge Golf Club to be sold

Developer appeals after NJ kills Lakewood 1,800-home plan at Eagle Ridge

Lakewood golf course OK'd by NJ for over 1,000 homes

Lakewood's Eagle Ridge Golf Club: Letters, money pile up against development

There is no further chance for public feedback to the state environmental department, but there is another recourse.

"Any member of the public could file an administrative appeal," DEP spokesman Larry Hajna said. "So far we have not received any requests."

It's likely the Fairways residents, who have been raising money to pay Donato to advocate on their behalf, will challenge those permits.

Lawsuit claims

If their lawsuit is successful, development of the land may not happen at all.

The civil filing asks a judge to declare the master plan invalid and void subsequent ordinances passed by the Lakewood Township Committee. It also asks a judge to place a protective trust on the golf course until GDMS agrees to protect the open space.

The 31-page complaint filed by Donato and the homeowners association lists several reasons why a judge should take those measures, including claims that:

The planning board did not follow state Municipal Land Use Law, particularly when it comes to considering environmental impact and requiring or preserving open space.

There are inconsistencies between ordinances passed by the township committee and the directives of the planning board, particularly related to road improvements that must come before rezoning.

Committeeman Meir Lichtenstein had a conflict of interest, and the mayor's designee on the planning board should have been disqualified because she does not live in Lakewood.

Lichtenstein is president of MSL Property Management, and the lawsuit says his clients include three principals of GDMS, the company that wants to develop Eagle Ridge.

Lichtenstein initially voted in support of the ordinances enacting the master plan, but was absent when the committee took its second and final vote.

He has previously told the Asbury Park Press he has no direct involvement in GDMS, but some of the people who have an interest in it are his clients. He was not sure if they’re principals or not.

“I know they have some connection to that business. They have some business interest,” he said in December.

The lawsuit names the Lakewood planning board, township committee and GDMS Holdings as defendants. Lichtenstein and township attorney Steven Secare could not be reached for comment about the lawsuit late Wednesday.

Mayor Raymond Coles, who is in his second consecutive year as mayor, said Wednesday he had not seen the lawsuit and could not comment on pending litigation.

But he said Angela Zografos, his designee to the planning board, and Lichtenstein were both cleared to participate by the township attorney, Secare.

Environmental permits

A representative of developer GDMS Holdings said Wednesday the company was not yet aware of the lawsuit.

As to the environmental approval, he said the company had worked to create a trimmed-down development plan that environmental regulators and the community could agree with.

"It's really a win for what the public wanted to see in the area," said Shmuli Rosenberg, CEO of the marketing firm fwd | NYC and who said he represents GDMS. "GDMS is 100 percent focused on trying to develop this in a way that’s beneficial to the community."

About 60 acres of open space will be preserved, he said.

Michael Gross, an attorney for GDMS, praised the DEP for its rigorous process, noting months of review and public feedback have taken place.

"We look forward in the coming days and weeks of continuing the dialogue with all interested parties as we prepare to move forward with the project," he said in a statement. Gross could not be reached to comment on the lawsuit.

GDMS' initial plan, which included 1,800 homes on the golf course, was rejected last year by the Department of Environmental Protection, leading to the months-long process of public backlash, a settlement in November and ultimately the permit that was issued this month.

That unfolded as the township planning board was considering the master plan, a more than 300-page document meant to set guidelines for how much – and where – new businesses and homes can go in the township of more than 100,000 residents.

Dozens of residents, largely retirees and senior citizens and those living at the Fairways, have spent hours and hours writing thousands of letters to the state and speaking in public meetings trying to halt development of the golf course.

They were joined in opposition to the master plan by a contingent of residents who voiced concern that Lakewood has outgrown its infrastructure and should slow growth. Last year, law enforcement officials in part attributed an increase in deadly traffic crashes here to the soaring population.

Rob Robison is a member of the Fairways at Lake Ridge Homeowners Association who has become an organizer of sorts for residents who want to see the golf course survive that growth.

"We would clearly prefer to be talking with all the affected parties on a number of plausible solutions that protect the interests of the current owners, protect the lifestyle of the Fairways residents, protect the value of the Fairways properties and the longstanding open space," he said.

"We would prefer to find solutions than fight, but we will not forgo our rights and options."

Stacey Barchenger: sbarchenger@gannettnj.com; 732-642-4245; @sbarchenger