JACKSON - The township's controversial new restrictions on dormitory and school construction "target the Orthodox Jewish community" in violation of the First Amendment and federal statutes, two groups argue in a lawsuit.

The Jewish advocacy group Agudath Israel of America and prospective school-builder WR Property LLC filed suit Monday in U.S. District Court in Trenton. They argue that a pair of ordinances, adopted in March, infringe on religious freedoms protected by the First Amendment and violate the federal Fair Housing Act and Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act.

That latter strictly prohibits municipalities from imposing overly burdensome land use regulations on religious groups. It is a mainstay of challenges by religious groups pushing back against government restriction on their property.

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Avi Schnall, director of Agudath Israel's New Jersey office, said the lawsuit was a last resort. He said council members never responded to requests for meetings to work out a compromise before the ordinances were passed.

“This is not as if we’re jumping at an opportunity to sue the township. But we’re not going to have our rights stripped from us,” Schnall said.

Township council members reached by the Press said they could not comment on pending litigation. Township attorney Jean Cipriani did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

The legal challenge comes at a time of immense culture change in Jackson, where Orthodox Jewish families are turning to avoid the congestion of Lakewood. The population there has skyrocketed beyond an estimated 99,000 residents, with much of the growth attributed to an ever-expanding religious community

Schnall estimated there are about 400 Jewish Orthodox families in Jackson, making the township a prime candidate for religious schools and dormitories.

The other plaintiff, WR Property, is a shell company that purchased a five-acre plot on White Road in February 2016, with the sole purpose of building an Orthodox Jewish religious school. The developer has since "lost opportunities" as a result of the ordinance changes, according to the complaint.

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“The ordinances are the latest action by the township in a long campaign to erect a wall on its border with Lakewood Township, where many Orthodox Jews live, in order to discourage them from moving into Jackson,” according to the complaint, signed by Sieglinde Rath, an attorney representing Agudath Israel and WR Property.

In an earlier lawsuit, Rath's law firm, Storzer & Associates, successfully argued that an Ocean Township group's plans to build a yeshiva there were protected by RLUIPA.

The pair of ordinances adopted by the Jackson council in March focus solely on legal construction. Makeshift dormitories or schools — like the one that burned down in Lakewood last year — were already illegal under housing codes.

The new ordinances:

Ban dormitories — defined as buildings "designed or converted to contain living quarters" used by schools, colleges or religious groups — throughout the town.

Restrict school construction — both public and private — to three relatively small zones: neighborhood commercial; limited commercial; and planned mixed unit residential development.

Dormitories are closely linked to the religious schools of the area's growing Jewish Orthodox community. During public hearings on the restrictions, proponents often referenced Lakewood, where residents have attributed traffic jams and overdevelopment to the growing Orthodox Jewish community.

The only dormitories in Jackson are housing units operated by Six Flags Great Adventure for its seasonal employees. There are no Jewish-specific schools.

The lawsuit claims that the dormitory restrictions are only the most recent in a history of slights against the Orthodox Jewish community by township officials:

In 2015, the town council strengthened a “no-knock” anti-solicitation ordinance, prompted by complaints of Orthodox Jewish real estate agents and speculators refusing to take “no” for an answer when trying to encourage a sale.

Last year, the council passed a resolution calling for police to not cooperate with non-Jackson neighborhood watch groups. The resolution was aimed at the Lakewood Civilian Safety Watch, a Lakewood group, despite Police Chief Matthew Kunz stating there was “no evidence” of the group breaking any laws.

The township pushed for a restriction on the number of bedrooms in affordable housing units near the Lakewood border as part of a settlement with the state. Jewish religious beliefs “often result in larger family sizes and a need for more bedrooms,” the complaint states.



The complaint also highlights various comments posted to APP.com articles about Jackson as examples of “anti-Orthodox” sentiment.

One of the comments cited in the complaint: “I witness too many times the Hasidics pulling out their cards from the government for free stuff. And now they want to take our very town from us."

Mike Davis: 732-643-4223; mdavis@gannettnj.com