TOMS RIVER - The township is in settlement talks with two North Dover land owners who sued Toms River after their parcels was rezoned, greatly lowering the number of homes they could build on the properties.

"We are having discussions," said Toms River lawyer Harvey L. York, who represents landowners Jennette Lipschitz and Hecht Trailers LLC. York filed suit on their behalf in May 2017, challenging the Township Council's decision to rezone more than 60 acres of land in North Dover.

The rezoned land is between Cox Cro and Whitesville roads, not far from the Lakewood border, in an area where more than 1,400 homes have either been completed or are under development.

Development on the rezoned properties would be restricted to one house for each two acres, compared with one for every half-acre before the zone change. That would lower the amount of homes permitted on the parcels from 100 to 25.

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A builder could still cluster homes on half-acre lots on a portion of the rezoned area, but only if 50 percent of the development is set aside as open space.

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"The parties are currently in the discovery phase and are discussing settlement," Assistant Township Attorney Anthony Merlino said.

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The lawsuit York filed last spring claimed the zoning change greatly reduced the value of the Lipschitz and Hecht properties. The suit says that the township had expressed interest in purchasing the properties for open space, but township officials did not follow up on initial conversations about the purchase.

The lawsuit claims the rezoning ordinance is not consistent with the township's master plan, an allegation denied by the township in Toms River's response to the lawsuit.

York said that before the rezoning ordinance was adopted, Hecht Trailers had entered into a contract with Lakewood Investments LLC, to purchase the Hecht portion of the property for $5 million. He said Jenette Lipschitz also had a offer to purchase her portion of the land for $5 million, although no contract was ever signed.

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The Republican council majority called the rezoning a legal way “to tackle the problem of overdevelopment due to a sharp increase in the construction of high-density housing in the North Dover section of the township,” in a prepared statement released to the media after the vote last May.

The rezoning ordinance "was the result of months of meetings and deliberation about how to serve all the residents of Toms River moving forward," the GOP council members said.

It was applauded by many residents of North Dover, who have frequently complained that overdevelopment has permanently altered the character of the formerly rural area.

York said that Toms River's master plan, which was revised last year, did not recommend changing the zoning on the Whitesville Road properties.

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But Township Planner David Roberts said last year that the rezoning is supported by the master plan, which stresses the importance of open space conservation and the need to shift high-density development away from the North Dover area and toward downtown, which the township hopes to redevelop.

He said the Planning Board recommended the zoning be changed after reviewing the rezoning ordinance last week.

The rezoning ordinance was adopted following a public hearing at which Jesse Goldstein, a local lawyer and real estate developer, claimed the council's real motive was was to prevent Orthodox Jews from moving into the area.

“It’s not right. It’s not legal. It’s not moral,” said Goldstein, a Toms River resident, at the meeting. “This is 'Toms River Strong' all over again.”

Signs proclaiming "Don't Sell! Toms River Strong," cropped up in North Dover about two years ago, urging neighborhood residents not to give in to real estate agents who residents said were pressuring them to sell their homes to Orthodox Jewish families eager to move to Toms River.

"Instead of 100 homes, you want 25, so you can keep 75 families out of Toms River,” lawyer York said at the time. "Strangely enough, you are not doing it in any other part of town.”

Jean Mikle: 732-643-4050, @jeanmikle, jmikle@gannettnj.com