Ramapoughs broke law putting up tepees, judge says

HACKENSACK — The Ramapough Lenape Nation violated local zoning law when it erected tepees on its Mahwah property, a Superior Court judge ruled Friday.

In his decision, Judge Roy F. McGeady rejected the tribe's arguments that they had a constitutional right to the tepees, which are used in religious ceremonies.

“There’s a big difference between praying on the property or conducting religious ceremonies, and creating a structure to do a religious ceremony – a church, a cathedral,” McGeady said on Friday.

McGeady ordered the tribe to pay more than $13,000 in fines for summonses issued on the tepee violations. However, he threw out additional summonses accusing the tribe of moving soil and erecting a renewable energy system without permission.

McGeady's ruling ends a year-long saga that began with a small colony of tepees placed on the tribe's Halifax Road property last fall. Tribe members built the encampment to protest a crude oil pipeline project in North Dakota and the proposed Pilgrim Pipeline in New Jersey.

The property soon became home to other structures, such as a yurt and sweat lodge. Tribe members also invited the public to camp overnight, and people who occupied the property came to refer to themselves as “water protectors" tasked with guarding against a potential oil spill into the area's aquifers.

Township officials argued that all those activities violated local zoning codes and required permits. Failure to obtain those permits earned the tribe dozens of summonses that could have resulted in nearly $40,000 in fines.

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During a trial held over four weeks in October, however, attorneys for the Ramapoughs invoked First Amendment protections, arguing that the tribe’s right to assemble for religious purposes and build tepees was constitutionally protected. They also argued that tepees are not "structures" as defined in zoning codes due to their temporary nature.

McGeady ruled Friday that several objects on the tribe's property that were built using a "combination of materials" – including the tepees, a cook shack and yurt – are all structures that required a permit.

The tribe’s arguments that Mahwah’s zoning ordinances are arbitrary, and that the definition of a structure is vague, are best left to the appellate courts, McGeady said.

McGeady had previously ruled that the tribe does not have sovereign immunity from compliance with the law, despite its status as a state-recognized Native American tribe.

Friday's decision earned grumbles from dozens of tribe supporters, many of whom wore red to court.

But tribe attorney Aaron Kleinbaum said he was heartened that McGeady ruled that the Ramapoughs' religious use of the property for prayer and assembly is permitted.

“I think that’s a very important decision by the judge,” he said.

Perry said the decision "wasn't totally unexpected," and was happy to see the fines reduced.

But, he said, "We're still going to appeal."

Sitting across from the tribe supporters were residents of the Polo Club, a wealthy housing development next to the tribe's property. For months, residents of the development have complained of noise and other disturbances coming from the Ramapough site. Prior to trial, the group had filed a lawsuit calling on the township to enforce its zoning laws.

“Our goal was for the town to enforce the zoning on this property. That’s all we ever wanted,” Polo Club attorney John Lamb said following the verdict.

Mayor Bill Laforet, who did not attend the hearing, said the township was simply following the law, despite Perry's claims of discrimination.

“From the beginning this has been about seeking the appropriate permits as any other resident would do," Laforet said. "Hopefully now there can be some resolution for this issue."

The Ramapough tribe has roots in the area dating to pre-colonial times, when their tribal lands once reached from western Pennsylvania to eastern Connecticut and north to Albany, New York. The modern Ramapoughs primarily reside within a 7-mile radius in New York and New Jersey. Their numbers are about 3,700 locally and an additional 1,200 nationally, according to Perry.

Today, the Halifax Road property is the last sliver of Ramapough land where tribe members can gather for traditional worship and cultural ceremonies.

The tribe acquired the parcel in 1995, but has hosted powwows there as far back as the 1980s with consent from the Polo Club's developer. At those gatherings, Native Americans from across the country performed traditional dances, sold crafts, played music and cooked traditional food. Attendance often ranged from hundreds to possibly thousands.

McGeady said he allowed for extensive testimony on Ramapough history during the trial to help foster a better cultural understanding between the tribe and township, whose name – Mahwah – is a Rampough word meaning "meeting place."

Email: nobile@northjersey.com