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DEVELOPER LOSES RULING TO SNAKES IN EVESHAM
Date: 040222
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/
By Mike Mathis, Burlington County Times, February 20, 2004
Mount Holly - A developer cannot proceed with construction of 22
homes in an area of the Pinelands in Evesham where two types of
protected snakes have been found, an appeals court ruled yesterday.
Signature Homes at Forest Lakes has municipal approval to construct
the houses at the Sanctuary development off Hopewell Road.
However, Evesham refused to issue building permits on the advice of
the state Pinelands Commission, despite a settlement in an earlier
lawsuit that allowed for more construction.
In that case, the commission was acting to protect endangered timber
rattlesnakes found onsite.
Signature Homes filed a lawsuit against the commission and Evesham
last March. But in a ruling issued in April, Superior Court Assignment
Judge John A. Sweeney said the settlement was limited only to the
future discovery of timber rattlesnakes, and the Pinelands Commission
was legally obligated to protect other endangered species if they are
found.
In its opinion, the appeals court upheld Sweeney's decision and ruled
that an agreement Signature Homes reached to construct additional
homes at the site did not give it the right to receive additional
building permits.
Signature Homes paid $7.2 million for 60 building lots in the
Sanctuary in November 2000 and invested $1.7 million in infrastructure
improvements. Thirty-eight of those 60 homes have been built or are
under construction.
Building permits for the remaining 22 homes were withheld because
threatened northern pine snakes were found at the Sanctuary in June
2002.
"We are satisfied that Signature attempts to read too much into the
November 2000 settlement," the three-judge panel wrote.
"The settlement did not vest the property owner with an immutable
right to receive 60 construction permits which passed to Signature
when it purchased this land."
Richard Hluchan, an attorney for Signature Homes, could not be
reached for comment on the case yesterday.
Fran Rapa, commission spokes-man, said the Pinelands panel is pleased
with the appellate court's ruling.
"Once again, the courts have upheld the Pinelands Commis-sion
obligation to protect critical habitat and natural resources," he
said.
The commission first halted construction at the Sanctuary in 1998
after timber rattle-snakes were found there.
The site owner, who had built 103 homes by that time, sued the
commission, Evesham and Bur-lington County in an attempt to overturn
the decision.
In November 2000, the commission reached a settlement with the owners
and developers of the Sanctuary, allowing them to build another 144
homes. In exchange, the site owner agreed to sell land to the state
and to Evesham and to pay for measures to protect the snakes.
* * *
Date: 040222
From: http://www.phillyburbs.com/
By Mike Mathis, Burlington County Times, February 20, 2004
Mount Holly - A developer cannot proceed with construction of 22
homes in an area of the Pinelands in Evesham where two types of
protected snakes have been found, an appeals court ruled yesterday.
Signature Homes at Forest Lakes has municipal approval to construct
the houses at the Sanctuary development off Hopewell Road.
However, Evesham refused to issue building permits on the advice of
the state Pinelands Commission, despite a settlement in an earlier
lawsuit that allowed for more construction.
In that case, the commission was acting to protect endangered timber
rattlesnakes found onsite.
Signature Homes filed a lawsuit against the commission and Evesham
last March. But in a ruling issued in April, Superior Court Assignment
Judge John A. Sweeney said the settlement was limited only to the
future discovery of timber rattlesnakes, and the Pinelands Commission
was legally obligated to protect other endangered species if they are
found.
In its opinion, the appeals court upheld Sweeney's decision and ruled
that an agreement Signature Homes reached to construct additional
homes at the site did not give it the right to receive additional
building permits.
Signature Homes paid $7.2 million for 60 building lots in the
Sanctuary in November 2000 and invested $1.7 million in infrastructure
improvements. Thirty-eight of those 60 homes have been built or are
under construction.
Building permits for the remaining 22 homes were withheld because
threatened northern pine snakes were found at the Sanctuary in June
2002.
"We are satisfied that Signature attempts to read too much into the
November 2000 settlement," the three-judge panel wrote.
"The settlement did not vest the property owner with an immutable
right to receive 60 construction permits which passed to Signature
when it purchased this land."
Richard Hluchan, an attorney for Signature Homes, could not be
reached for comment on the case yesterday.
Fran Rapa, commission spokes-man, said the Pinelands panel is pleased
with the appellate court's ruling.
"Once again, the courts have upheld the Pinelands Commis-sion
obligation to protect critical habitat and natural resources," he
said.
The commission first halted construction at the Sanctuary in 1998
after timber rattle-snakes were found there.
The site owner, who had built 103 homes by that time, sued the
commission, Evesham and Bur-lington County in an attempt to overturn
the decision.
In November 2000, the commission reached a settlement with the owners
and developers of the Sanctuary, allowing them to build another 144
homes. In exchange, the site owner agreed to sell land to the state
and to Evesham and to pay for measures to protect the snakes.
* * *