Save Leonia Zoning

CONTACT
Judah Zeigler
Save Leonia Zoning
(201) 446-4603
saveleoniazoning@gmail.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Appeal Filed in Leonia Planning Board

Decision
Press release
Leonia, NJ - May 4, 2015 A group of Leonia residents has joined together to form an association
called Save Leonia Zoning, and have filed an appeal to the Leonia Mayor and Council regarding the
decision of the Leonia Planning Board to approve an application for construction of a four-story, 37unit apartment building with a private 84-space parking lot on a property zoned for single-family
homes.
Under the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, the Mayor and Council have 95 days to schedule a
meeting to consider whether or not to affirm or reject the Leonia Planning Boards decision.
The notice of appeal, filed with the Leonia Borough Clerk, cites several reasons for its initiation:
The applicant failed to obtain the votes necessary for approval of the requested variances;
The applicant failed to demonstrate by competent proof the positive criteria for the grant of a use
variance;
The applicant failed to demonstrate by competent proof the negative criteria for the grant of a user
variance;
Other procedural irregularities which will render the decision void.
Save Leonia Zoning has retained Richard Abrahamsen of the Abrahamsen Law Firm of Edgewater,
NJ to represent them in the appellate process. Mr. Abrahamsen has represented similar associations
in other municipalities, most recently successfully appealing a decision by the Oradell Planning Board.
Save Leonia Zoning has initiated a petition both online and offline for residents of Leonia to voice their
disapproval of the current application, and has already obtained over 500 signatures of Leonia
residents.
They are also soliciting donations to offset the costs of legal fees, estimated to be approximately
$15,000.
According to Judah Zeigler, the Chairman of the Save Leonia Zoning Steering Committee, the
precedent-setting effect of the decision is what drove the decision to file an appeal. Leonia has been
able to maintain its special residential character solely by stringently protecting its zoning ordinances,
Zeigler said. The Leonia Planning Board, by granting eight variances for a single piece of property,

Save Leonia Zoning saveleoniazoning@gmail.com

effectively negated the zoning laws governing that property, and set a dangerous precedent which
could be used by other developers that might wish to overdevelop other parcels of land in the
Borough.
Zeigler went on to state that the members of Save Leonia Zoning are not opposed to the construction
of a multi-family dwelling at 313 Woodland Place; we believe that the developer can and should
substantively amend their application to one which is not four stories tall, and which has fewer units
than the 37 in the application which is the current subject of the appeal. There is no question that the
applicant can construct a multi-family dwelling with a much smaller footprint, allowing them to
profitably develop the property, and add new ratables to our tax rate, all without destroying the
residential character of our community.
Joseph Bevacqua, a former Planning Board Chairman and member for over 20 years, went on to
state that in my opinion, the decision by the Leonia Planning Board is clearly not representative of
what a majority of Leonians want for our town and frankly, the current application is one which should
have been rejected immediately by the Board. We are very hopeful that the Leonia Mayor and
Council, who are our elected representatives, will act in the best interests of their constituents and
reject the Planning Boards decision, which would then pave the way for discussions with the
developer on alternative proposals which are more in keeping with our Master Plan, and with Leonias
residential character.
Save Leonia Zoning is led by a Steering Committee of Leonia residents who have also listed their
names as individuals on the notice of appeal. They are:
Judah Zeigler (Chair)
Joseph Bevacqua
Frank Livelli
Mary Miraglia
Andrea Solomon
Julie Ulbrich
Roland Weimer
William Ziegler

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Save Leonia Zoning saveleoniazoning@gmail.com