The New Jersey Supreme Court today dismissed the appeal of the Hamilton Township Planning Board in Levin Properties, L.P. v. Hamilton Tp. Planning Board without opinion on the ground that the Court had improperly granted certification. The Planning Board had asked the Court to drastically change long-established principles of zoning law and allow it to reject a site plan application by Levin Properties that complied in all respects with the Township’s zoning ordinance. The brief and argument on behalf of Levin Properties persuaded the Court that the facts of this case were not appropriate for the Court to reconsider the well-settled principle that planning boards enforce the local zoning ordinance and must approve a site plan application that complies with its provisions. James M. Hirschhorn, an appellate lawyer with Sills Cummis in Newark, argued the case for Levin Properties. Mr. Hirschhorn and Bruce Samuels of Frizzell & Samuels were on the brief. To view Mr. Hirschhorn’s briefs, see the March 15, 2007 blog entry below.
