Wanaque prepares to do battle in court with 'horror' town house developer

• Appeal of stop work order is dropped, paving the way for protracted litigation.
• Officials had hoped a 10-page agreement signed last year would be enough to avoid a court fight.
• Work at the site will cease until the matter is resolved in court.

WANAQUE — Efforts by officials to work with the developer of a 47-unit town house project have disintegrated, and a protracted legal battle now looms.

The Lakeside Manor project, derided by neighbors as the "horror" of the neighborhood, goes back 20 years.

At a location off Conklintown Road near the Ringwood border, the plan 20 years ago was for eight buildings to be erected.

The buildings were partially built and abandoned.

The developer had also begun work on a 128-home development up the street called Mountain Lakes Estates. That project also stalled, and three unfinished homes and the foundation for a fourth were left behind to decay. 

Last year things appeared to be back on track after developer Jacinto Rodrigues agreed to demolish the long-abandoned building that had stood rotting for 15 years. 

Borough officials hammered out a 16-point agreement with the developer's attorney, Eric Abraham, last year, resulting in the demolition of the town houses. It marked a major turning point in the long-standing dispute among the borough, neighbors and the developer. The 10-page agreement contained detailed stipulations and timelines that placed a countdown clock on the developer to finish both projects.

Officials hoped the agreement would be a way to avoid litigation with Rodrigues, but much has changed since then, and Borough Attorney Anthony Fiorello said to expect a lawsuit any day now.

"It's the inevitable," said Mayor Daniel Mahler, adding that Rodrigues has been uncooperative for many years. "We thought we had an agreement that he'd work with, and he hasn't. And I know the residents up there are very frustrated, and so are we."

Under the agreement, the developer razed the unfinished, abandoned building and paved Mountain Lakes Drive, Humbert Place and Linda Drive. At that point the  borough authorized returning a $100,000 cash bond.

In December a stop-work order was handed down to the developer by the borough for failure to meet a key deadline and for not obtaining a building permit after plans were repeatedly rejected for deficiencies.

For the past few months the matter was pending before the Passaic County Construction Board of Appeals. Rodrigues had appealed the stop-work order, saying the borough issued it without proper cause.

The path to Superior Court

Fiorello explained Monday that the hearings before that board were simply the first step before things advanced to state Superior Court.

"In order to go to court, first there is a principle in the law you have to exhaust your administrative appeals," he said before the Borough Council voted on a related stipulation on Monday.  

The two sides reached a stalemate because even if the board ruled in favor of the developer, Fiorello explained, the borough would simply issue another stop-work order and they would be back before the Construction Board of Appeals "eternally." Instead, the developer agreed to withdraw the appeal.

A lawsuit was widely expected, with Abraham threatening such a move throughout the negotiations for last year's agreement. Fiorello said the borough received a letter from the developer earlier this year promising future litigation. 

The matter, Fiorello said, may drag on for about a year depending on how depositions go. The stop-work order will remain in effect until that case is resolved.

Abraham did not respond to a phone message for comment.

Fiorello noted that after several attempts, and after months had elapsed, the developer finally did submit plans that were complete. By that time the stop-work order was already in effect, he said. The borough's construction code official was instructed by legal counsel not to issue the permit, according to the stipulation the council voted on Monday.

Based on last year's 10-page agreement, the builder's rights to develop the site are now forfeited and the land is expected to become open space under the terms of the Highlands Water Protection and Planning Act. 

Mountain Lakes homes

Meanwhile, the April 30 deadline for the completion of the three Mountain Lakes Estates houses has passed.

"He was supposed to fix those three houses at Mountain Lakes," Mahler said. "He hasn't touched them."

The agreement does not specifically address the fate of the three homes, whether they should be ordered demolished or who would cover such costs. It does speak in broader terms, however. If work on the project stops for four months, the project is deemed abandoned and the cash portion of the performance bond will be used to restore the uncompleted portion of the property. 

Follow Jai Agnish on Twitter: @JaiAgnish. Email: agnish@northjersey.com.