March 2010
Monthly Archive
Wind Turbine in Court: A Brief Recap
Posted by robert.w.burke on 26 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: General
Oral arguments before Judge Volkert in Passaic County were quite interesting today. The Judge indicated he would be rendering a written opinion within two weeks on our motion which seeks to (1) reverse the Planning Board rejection of our wind turbine and order the issuance of building permits; & (2) overturn the Town’s ordinance banning wind turbines from being within 10 football fields of schools, houses and daycare centers.
I thought that the Judge asked some very good questions, and was obviously quite well prepared. Here are a few of his observations:
1. Judge Volkert remarked that the very first hearing started out with hostility. He noted that Paul Margiotta, then a Councilman & Planning Board member, stated on the record that he supported wind energy as part of the Town’s cogeneration facility. Thus, Margiotta noted, he is not against wind energy — just against it at my car wash.
Judge Volkert commented that the Town must have had enough information to approve a wind turbine for their own project — and they must have believed it would not be inherently dangerous. He seemed to think the Town’s approval of its own turbine was inconsistent with its rejection of mine.
2. Judge Volkert also indicated that it seemed unreasonable to declare that the Planning Board could reject my application because I did not bring a sound expert yet refused to consider significant amounts of fact evidence on sound that we tried to present.
3. Judge Volkert responded to the Planning Board’s contention that they could not have approved my application because the objectors had the right to be heard before any decision was rendered. Judge Volkert noted that the objectors were quite active during the hearing and that perhaps the Planning Board didn’t manage the time very well during the hearing. Indeed, Judge Volkert pointed out that there were 10 pages of transcripts devoted to where the objectors would sit during the hearing.
4. Judge Volkert also asked whether there was a limit to the size of the flag that I am permitted to fly atop my 65 foot tall flagpole. The Town’s lawyers weren’t aware of any such limit.
Now, I could drone on about what my attorney said or about what the NJ Environmental Lobby said. Or what the Town’s lawyers had to say. But none of that matters so much. At this point, its all about what Judge Volkert has to say.
I was glad to hear his questions. He clearly made a real effort to study the facts and the law. His questions and comments were insightful.
The question we all should be left with though, is this:
Why does the Town insist on continuing to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in a war of attrition against me, while simultaneously cutting guidance counselors, world languages, sports, home economics and other extracurricular activities from the schools?
The education of our children is demonstrably suffering while the Town spends without control to fund a personal vendetta.
What’s up with that?
Stay tuned for Judge Volkert’s decision.
As my father used to say…
Posted by robert.w.burke on 25 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: General
Another Court Victory — NJ Environmental Lobby Enters the Fray
Posted by robert.w.burke on 09 Mar 2010 | Tagged as: General