Medevac battle grinds on Number of attorneys, suits expected to prolong case

4/2/06

The seemingly endless battle over whether the NorthSTAR medevac helicopter can remain at Somerset Airport raged on Friday as a Superior Court judge heard arguments from several different sides, including attorneys for Bedminster, the airport's owner, neighboring residents and a concerned citizens group.

After a 31¼2 hour hearing at the Historic Courthouse in Somerville, Judge Robert Reed scheduled a May 19 hearing on a suit that addresses what is perhaps the largest issue -- whether state law permits a medevac helicopter to be based at a nonmedical facility, such as an airport.

In the meantime, Reed will render a decision Tuesday afternoon on a lawsuit that seeks to reverse an approval of the Bedminster airport's plans to expand its septic system to allow for permanent quarters for NorthSTAR staff, including bathrooms, showers and office space.

The suit, filed by the Bedminster Bridgewater Branchburg Concerned Citizens Coalition against the airport, seeks to reverse an approval granted by the Bedminster Board of Health last month.

Neighboring residents, including former presidential candidate Steve Forbes, have also joined the suit, arguing they will be directly affected by the airport's potential expansion because their property borders the facility.

The airport's opponents see the expansion of the septic system as the first step to the eventual expansion of the airport. But the airport's owner, Dan Walker, has already begun work on the septic system, which included razing half an acre of trees.

Richard Sasso, the lawyer for Forbes, asked the judge to order Walker to stop work on the septic system until a decision is rendered Tuesday. But citing deference to local authorities, Reed told Walker to continue working in line with the Board of Health permit, but at his own peril.

NorthSTAR's New Jersey State Police pilots and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey hospital paramedics moved the medevac operation from Newark to Somerset Airport about a year ago and had a special-use permit to operate out of trailers on the property.

When the permits expired Feb. 28, the NorthSTAR staff decided to move into the airport's existing offices. However, township officials said NorthSTAR's permission to be on the property came with the special-use permit -- and since it expired, the medevac operation would have to leave.

On March 20, Reed ruled that the NorthSTAR medevac helicopter could stay at Somerset Airport without penalty while the courts sort out whether the operation should be allowed on the property.

That could take a while.

Because there are at least six lawsuits involving Somerset Airport, Reed has attempted to consolidate the cases in what he described as a "combined and hopefully not too convoluted proceeding."

As a result of the number of attorneys involved in the case, the septic tank lawsuit alone will take several hearings and witnesses before it is resolved, attorneys said Friday.

Bedminster Township, represented by Santina Bombaci on Friday, and the citizens coalition both argued that the time-consuming hearings are matters more appropriate for the Bedminster Board of Adjustment.

Both parties argue that because the airport is planning to change the use of the site, Walker should seek a use variance from the board. But Walker's attorney, William G. Mennen IV, has said the use of the site will not be changed and that the hearings should remain with Reed.

On Tuesday, Reed's decision is likely to be whether he will hear the case himself or remand it back to Bedminster's Board of Adjustment, said Alan Hartwick, the lawyer for the citizens coalition.

One issue resolved Friday turned out to be a win for Walker. A lawsuit by the coalition and Bridgewater Township had challenged Bedminster zoning board's decision that helicopters are a permitted use at the airport.

Mennen had filed a motion to dismiss the complaint, and Reed granted the motion Friday, ruling that according to state law, Somerset Airport is a licensed aeronautical facility, at which any aircraft, including airplanes and helicopters, are permitted.

The judge plans to render his decision at 3:15 p.m. Tuesday in the Historic Courthouse in Somerville.

Giovanna Fabino
Staff Writer