Medevac plan ruled complete

2/4/06

BEDMINSTER -- After more than three hours of contentious debate over two meetings, the Planning Board deemed Thursday that Somerset Airport's application to renovate a hangar for the New Jersey State Police NorthSTAR medevac helicopter operation was complete.

"With an application with such regional significance, there are many issues that need to be addressed," Planning Board Chairman Paul Henderson said about the lengthy completeness review.

A dogfight has erupted between factions for and against NorthSTAR's permanent relocation to Somerset Airport, which is near where Bedminster, Branchburg and Bridgewater meet. The medevac operation moved from the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey's rooftop in Newark about a year ago.

The battle has manifested itself at Planning Board meetings with as many as seven attorneys hired to object the plan in front of a crowd of dozens.

Several attorneys attempted to prove the airport's application was not complete because the airport master plan was outdated.

The airport's planner said the airport master plan is a "visioning" document and may not represent what the airport looks like at the moment. He said the airport's master plan, last revised in 2003, was approved by the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Planning Board asked airport representatives to address issues including groundwater quality, a subject raised in the township's Environmental Commission report, and to provide before the March 2 meeting a site plan that represents exactly what exists at the airport.

A major issue at the next Planning Board meeting will be whether the Planning Board should be hearing the application, said Richard Sasso, an attorney for Malcolm "Steve" Forbes, Leonard Kaufmann, an attorney for the McGinn family, and Alan Harwick, president and attorney for the Bedminster Branchburg Bridgewater Concerned Citizens Coalition. They said the township's Board of Adjustment is the best venue.

During Thursday's Planning Board meeting, the attorneys countered points made by William Mennen, airport co-owner Daniel Walker's attorney.

"It's a constant barrage," Mennen said.

For a moment Thursday, he celebrated the small hurdle of having the application deemed complete. Still, Mennen said he's prepared for a long battle ahead as the airport owners' proposal is considered by the Planning Board.

It's a step along the way -- not the end of the road," Mennen said.

By Kara L. Richardson
Staff Writer