Medevac application grounds as "incomplete"

1/11/06

Roomful Of Lawyers

BEDMINSTER TWP. – A long-awaited hearing on a proposed Medevac helicopter base at Somerset Airport didn’t get off the ground last Thursday, Jan. 5, as plans were found to be incomplete.

By a 6-2 vote, with three new members siding with the majority, the Planning Board declined to begin hearing the application because it didn’t contain a “current and complete” airport master plan as required.

That means another delay while airport officials scramble for the necessary documentation from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Meanwhile, the clock continues to tick on a special township permit allowing the Medevac staff to use a temporary office trailer at the airport until Feb. 28.

The airport is proposing to convert an existing hangar into offices for Medevac employees, while continuing to house the helicopter in an adjacent hangar.

Nearby residents, most notably those belonging to the Bedminster Branchburg Bridgewater Concerned Citizens Coalition (BBBCCC), are opposed to the relocation of the Medevac helicopter to Bedminster.

They say noise and fumes from the State Police rescue chopper have harmed their quality of life and property values. They also fear that a permanent Medevac facility could be expanded into a larger State Police helicopter base.

The public hearing process promises to be a drawn-out and technical one, as attorneys for opponents and “interested parties” explore all legal means to block the Medevac relocation.

Last Thursday’s meeting drew a crowd of nearly 100 people, including attorneys for the township, airport, BBBCCC, Bridgewater Township, airport neighbor and former presidential candidate Malcolm “Steve” Forbes Jr., and nearby residents David King and Phoebe Weseley.

Minutes after three new Planning Board members – Jason Andris of Long Lane, Kimberly Hatch of Pottersville Road and Charles Eader of The Hills – were sworn-in, BBBCCC attorney Alan Harwick asked that they be disqualified from hearing the airport application because they were appointed by Mayor Robert Holtaway.

Holtaway, who operates a glider business out of Somerset Airport, has recused himself from the case.

Harwick also sought to disqualify Zaheer Jan, who was called to the dais to sit in as “mayor’s designate.” Jan, a resident of the Timberbrooke townhouse complex, is a former Democratic candidate for Township Committee.

Harwick argued that Andris, Hatch, Eader and Jan should not be allowed to hear the airport case because of bias created by Holtaway. He said all were present when Holtaway labeled the BBBCCC a “terrorist” organization at the Township Committee’s ceremonial reorganization meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 3.

“I have genuine concerns based upon the comments made by Mr. Holtaway,” said Harwick. The new members “cannot help but being affected” by the comments, which could “cloud their judgment,” he added.

All four denied being biased either in favor of or against the airport.

Jan said he “absolutely” could be objective in the airport case, and found it “insulting” that Harwick would suggest otherwise.

Andris concurred: “I took an oath of office tonight to be objective, and I would be.”

Eader noted that all of the new members filled out applications to serve on the Planning Board before Holtaway made his comments.

All four were allowed to remain for the ensuing argument on whether the Somerset Airport application should be considered complete. A completeness determination would allow the public hearing to get under way.

Harwick asserted that the lack of a “current and complete” airport master plan as part of the application means the hearings should not begin.

“The spirit and letter of your ordinance have not been complied with,” said Harwick. “This application is not complete.”

Board chairman Paul Henderson said he would be inclined to let airport owner Daniel Walker begin his case. “He is complying with the spirit, maybe not the technical details,” he said.

The board majority voted against a motion for completeness. Henderson and Jan were the only two members to favor a finding of completeness.

Voting against completeness were members Anthony Franzonia, Marie Callahan, Don Cross, Andris, Hatch and Eader.

William Mennen, attorney for the airport, said afterward that his clients will obtain the requested information from the FAA as quickly as they can.

He added that he is disappointed that all the talk about technicalities prevented the planners from addressing the merits of what amounts to an interior renovation of a hangar.

“It’s not a typical happenstance for there to be such an uproar over completeness,” Mennen noted. “It’s to the objectors’ benefit to delay the process is any way they can.”

Mennen said he “doesn’t know” what will happen if the airport hearings haven’t concluded by the time the special use permit for the temporary Medevac trailer expires.

“Sitting here today, we’re not prepared to answer that question,” he said. “We’re focused on getting the application heard.”

By Sandy Stuart
Staff Writer