TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON—A major Bergen County builder and a local homeowner have filed a lawsuit against township officials for what they allege is nearly a year’s delay in obtaining the permits necessary to construct a home on Fern Street.
Joseph Sanzari, of Joseph M. Sanzari Construction, a heavy construction and highway builder for nearly 50 years in North Jersey, and Lorraine Rubino, filed the lawsuit in Superior Court Oct. 4 alleging that several borough officials delayed or failed to provide permits for a home being built by Sanzari.
The lawsuit alleges the officials showed “obvious disdain” for Sanzari, despite his well-known stature in the construction industry.
The suit names the township, its building department, and borough employees Murty Arisetty, tax assessor; John Scialla, chief construction official; and Jason Francese, electrical subcode inspector.
Sanzari was Rubino’s subcontractor, hired to build a 2,669-square-foot home on Fern Street near her daughter in February 2020.
Rubino gained all the necessary approvals in October 2020 from the zoning board, taking eight months after Sanzari submitted “what should have been fairly simple” application, according to Stephanie Noda’s reporting on NorthJersey.com.
However, the lawsuit alleges that both Rubino and Sanzari experienced “months of irrational and unwarranted demands” from the zoning board, with permits “stalled with no apparent explanation,” the lawsuit alleges.
The suit notes the delays caused an increase in costs and a reduction in revenues for hired subcontractors. Both Sanzari and Rubino hired an attorney in October 2020 to detail the delays and asked for a “footings and foundation” permit to be issued before cold weather commenced.
That legal communication did not receive a response except a phone call to Sanzari where a township employee allegedly said Sanzari was “not appropriately licensed” to build homes. However Sanzari is a licensed home contractor and has been licensed in New Jersey for nearly 50 years, claims the lawsuit.
For years, complaints have been raised by residents about Building Department delays. At the League of Women Voters Northern Jersey-moderated debate for mayor and council candidates on Oct. 12, Mayor Peter Calamari chalked recent delays up to Covid-19.
In addition, the lawsuit notes that Sanzari and Rubino were told all permits would be in hand by November 2020, but they did not receive the requested footings and foundation permit, and were delayed in getting a street opening permit.
Moreover, the lawsuit claims Francese made “degrading comments” about Sanzari in font of other people in March 2021 during a site electrical inspection. The suit also alleges Francese made “highly inappropriate and unprofessional comments about … Sanzari and his finances.”
Also the suit alleges that Scialla “refused and/or neglected to issue a certificate of occupancy” for the home after it passed a final electrical inspection.
Rubino subsequently moved into the home believing all permits had been approved and terminated a lease on a nearby property before moving in.
The Township issued her a notice and order of penalty on Aug. 31 for living there without a certificate of occupancy, which carried a weekly fine of $2,000. The suit asks the township to immediately issue a certificate of occupancy, rescind the penalty, and remove a COAH fee of $11,798.
We reached out to Nicholas Sekas, the Sanzari/Rubino attorney, and Township Attorney Ken Poller for comment for this story. After press time, Poller emailed us in part to say, “The Township employees were just doing their jobs, including attempting to collect development fees as required by the Township’s development fee ordinance implemented as part of COAH requirements. This is present in almost all municipalities throughout the state.”
He added, “That being said, the Township is being covered by its insurance carrier, and I have been asked to personally stay involved in order to assist in brokering an amicable resolution which I believe can be achieved.”
Holdups at Planning Board?
Also complaining along the same lines has been Washington Town Center owner/operator Alex DiChiara, who has sought a streamlining in the town’s permit approval process.
State Superior Court Judge Christine Farrington on Oct. 30, 2019 overturned the Planning Board’s May 30, 2018 denial of a site plan application for Cedar Smoke Shop at Washington Town Center.
DiChiara sued after the board ignored its own zoning ordinance permitting the ordinary retail use at the site, saying officials had bowed to public opinion opposed to the store.
Farrington backed DiChiara up, finding that the board, acting unanimously, was “arbitrary, capricious, and unreasonable” in its denial. She gave the board 45 days to grant all necessary approvals.
DiChiara also questioned the town over why there was a requirement for his prospective tenants to appear before the Planning Board over accepted uses, saying technical matters reviewed at the hearings, such as the size of signs, are covered by ordinances.
“It’s just a waste of everybody’s time and everybody’s money,” he told Pascack Press.
Editor’s note: We updated this story on Oct. 24 to include town attorney Ken Poller’s remarks.