Bryam sued over Village Center designation

Byram - The Stabile family, the largest landowner affected by the township of Byram’s efforts to establish and develop a Village Center is suing the town. The litigation revolves around the council’s recent move to designate a large tract of land at the corner of Lackawanna and Route 206, much of it owned by the Stabiles’, as a “re-development” area. The designation in effect prohibits the landowner from developing the area without township approval of the developer, the design and the end-use of the property. A lawyer representing the Stabile family had gone before the town council in November to request that the town not make the designation. At that time, the council was informed that the Stabiles’ had a buyer for the property lined up, a sale which would be hindered by the town’s move. Citing the need to put the future of Byram first, the council denied the request and passed the re-development designation resolution. In addition, it implemented a zoning change that requires a minimum of 64 acres for a tract of land to be developed -- a move also objected to by the lawyer representing the Stabiles, since the family owns only approximately 58 acres. The lawsuit to stop the township’s designation efforts did not come as a surprise to Byram Township Manager Greg Poff. In fact, Poff thinks it is pretty much par for the course. “Anyone that engages in the process of re-development is not surprised that there are landowners that don’t agree with it,” said Poff. While the designation does prohibit the landowner’s freedom to do what they want to with privately owned land, Poff is still hopeful that something can be worked out to benefit both sides. “The fact is that the Township of Byram believes in the collaborative process.” While the township attorney focuses on the legal aspect of the suit, work will soon get underway to hammer out the specifics of the Village Center plan. The general concept was released to the public a few weeks ago, but according to Poff, the real work has yet to be done. “That plan was a concept plan which was very forward looking and did not look at a lot of the details,” explained Poff. “It was a broad conceptual plan. This phase is more detailed. Now it is a matter of putting it into a very concrete plan.” The proposed plan calls for new buildings and new landscape to be developed. “Now we will be getting into the real of heart of what the town will look like down to the shrubbery and light fixtures,” said Poff. The process, which will include community participation, is expected to take months to complete.