Court Rules in Favor of ShopRite, Wyckoff Planning Board

A ShopRite that was unanimously approved by the Wyckoff Planning Board in 2012 took one step closer to becoming a reality Thursday after a Superior Court Judge ruled in favor of the supermarket and the board, according to a NorthJersey.com report.

According to the report, the judge ruled in favor of the planning board and Inserra Supermarkets in a suit filed by the nearby Stop & Shop claiming that there was a conflict of interest involving a traffic expert who testified during the Shop Rite hearing in front of the township Planning Board.

Stop & Shop attorney Gail Price argued that Wyckoff Planning Board engineer and traffic expert Gary Dean had a conflict of interest because his partner was testifying on behalf of Inserra Supermarkets on a Shop Rite application in New Milford, the report said. The Board removed Dean from the hearing as soon as it found out about the potential conflict, it said.

Superior Court Judge William Meehan ruled that Dean did not have a conflict of interest, and that the township planning board proceeded appropriately, the report said.

The Boulder Run Stop & Shop, which is located next door to the approved Shop Rite location, filed suit last year alleging this conflict of interest as well as other claims.

According to NorthJersey.com, a judge ruled in favor of the township on another count in August, saying that the Shop Rite is an appropriate use of the space.

Other aspects of the case, which claim the board issued variances inappropriately, are set to be heard in court on Jan. 29, the report said.

The board unanimously approved the 62,000 square foot supermarket at the previous site of an A&P Supermarket on Greenwood Avenue in 2012 after three years of testimony.