This website
is dedicated to the Michelin Plant on Ford Avenue, the Evans Family, Dr Forney and his sons, who
they have given so much
to the town of Milltown and for playing an important role in forming the town we
love and respect. Also dedication goes to the remaining historical sites that
are remaining that we hold dear to our heart, also to the ones that we have lost
to the senseless disregard of our town history and to what makes this town so
special, the residents that live and work here. We need to stop the senseless destruction of our historical
landmarks and Milltown's history now before its to late and is lost forever.
Talking about
our Town History is one Thing- Saving it is Another
Court rules in bank's favor on Forney House BY JESSICA SMITH Staff Writer
MILLTOWN- A Superior Court judge's decision has
brought Valley National Bank one step closer to replacing the historic Forney
House with a bank branch.
A group trying to save the structure is saying
the fight is not over, however.
"We were not only disappointed, but we
were surprised by the decision," said Michael Shakarjian, a trustee of the
John C. Evans Project.
The citizens' group sought to overturn a
variance granted to the bank last year by the Milltown Zoning Board of
Adjustment that would allow the bank to build a branch with a drive-through on
the site of the Forney House.
Aside from efforts to save the nearly 150-
year-old house on North Main Street, the group asserted in the lawsuit that
allowing Valley National to bring a drive-through to the area would lessen the
quality of life, and set a precedent for other businesses to request similar
variances.
Judge Jessica Mayer dismissed the John C. Evans
Project's claim March 26.
"There was very strong language in the
opinion, in our favor," said Pete McArthur, one of Valley National's
attorneys from the Pompton Plains-based firm of Azrak and Associates. "The
court was appreciative of our presentation in front of the board, and of our
written submissions presented to her. The court also commented that the
plaintiffs, the John C. Evans group, presented nothing more than suppositions,
conjecture and things like that."
Shakarjian said the bank did not provide
evidence specific enough on the drive through use for the site in its testimony
before the Zoning Board.
The legal criteria involved in obtaining land
use variances require an applicant to prove that the project will be more
beneficial than detrimental, that it will not pose a detriment to public welfare
and that it does not pose a substantial inconsistency with the town's master
plan.
According to Shakarjian, since the borough's
master plan, composed in 1994, was revisited in 2002 with no changes made to the
zoning that disallowed drive-throughs, it should be clear that such uses are
inconsistent with plans for the town's growth.
The John C. Evans Project's attorney, Stuart
Lieberman, of Princeton-based Lieberman and Blecher, told group members the
court decision could be appealed, according to Shakarjian.
"We're looking at our options, and we're
making inquiries," Shakarjian said.
Shakarjian said the group is reaching out to
its membership to glean input on how to move forward in the fight to save the
house.
Even if the court decision goes unchallenged,
the citizens' group has another possibility for achieving its goal. Approval from
the federal Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) is necessary before
the bank can proceed with its plans.
Members of the John C. Evans group voiced
frustration with the OCC's handling of the proceedings, saying the agency failed
to follow its own regulations, and was hasty in moving toward drafting a
memorandum of agreement (MOA) with the bank late last year.
The MOA has yet to be drafted, and Shakarjian
said the possible involvement of the federal Advisory Council on Historic
Preservation (ACHP) would likely prove helpful in the effort to save the house.
"We think with that kind of oversight,
maybe we'll have a chance for something fair," Shakarjian said.
The National Trust for Historic Preservation, a
nonprofit organization, requested that the ACHP become involved in the Section
106 review process with the OCC after being alerted of the situation by members
of the John C. Evans group, Shakarjian said. Meghan MacWilliams Baratta, of the
State Historic Preservation Office (SHPO), also sought input from the ACHP,
according to Shakarjian.
Whether the ACHP will take an active role in
the proceedings remains unclear, he said. The John C. Evans Project is not the
only entity fighting to reach its goals.
In August of last year, Valley National filed a
counterclaim against the citizens' group, alleging that the group has interfered
with its economic advantage, as well as with its rights under the sale contract
the bank has with the current owner of the house, Dr. Bhudev Sharma.
Sharma, who operates a medical practice within
the building, has also filed a lawsuit against members of the group who are
seeking to stop the sale of the house, according to Lieberman.
The Forney House was built in the mid to
late-1800s by the Evans family, whose son served as Milltown's first mayor. It
was converted into a medical facility by John C. Evans and operated as such
from1907 until the 1970s. During many of those years, it was run by Dr. Norman
C. Forney Sr., the town's first surgeon.
While Sharma and representatives of Valley
National have asserted that the house is in such a state of disrepair that it
cannot be preserved, the John C. Evans Project aims to find a purchaser that
would be interested in saving the structure.
