Board failed to consider LG building's impact on Palisades, court says

An appellate panel ruled Wednesday that the Englewood Cliffs zoning board failed to consider how a proposal to build a 143-foot tall building in the borough would impact the surrounding area, particularly the Palisades Cliffs.

ENGLEWOOD CLIFFS -- An appellate panel ruled Wednesday that the Englewood Cliffs zoning board failed to consider how a proposal to build a 143-foot tall building in the borough would impact the surrounding area, particularly the Palisades Cliffs.

The panel, in a decision written by Judge Douglas M. Fasciale, sent LG Electronics' plan for a new headquarters on Sylvan Avenue back to the Englewood Cliffs zoning board.

The Englewood Cliffs zoning board "fail[ed] to address the historic and scenic importance of the unique location of the proposed project," the court said.

The board in 2012 granted LG variances allowing it to exceed the town's 35-foot height limit on buildings. Englewood Cliffs residents Carol Jacoby and Marcia Davis challenged the ruling in court shortly after, and were joined by a coalition of environmental groups and individuals concerned about how the building would affect views of the Palisades Cliffs.

John Taylor, a spokesman for LG, said the company planned to send its plans back to the town anyway. LG reached an agreement with several environmental groups in June to lower the height of the planned building to 70 feet.

"Our plan all along after the win-win settlement was to move forward through the process in the town with the amended plan," Taylor said.

The plans for the shortened building must go through the local approval process again. LG expects to present its redesigned plans in the next few months, Taylor said.

The decision said local boards must consider the impact new buildings have on "the surrounding neighborhood."

"We have long recognized that a zoning board's duty to consider the 'surrounding neighborhood' encompasses more than just consideration of the municipality itself or the immediate vicinity of the structure,'" the court said.

Michael B. Kates, the attorney who represented the Englewood Cliffs zoning board, said the board couldn't have known that included views from across the Hudson River.

"That's new law and I don't think the board can be faulted for not anticipating new law," he said.

LG reached its settlement with Scenic Hudson, the New Jersey Federation of Women's Clubs, the Natural Resources Defense Council, New Jersey Conservation Foundation and New York-New Jersey Trail Conference. Englewood Cliffs residents Marcia Davis and Carol Jacoby were not included, and kept the legal fight going in the appellate court.

Michael Lubin, who represented Davis, said the decision officially killed plans for a 143-foot-tall building and made clear the standards LG and the board would have to apply in any redesign.

"The court, in its 30-page decision, clearly articulated in significant detail the obligations of LG as the applicant and the failures of the board," he said.

Eileen Swann, policy manager for the New Jersey Conservation Foundation, said the decision affirmed the concerns the foundation and other groups had with the building in the first place.

"The conservation groups are pleased with this and look forward to moving ahead with the win-win solution," she said.