It’s the township that can’t get out of its own way. In addition to the multiple lawsuits they are already dealing with, Jackson is now facing another two lawsuits. 

The new lawsuits, filed by the New Jersey Builders Association and Jackson Trails LLC, respectively, are concerning a new ordinance that makes it difficult for developers to go through with their projects. The ordinance forces builders to receive a special permit to fill or remove soil, a move critics say is purposely intended to make it difficult to put up new houses, which would thereby keep more Jews from moving into town.

One of the lawsuits also mentions Eleanor Hannum, who allegedly urged the township to adopt the ordinances. It was Hannum and another couple, the Gardners, who, during a township meeting regarding the proposed Jackson Trails development, sought “to cast doubt upon the Application by any seemingly legitimate (as opposed to anti-Semitic) means necessary so that the Planning Board might deny the application and assuage the Garners’ and Ms. Hannum’s baseless fears and prejudices toward the Orthodox Jewish community…” Certain members of the Planning Board, the lawsuit goes on, seized on to that opportunity to deny the application.

Jackson Township officials are many things. But more than anything else, they appear to be incredibly stupid. Because all they seem to be able to accomplish is getting themselves sued over and over, draining the town’s financial and legal resources.