Chai Lifeline, an international nonprofit organization, will be returning to the Zoning Board of Adjustment on Wednesday, Oct. 20, in its campaign to continue using a home on Ramapo Valley Road as a getaway for families with sick children. In August, the board upheld the decision by the township’s former zoning officer that Chai Lifeline’s use of the home does not conform to code.
The attorney for Chai Lifeline, Marc Liebman, who is representing the organization pro bono, said the home lies in a zone for single-family use. The organization is seeking a variance that would allow one family at a time to stay at the home.
The home continues to serve as a retreat until the matter is resolved.
Liebman said his client is hopeful the zoning board will grant Chai Lifeline the variance to continue to use the home as a retreat.
Liebman previously argued that the zoning code was being misapplied, as the law was designed to prevent fraternity housing in residential areas. Liebman has also argued that the retreat does not constitute transient housing, as such housing is commonly associated with alcohol and drug rehabilitation clinics and homes for pregnant and single mothers.
In hearings before the board over two years, the use of the home as a retreat was decried by neighbors, who said it infringed on their privacy and ran counter to the zoning code’s intent.
One neighbor provided more than 350 photographs and a 30-plus page log book documenting the activities at the home.
“I’m representing these people pro bono, because I believe in the work that they do,” Liebman said Wednesday, Oct. 6. “They provide a place for families that are going through true tragedies, and need a respite for their pain. Anyone who objects to that should reevaluate their views on life — what’s more important than taking care of each other? We’re all human beings.”
Rabbi Abraham Cohen, the executive director for Chai Lifeline’s New York City office, said that since the home was donated by Pamela and Craig Goldman in 2007, Chai Lifeline has ensured one family’s use at a time, and it is used less than it would be by a regular family. Read full article in North Jersey.