JACKSON — The Township Council voted 3-2 on Tuesday night to adopt an ordinance tightening where and how warehouses and distribution centers can be built in Jackson. Hours earlier, a lawyer for a developer had put the township on notice that he considers the rules unconstitutional.

Council President Mordechai Burnstein said the township received the letter that afternoon. It argued that the ordinance conflicts with the township's master plan. Burnstein said two other warehouse developers had also contacted the township but had not formally put it on notice.

Councilman Kenneth Bressi, who also sits on the planning board, said that board had voted unanimously that the ordinance was consistent with the master plan.

Bressi moved to table the ordinance so it could be reworked. He said its many conditional uses give developers "many ways to find their way out of it." Councilman Nino Borrelli seconded the motion, saying warehouses should be kept farther from homes. The motion failed 3-2, with Burnstein, Council Vice President Giuseppe Palmeri and Councilman Christopher Pollak voting against it. The ordinance then passed by the same margin.

Supporters said the ordinance draws on state guidelines and replaces rules that offered little protection. "Developers do not dictate Jackson's future," Palmeri said. "Jackson will dictate its own future." He warned that tabling the measure would set off a rush of warehouse applications before stricter rules took effect.

Pollak called the ordinance "a huge step forward" and said the township was already facing a legal threat. Going further right away, he said, could bring more lawsuits. Burnstein said a total ban could put the township in conflict with its own master plan, which encourages commercial uses. He said the council can keep working on the rules.

Residents want an outright ban

Residents who spoke on the ordinance said they oppose more warehouses, but several said the new rules fall short. A woman who said she has worked as an architect for more than 30 years told the council that more than 30 warehouses have been proposed or built in Jackson in about five years. She asked the council to remove warehouses and distribution centers from commercial zones entirely and keep them away from homes.

She described tractor-trailers following GPS directions down her residential cul-de-sac. She said one truck nearly hit her 8-year-old son at his school bus stop, and that her calls to police and township officials went unanswered. "This ordinance needs to go back to the drawing board," she said.

Another resident said he wants less warehouse development but worried that rejecting the ordinance would leave the township with weaker rules while a better version was drafted.

Former planning board attorney charged

Borrelli also addressed the arrest last week of the township's former planning board attorney. News 12 New Jersey reported that Robert Shea Jr., who served as the township's planning board attorney and public defender, has been charged with two counts related to distributing child sexual abuse material. A judge ordered him held until a later hearing, and he is no longer in those positions, the station reported. The charges are allegations, and Shea is presumed innocent.

Private school busing

During general public comment, several residents raised concerns about the cost of busing students to private religious schools and its effect on the public school budget. Palmeri said a council resolution he had raised asked the state to pay for busing it requires towns to provide, not for anything the township chose to fund.

Township Attorney Greg McGuckin said state law requires local districts to provide transportation for private school students, whether they attend Catholic, Jewish or other schools. He added that the township cannot prohibit private schools from being built. Burnstein said the township has close to 9,000 private school students and that the obligation applies to any community with a growing private school population.

Tree removal fees

A resident who said her family has lived in Jackson for 39 years told the council the township's tree removal ordinance charges commercial and industrial developers $25 per tree, capped at $2,500 per acre, while her family is being charged more than $20,000 an acre to clear land for a home. She asked for an appeal process. Burnstein said the council is reviewing the ordinance with its attorney and engineer but did not expect a change to be ready by the next meeting.

Jackson voters will choose a mayor and fill two council seats in the Nov. 3 election.