Opinion ID: 1530450
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: 1986 Waiver Decision

Text: Over eleven years ago, the DEP waived the application of the Policy to Gateway's site. In his November 20, 1986 letter, Director Weingart concluded that application of the Policy to Gateway's proposal would be unfair. Weingart reasoned that the DEP, without informing Gateway that it was about to propose changes in use restrictions pertaining to Gateway's site, had encouraged Gateway to proceed. So encouraged, Gateway took affirmative steps at considerable expense to develop the site. Although the November 20 letter does not mention the requirement for intercept parking, subsequent correspondence reveals that the DEP considered Gateway's agreement to provide such parking as further justification for waiving the Policy. Apparently the DEP believed that intercept parking, by reducing traffic congestion and air pollution around Atlantic City, would serve the public interest. Thus, Weingart's February 4, 1988 letter to Gateway suggested that the exemption from the policy remains predicated upon the Division's determination that the proposed public transportation component satisfies the original intent of the exemption. From the foregoing, we conclude that the DEP justified its decision to waive the Policy both because application of the Policy to Gateway's project would be unfair and because Gateway had agreed to provide intercept parking. The DEP and Gateway contend that Weingart's 1986 letter constituted a final agency determination. They assert that if the ALS had challenged the waiver of the Policy in 1986, Gateway could have sought a resolution before proceeding with its development. For our purposes, however, it suffices to note that the ALS could have appealed the waiver after November 1986. Although the record does not reflect when the ALS first learned of the DEP's waiver decision, the ALS opposed the decision as early as August 1988, when it wrote to Commissioner Daggett requesting a reversal of that decision. At any time after becoming aware of the decision, ALS could have requested a final declaratory ruling regarding the applicability of the Policy. N.J.S.A. 52:14B-8. Nevertheless, the ALS failed for seven years to seek any relief from the DEP's 1986 waiver decision.