A New Jersey appeals court on Thursday affirmed Howell Township’s approval of a hotel plan that was challenged by a business, finding that records showed the town’s master plan called for a lodging despite a change to the zoning plan.
The two-judge Appellate Division panel’s decision dealt a blow to Howell Associates LLC, which alleged, among other things, that the Howell Zoning Board of Adjustment’s approval of LIS Enterprises LLC’s plan for a four-story hotel with a banquet and conference center undermined the legislative power the town council exercised when it eliminated hotels as a conditional use in the zone.