Back in December 2024, the Jackson Township Council heavily touted that they had voted to enact an ordinance to modify the Township's Highway Commercial Mixed-Use Zone (HCMU) zone which consists solely of Adventure Crossing.
Then-Council President Jennifer Kuhn explained that the Adventure Crossing development already has approvals for 460 residential units as well as numerous commercial uses including hotels and medical and educational components; the property is now being marketed for sale as "perfect for 1,200 residential units," and the Council wanted to ensure that the promised commercial uses aren't changed into more residential apartments, thus the new Ordinance was created.
Vito Cardinale, the developer of Adventure Crossing voiced strong opposition to the ordinance, noting it targets only his project and vowed "to sue the Township for $120 million" if they adopt the ordinance.
Back in February 2025 Cardinale made good on his word with legal action asserting "the adoption of the Ordinance, and its application to Plaintiff, constitutes an unlawful and confiscatory taking of the Property without just compensation as it substantially restricts how Plaintiff can develop the Property to its financial detriment, in an amount of approximately $120 million dollars."
Following initiation of the litigation, the Township removed the matter to federal court. The case has since been returned to Ocean County Superior Court.
During the pendency of the litigation, the Council voted in November 2025 to repeal the December 2024 Ordinance and replace it with a revised version.
At that point Cardinale filed a virtually identical lawsuit against the amended Ordinance.
At a case management conference held on March 30, 2026, Ocean County Superior Court Assignment Judge Francis Hodgson set a trial date for Thursday, August 6, 2026 and directed Cardinale to file his trial briefs today.
However, Cardinale says Township officials have refused to respond to his discovery demands seeking their communications regarding the December 2024 and November 2025 revisions of the ordinances. Cardinale has now filed a motion asking the court to "strike the Township’s Answer," which, if granted, could place the Township in default posture and significantly alter the course of the litigation.
Township attorneys have not yet responded to the just filed motion. Judge Hodgson is expected to address the motion in the coming few weeks.
After the Council repealed and replaced the original ordinance, the Township successfully argued that the first lawsuit had become moot because the challenged ordinance no longer existed and a new lawsuit had already been filed.
Despite that procedural ruling, Mayor Jennifer Kuhn and Council President Mordechai Burnstein publicly portrayed the result as a sweeping legal victory. Their official press release claimed the judge "upheld the Township’s zoning authority and the lawful adoption of Ordinance 2025-40, rejecting in full a legal challenge brought by Jackson Crossings."
FAA News was right here to call out Kuhn and Burnstein, aided by local paid media outlets that repeated the administration’s narrative without mentioning the procedural posture of the case.
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