Vill. of Ridgewood v. Hopper

• Decision Date: 16 October 1935
• Docket Number: Nos. 223, 224.,s. 223, 224.
• Citation: 181 A. 150
• Parties: VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD v. HOPPER, Inspector of Buildings. BOROUGH OF GLEN ROCK v. BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITY COM'RS et al.
• Court: New Jersey Supreme Court

181 A. 150

VILLAGE OF RIDGEWOOD

v. HOPPER, Inspector of Buildings.

BOROUGH OF GLEN ROCK

v. BOARD OF PUBLIC UTILITY COM'RS et al.

Nos. 223, 224.

Supreme Court of New Jersey.

Oct. 16, 1935.

Mandamus proceeding by Village of Ridgewood against Edward Hopper, Inspector of Buildings of the Borough of Glen Rock, which, because of interrelation, was considered with proceeding in certiorari by the Borough of Glen Rock against Board of Public Utility Commissioners and the Village of Ridgewood.

Decree in accordance with opinion.

Argued May term, 1935, before BROGAN, C. J., and LLOYD and DONGES, JJ.

Thomas L. Zimmerman, Jr., of New York City, for relator Village of Ridgewood.

Mackay & Mackay, of Hackensack (Howard Mackay, of Hackensack, of counsel), for defendant Edward Hopper and prosecutor Borough of Glen Rock.

John A. Bernhard, of Newark, for defendant Board of Public Utility Com'rs.

PER CURIAM.

These two cases, because they are interrelated, will be considered together.

In the first case (Village of Ridgewood v. Edward Hopper, etc.), the relator has been granted a rule to show cause why mandamus should not issue, commanding Mr. Hopper, the building inspector of Glen Rock, to file the plans and specifications presented to him by the relator, village of Ridgewood, and to issue a permit to the relator for the enlargement of its existing sewage disposal plant, which is located within the territorial limits of the Borough of Glen Rock.

It appears that Ridgewood built its sewage disposal plant in Glen Rock in 1905; that it enlarged the plant in 1925; that in October, 1933, the Passaic Valley sewage commission notified the village that its plant in Glen Rock was inadequate to properly dispose of the amount of sewage coming into the plant, and that raw sewage was finding its way into Hohokus brook, which resulted in the pollution of that stream, which is a tributary to the Passaic river; that the village of Ridgewood prepared plans for the enlargement of the existing plant, which is located on certain of the marsh lands in the outskirts of Glen Rock; that the plans were approved by the Passaic Valley sewer commission. The relator then filed a petition with the Board of Public Utility Commissioners of New Jersey, and, after hearing thereon, the board determined that the enlargement of the sewage disposal plant was reasonably necessary for the "service, convenience and welfare of the public."

The borough of Glen Rock did not file an answer to the said petition before the Board of Public Utility Commissioners, but objected to the jurisdiction of the board, contending that the village of Ridgewood, before it might enlarge said plant, was obliged to obtain the permission of the governing body of Glen Rock and the health board of that municipality, relying on the provisions of article 21, § 1, c. 152, P. L. 1917, p. 397 (Comp. St. Supp. 1924, § *136—2101). But we think that this provision was intended to apply to new structures of the character mentioned in the statute (supra) and not to the extension or enlargement of existing structures. See North Jersey Utilization & Sewerage Disposal Plant v. Van Buskirk et al., 96 N. J. Law, 546, 115 A. 215.

At all events, when the village of...