Rolfe v. Borough of Emerson

In Rolfe v. Borough of Emerson, 141 N.J. Super. 341, 358 A.2d 224 (Law Div.1976), plaintiffs sought to locate a school bus garage in the Borough of Emerson. They challenged both the refusal of a board of adjustment to recommend a use variance to the local governing body and ordinance amendments which prohibited school bus use on the premises. Id. at 344, 358 A.2d 224. Judge Pressler, then in the Law Division, found that a school bus facility was "necessarily accessory" to school buildings themselves because the transportation of students was an "intrinsic part" of the government's obligation to educate them. Id. at 355, 358 A.2d 224. The judge noted that the school bus garage was "eminently compatible, both physically and functionally, with the surrounding commercial and governmental uses, particularly the municipal public works garage to the rear of the property," and that it was "far removed from residential uses to which it might be a nuisance or a depreciating factor." Id. at 353, 358 A.2d 224.