Master-plan panel rejects school for yogi's work Proposal for Montgomery Twp. slams into roadblock
Tuesday, December 05, 2006 BY NYIER ABDOU Star-Ledger [New Jersey] Staff Plans for a graduate school devoted to the teachings of Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in Montgomery Township hit a major snag yesterday when township officials shot down a crucial zone change. The township's master plan committee, an informal advisory group of planning officials, voted unanimously to declare a preliminary proposal by the Maharishi-affiliated group Global Country of World Peace contrary to the township's Master Plan. The proposed College of Vedic Medicine, which would teach and research ancient ayurvedic healing practices from India, was slated for a 60-acre vacant property at the wooded corner of Cherry Valley Road and the largely unpaved Mountain View Road. Residents of the quiet residential neighborhood filled the 8:30 a.m. meeting -- an unusual circumstance that Mayor Louise Wilson said was "certainly very strong evidence of real serious neighborhood concern." Global Country of World Peace regional director Paul Potter described the campus as a peaceful center for "consciousness-based education" -- an outgrowth of Maharishi's Transcendental Meditation movement, which in its heyday drew such notable proponents as the Beatles and the Beach Boys. The proposed school, along with another campus planned for an 18-acre property on Bunn Drive in Princeton Township, would be a "sister university" to the Maharishi University of Management, an accredited institution in Fairfield, Iowa, Potter said. "We have something that can really help people," Potter said. The so-called Maharishi Effect claims groups of advanced practitioners meditating together "would create an influence of harmony and peace for everyone who lives here," said Lincoln Norton, a Morristown native who was among the first 33 teachers of TM in the country along with his wife, June. "It's so profound that it's difficult to grasp. But it's very fundamental to life," Potter said. But committee chair Steven Sacks-Wilner said the township does not focus on the applicant. "We do not zone for users, we zone for uses," Sacks-Wilner said. Richard Goldman, a Princeton attorney representing a number of residents on Mountain View Road, said the property is clearly identi fied for low-impact residential use by the Master Plan. He called the site a "classically environmentally sensitive area." In a letter to the township, resident and former Committeeman Keith Wheelock, who lives on Mountain View Road, said he was "astonished" that Global Country "would even consider seeking a massive commercial facility on a residential tract." "We're attracted to this land for the same reason you love it so much," Potter said. "We want what you want -- a quiet place." But residents were not soothed by Potter's arguments. Township planner Richard Coppola drew loud applause when he declared the proposal "not consistent with the township's Master Plan." "This would be introducing an institutional use, which I don't think is a prudent thing to do," Coppola advised. The committee agreed. "It's a wonderful use, but not in this place," said Sacks-Wilner. "It's just too intense a use." Global Country of World Peace can either appeal to the township committee directly or seek a variance from the board of adjustment. Potter said the group will have to consider whether to pursue the application further, but indicated the group does not want to go where it is not wanted. "We're disappointed to see that our offer was not appreciated and we were met with fighters," Potter said. "We're not fighters." Long-time TM practitioner Jim Dallas, of Westfield, said the project appeared to be "no-go." "In our simplicity, we assumed they would welcome (the plan)," Potter said. "But we don't have time to fight." -- Nyier Abdou works in the Somerset County bureau. She may be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED] or (908) 429-9925. © 2006 The Star Ledger © 2006 NJ.com All Rights Reserved.
