GLEN GARDNER BOROUGH, N.J. (Hunterdon County) — Vulcan Materials Co. has filed a lawsuit against the Glen Gardner Joint Planning Board and Board of Adjustment, alleging the board improperly denied its application to relocate rock-processing equipment at its quarry and aggregate processing facility.
The complaint, filed July 6 in Hunterdon County Superior Court, seeks to overturn the planning board’s May 13 resolution denying preliminary and final site plan approval and a bulk variance related to the relocation of equipment within the company’s property at 1 Railroad Ave.
According to the lawsuit, the proposed project would relocate and replace rock-processing equipment within the existing quarry property to allow access to granite beneath the current equipment location. The company contends the proposal did not expand quarry operations but instead would allow continued extraction of materials used in state and county infrastructure projects.
The complaint states the quarry has operated for more than 100 years and has received multiple planning board approvals over the past decade, including approvals in 2016, 2021 and 2022 for various site improvements and operational changes.
Vulcan alleges it presented testimony from six expert witnesses over five public hearings between November 2025 and March 2026, including engineers, a professional planner, sound experts and a seismology expert. According to the filing, those experts testified the proposal complied with applicable state regulations for noise, blasting and environmental requirements.
The lawsuit claims the planning board denied the application despite not presenting expert testimony contradicting the company’s evidence.
The complaint further alleges the board’s decision was “arbitrary, capricious, unreasonable, contrary to law, unsupported by substantial evidence in the record and tainted by the appearance of bias and undisclosed conflicts of interest among Board members.”
Among its allegations, Vulcan contends public opposition to the quarry influenced the proceedings, despite the application being limited to relocating equipment and obtaining an internal lot-line setback variance. The company also alleges one planning board member displayed bias against the quarry during the hearings and another participated before later recusing himself because, according to the complaint, his spouse publicly opposed the application.
The lawsuit asks the court to reverse the planning board’s denial and approve the application or, alternatively, vacate the board’s resolution and remand the matter for further proceedings. The company also seeks attorney’s fees and other relief permitted by law.
The Glen Gardner Planning Board’s May 13 resolution concluded that Vulcan failed to demonstrate the requested variance would benefit the community or represent a better zoning alternative, finding instead that the proposal “would only serve to advance the purposes of the Applicant.”
RNJ has reached out to the Glen Gardner Joint Planning Board for comment and will update this story if a response is received.
The allegations contained in the complaint have not been proven, and the case will be decided by the court.
