CHERRY HILL, NJ — Frustration five years in the making regarding a property at 426 Tearose Lane in Cherry Hill found its focus at the Aug. 23 council meeting.

Joshua Neri, who lives at 424 Tearose Lane, told the council he bought his house with the understanding that the house at 426 Tearose Lane was being remodeled and would be put up for sale within six months.

That's not what happened, Neri said.

"For the first several years [owner Bruce Kates] used the property as a dumping ground and storage facility for construction debris, equipment and materials from his numerous construction projects," Neri said.

In the years that followed, Kates "started to do quote-unquote-work on the property but has done so in an extremely negligent and unsafe manner," Neri continued. "He ... uses a small bulldozer to do this quote-unquote-work around the property which leads to ever-increasing damage and disrepair."

The Neris presented the council with pictures that they said support their claims, and other residents of Tearose Lane and the surrounding neighborhood supported Neri's allegations.

Rachel Rossbach, who lives at 410 Tearose Lane, said at various times during the past few years, Kates has left concrete, hydraulic oil and other debris from various projects in the street.

"This isn't a neighbor dispute ... it affects all of us in the Woodcrest community and on Tearose Lane," said Rossbach.

More than 500 people had signed the Neri's change.org petition as of Tuesday morning asking the township to take action regarding the house and property.

A representative from the township's zoning office said at the council meeting he "had no problems doing routine daily inspections of the property from a zoning perspective."

Some township council members discussed at the council meeting the possibility of levying fines against Kates.

Kates said during the meeting that pictures the Neris presented showing the disarray of the house and property were "outdated" and asked for recommendations on the best way to approach the situation.

However, Interim Cherry Hill Solicitor Howard Long recommended that the township president not answer Kates' question, "given the fact that this may end up in litigation."

Reached after the meeting, Kates said he was not the one who said 426 Tearose Lane would be ready for sale within six months of the Neris moving in.

"I never had that conversation with them," Kates said. "Maybe the realtor that sold them the house told them."

Kates also explained why the lengthy restoration and renovation process at 426 Tearose Lane was taking so long.

"I had a squatter [and] he never worked on the house. "It took me two years to get him out of there," he said. "Then there were 18 months where I couldn't work on the house because I had prior commitments ... then COVID held me back for a year."

"Then I had contractors in and out of there. They disappointed me so I made up my mind the only way this is ever going to get done is to do it myself," he continued.

Kates also said tools needed for projects have only been left in the streets during times when township code prohibits that type of work to be done.

Today, "the front of the house is pristine," he said. "It looks like a normal house that's having the driveway done."

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