Judges Finds in Favor of Company Seeking to Build Headquarters Near the Palisades

A judge has ruled in favor of a company seeking to build a new corporate headquarters in Englewood Cliffs, N.J. that opponents have tried to block because they say it would disrupt views of the Palisades.

Opponents in the case said they will appeal the decision. The company, LG Electronics, said the ruling opens the way for construction of the $300 million project.

Critics say the building would be far too visible above the tree line. Among those who have expressed concern about the proposed 143-foot-tall building is the Metropolitan Museum of Art, which operates The Cloisters, a museum in northern Manhattan across the Hudson from the development site.

In his ruling Friday, Judge Alexander H. Carver III of the New Jersey Superior Court found that the Englewood Cliffs Zoning Board of Adjustment had not exceeded its powers in allowing a variance of the height restriction for the site, which is to be home to the American headquarters for LG, a South Korean electronics manufacturer.

“The board found that LG had met the positive criteria requirements because the project promoted the general welfare by maintaining jobs, promoting green building design, providing adequate light, air and open space, providing energy efficiency, and utilizing renewable energy sources,” the ruling said, according to Bloomberg News.

The building’s design calls for a structure of eight stories in an area that had previously been zoned for a maximum height of 35 feet. The borough subsequently rezoned a stretch of land that includes the development site to allow for taller buildings, an action that remains the focus of a second, still unresolved lawsuit.

In a statement celebrating the decision Friday, LG Electronics said it now plans to begin work and was not worried about the threat of appeals. “The court ruled correctly and decided this case on long established legal principles,” said John Taylor, a spokesman.

Mr. Taylor said the outcome of the second case would have no impact on the company’s project.

“It is a totally separate issue,” he said. “Whether the ordinance is upheld or not does not affect us. The outcome of that case will not affect our project going forward.”

But lawyers for opponents of the project said they believe the second legal challenge could potentially still block construction of the building, if successful.

The New Jersey State Federation of Women’s Clubs, one of the plaintiffs in the case just decided, said it would appeal the decision as did a second plaintiff, Scenic Hudson, an environmental group.

Mark Izeman, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, which also opposes the height of the proposed building, said: “This is just the beginning of long, protracted litigation.”