Paramus ex-cop loses battle over retaining wall

PARAMUS A seven-year battle between a retired police officer and the borough over whether he improperly built a stone wall outside his home has come to a seeming conclusion with a judge ruling that the wall must come down.

Former police Sgt. John Ward said he's still in shock that Superior Court Judge Lisa Perez Friscia recently decided that the wall surrounding his property at the corner of Midland and Hickory avenues must be dismantled because it encroaches on the public right of way.

"I told my attorney I can't go on with this even though there are grounds for appeal," Ward said. "I don't have the money."

He's considering two options: moving the wall, which would prove costly at about $10,000; or asking the borough engineer for permission to dismantle the wall and regrade the slope to its original look.

Anthony Suarez, the attorney representing the borough, did not return phone calls seeking comment Monday.

Ward erected the wall more than 25 years ago to replace railroad ties that periodically had to be removed because of rot, he said. He said he wasn't aware he ever needed a permit to install the wall, which he considered decorative. He also never had to seek a permit when replacing the railroad ties, he said.

But in 2007, the same year after he filed a suit alleging political cronyism in the police department, the town zoning officer at the time, Lisa Meserole, acting on an anonymous tip, told him he would have to seek zoning board approval before he could continue building a deck in his side yard, he said.

The board then investigated Ward's history of improvements to his property and said he needed permits for a range of improvements he had undertaken including a fence, a pergola and the retaining walls.

Zoning members heard Ward's application and denied the variances. He sued the borough and zoning officials to force acceptance of the structures, claiming the town had sought the violations in retribution for his whistle-blower lawsuit, which was settled in 2010.

A Superior Court judge ordered Ward to resubmit his proposal and seek approvals for the work. He did so and most of the improvements were approved.

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Paramus ex-cop loses battle over retaining wall