Meissner, who didn't testify during his hearing, bought the 7.4-acre tract in the township's highway commercial zone on Route 565 for $120,000 in 2014. He later was accused by neighbor Dave Franek of filling in the wetlands prior to applying for a variance and site plan in 2019. However, the state DEP visited the site four times and found no such violations, said Meissner's attorney, Thomas Hooker. Franek, who filed the 2019 lawsuit that overturned Meissner's original approval, planned to corroborate his accusation with testimony from the wetlands expert who consulted on the tax break as well as from a professional planner, but had to postpone doing so when his attorney contracted COVID-19 just prior to the board's April meeting.