Alex Burke and his wife, Mary Jane, who was raising funds for the project, were issued a summons last month by the borough code enforcement department accusing them of running a landscaping business from their Jersey Avenue home. Borough zoning laws prohibit operating businesses inside homes, Borough Attorney Walter Schoenewolf said.
The Burkes were scheduled to appear in municipal court yesterday, but the case has been transferred to Brielle because the Spring Lake judge has a conflict of interest, said Toni Freeman, borough court administrator. The new hearing is scheduled for Nov. 30.
The planting project was derailed in late September when Mary Jane Burke, 58, told the Borough Council that her four-person volunteer committee was withdrawing its offer to buy and plant more than 35 plum trees on Third Avenue, the main business drag in town.
Some members said they weren't able to devote enough attention to the project because of issues related to the North End pool; others weren't sold on the need to replace the 20-year-old Bradford pear trees that line Third Avenue.
Some residents wanted to replace the Bradfords because they said the large trees required too much maintenance.
After the meeting, Mary Jane Burke said she was upset the council didn't do more to support a volunteer-driven initiative to beautify the downtown.
Neither of the Burkes could be reached for comment yesterday.
