Ramapo Justice Samuel Colman yesterday adjourned the town’s case against a yeshiva developer charged with running a pre-school out of a trailer, responding to protests by the defense that it received an abridged version of the town code.

It was an argument that Deputy Ramapo Attorney Meryl Troodler did not buy, repeatedly telling Colman that her office had provided South Nyack-based attorney Steve Barry with detailed copies of the charges and the code in July.

“He had plenty of time. The fact that this is being brought up now is preposterous,” Troodler said yesterday afternoon in Ramapo Town Court at what was supposed to be the start of the town’s trial against Mosdos Chofetz Chaim. “We are ready to proceed.”

Colman said the defense had until Nov. 20 to state its position in writing, and required the town to respond by Nov. 27. A new trial date was set for 1 p.m. Dec. 4.

“This is just a delaying tactic,” Troodler said afterward. “And this judge is allowing it.”

In February, the town cited the developer of a yeshiva with adult student housing for operating without a site plan and a certificate of occupancy. The developer could face a $5,000 fine on each of the six counts if found guilty.

Barry said the pre-school was run out of a mobile classroom, not a construction trailer.

While Troodler said the prosecution was ready for trial, Barry maintained that the code book he received from the Town Clerk’s Office didn’t include the ones the developer was cited with violating.

“This is what we were given. I need time to address that,” Barry said to Colman. “We’re not delaying the trial, we’re just asking for more time.”

Yesterday’s trial date was set after settlement discussions broke down between the town and developer. Barry said a legal issue forced talks to end, but Troodler said Town Attorney Michael Klein told her they ended because of the developer’s appeal over the town’s increased building fees.

In September, the town’s Zoning Board of Appeals adjourned a decision on that appeal because of the settlement discussions.

Rabbi Aryeh Zaks, a principal with the developer, had complained that the building permit fees for the 60-apartment yeshiva on Grandview Avenue, based on construction costs, were unfairly raised by more than $20,000. After an initial construction estimate of $6 million was raised to $8.4 million, the town raised its fee to $75,617 from $54,046.

The increase came after Robert Rhodes, chairman of Preserve Ramapo and a longtime critic of the yeshiva project and the zoning that allowed it, complained that the estimate was too low.

Klein has said that because there was no settlement, the developer would not receive a certificate of occupancy for the project until the balance was paid.

TJN