Paul Kaufman, the attorney representing Lee, said that Lee chose to withdraw the application "without prejudice." He gave no specific reason to the Zoning Board for the decision.

"And there is no comment at this time on future intentions," Kaufman said.

Residents from Fort Lee and Leonia attended Board meetings in droves in support and opposition of the project, which was located in Fort Lee on the Leonia-Fort Lee boarder. Testimony on the project was delayed for more than a year. Residents of both municipalities tirelessly lobbied against the project and made their opinion known to borough officials.

"Community opposition to the project was crucial in delaying the outcome. I don’t believe that the developers had any real interest in what the community wanted," said Leonia resident Jeff McCartney, who leads Citizens for Responsible Development, a local watchdog group. "The continued community opposition and the borough’s forceful resistance did have an impact."

Doug Sugarman, president of the Zoning Board, doesn’t believe this is the last he’s seen of the Fort Lee Green project.

"I’m not so sure it's over," said Sugarman. "I think they’re going to modify the plans and reapply."

Sugarman said he believes Lee would rather get all the specifications on the application up to snuff to avoid similar opposition.

McCartney agrees.

"A new proposal will surely follow sooner or later, but let’s anticipate this and pre-empt a repeat of the same situation," McCartney said.

Earlier in the year, an alternative application for a commercial-only building was filed and later withdrawn. The original plan had called for a development that would be mixed residential and workspace. Both development projects were supposed to have low reliance on traditional power to reduce negative effects on the environment.

The project would have increased traffic to Fort Lee Road, a problem all too familiar for drivers in both municipalities.

McCartney wants the area where the building would have been located rezoned.

"We need to go another step and press Fort Lee to address this problematic parcel, which, though not actually, is geographically a part of Leonia. For this reason, our governing body should have a major say in its zoning. It is time for the area to be re-zoned so that it is consistent and compatible with the adjacent residences."

Leonia has issued two resolutions requesting that Fort Lee rezone the area.