TENANTS NOT ENTITLED TO NOTICE OF BLIGHT DESIGNATION

 In Iron Mountain Information Management Inc. v. The City of Newark, the New Jersey Supreme Court held this week that the only persons entitled to notice of a blight designation under the Local Housing and Redevelopment Law (“LRHL”) are the owners of record and those whose names are listed on the tax assessor’s records as permitted under the LRHL.  In this case, the Court held that the failure to provide a notice of a blight designation to a commercial tenant did not deprive that tenant due process protections afforded by the New Jersey or U.S. Constitutions. 

A copy of the Supreme Court’s opinion is available here.

This opinion follows the 2008 appellate court opinion in Harrison Redevelopment Agency v. DeRose, et als, in which the court ruled that owners are entitled to notice of redevelopment hearings which fairly apprises them of the potential consequences of redevelopment determinations, including the use of eminent domain.  For more information on the issues presented in the Iron Mountain and DeRose cases, read our New Jersey Condemnation Law Blog post here.