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Jersey City McGinley Square Redevelopment – Citizen Asks: Et Tu Brutus?
Following on the footsteps of last week’s removal of the McGinley Square Redevelopment Plan from the Jersey City Council’s agenda, is this impassioned letter to the editor reported by the Jersey City Independent. Even though the plan was removed from the Council’s agenda, this citizen asks that eminent domain be removed from any version of... Read More
Constitution "Alive and Well" in Virginia
The Virginia DOT will be forced to pay for what it took from farmer Ed Jennings. In a rare “inverse condemnation” (where a property owner sues government to compensate for a taking), the judge found that run-off from a bridge over the property owner’s land, and mounds of construction debris deposited on the land were... Read More
Electricity Shocks Property Owners, But Not The Court
Shock Treatment Insufficient to Constitute Inverse Condemnation Yesterday, a New Jersey appellate court affirmed a jury verdict awarding $195,000 in “nuisance” damages to a Brick Township couple, but refused to reverse the trial court’s finding that an electric utility company’s stray “neutral to earth” voltage running rampant through their backyard was insufficient to amount to taking. Smith v. Jersey Central... Read More
Redevelopment Beginning at Former NL Industries Site
The 427 acre industrial site in Sayreville formerly owned by chemical manufacturer NL Industries – seen by millions every summer as they cross the Driscoll Bridge on their way down the shore – is finally being “redeveloped.” As pointed out in this article, dredged spoils are being imported to fill the site as part of... Read More
Watch Out, Olympia!
From news across the nation, comes this article from Olympia, Washington. “Call it Blighted and Get it Help.” Help is clearly in the eyes of the beholder. The “blight” designation may ultimately help “redevelop” Olympia’s downtown, but take it from this New Jersey attorney, it’s not good for property owners in the downtown area. The blight... Read More
Morristown's Speedwell Redevelopment Hot Topic In Debate
The Daily Record recently reported on a Town Council candidates’ debate (read the article here) which included lively discussion on the future of the Speedwell Avenue Redevelopment Project. Each candidate had his or her own take on the direction the redevelopment should follow. Several of the candidates opined in favor of improvements to the Early/Spring/Speedwell... Read More
Mt Holly Gardens Stay Pending Appeal Continues
On May 10, 2011, the United States Court of Appeals denied an application by the Township of Mt. Holly requesting a modification of lifting of a stay pending appeal which had been imposed imposed by the Court back in March of this year. (Check our prior blog post on the stay by clicking here). The Court of... Read More
Failure to Exhaust Administrative Remedies Torpedos Case
A New Jersey appellate court recently affirmed a lower court’s dismissal of a civil rights/due process claim by a Somerset County property owner who alleged that it was denied the right to develop its acreage in Millstone Borough over the course of several years where efforts to develop the property were stalled. Rezem Family Associates... Read More
Private Property Rights Protection Bill Introduced by Congress
H.R. 1433 (the “Private Property Rights Protection Act”) was recently introduced in the United States Congress by its bipartisan co-sponsors Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI) and Maxine Waters (D-CA). If the proposed legislation passed as currently drafted, the new law would prohibit a State from using eminent domain for private development where a State had received federal... Read More
N.J. Supreme Court: Tenant Has Clout to Negotiate in Condemnation
Yesterday, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Town of Kearny v. Discount City (A-76-09) and held that a condemnation action should have been dismissed for a failure to engage in bona fide negotiations with the only condemnee, a tenant occupying a building within a designated redevelopment area. Along the way to reversal, the Court reaffirmed its earlier... Read More
