A Connell Foley LLP Real Estate and Land Use team saved their clients’ two property lots from condemnation by convincing the New Jersey Superior Court’s Appellate Division that the Township of Jackson, N.J., could not exercise eminent domain authority because—without having clearly-articulated a valid public purpose for the proposed condemnation area in the public record—the Township lacked the statutorily-required “proper public purpose” for the property. The Appellate Division’s holding in the case will likely affect the requirements that municipalities must fulfill in order to file a valid condemnation action to take private property.
Richard DeAngelis, a partner with the group, and associate Meredith Rubin represented Getzel Bee, LLC and Bellevue Jackson, LLC (“LLCs”) in the condemnation action filed by the Township, which alleged the Township had eminent domain authority based upon an ordinance stating that the Township’s acquisition was for the purpose of open space. However, the true purpose of the acquisition was to convey the LLCs’ properties, along with other properties owned by the Township, in exchange for lands owned by a developer.
While Connell Foley’s challenge was pending, the Township adopted a second ordinance stating that condemnation of the lots was necessary to affect a land-swap agreement between the Township and a private developer. The second ordinance did not otherwise identify the proposed use of the condemned lots.
The Township argued that, because authority for the land-swap had already been confirmed by the Superior Court in a previous challenge to that agreement, the LLCs were precluded from challenging the Township's eminent-domain action. But the appellate court agreed that an action under the New Jersey Eminent Domain Act offers the exclusive procedure for a property owner's right to challenge the government's authority to take private property.
DeAngelis and Rubin convinced the Appellate Division that, while the LLCs were included in the land-swap agreement between the Township and developer, the lots at issue were not owned by the Township and, therefore, the land-swap agreement was not enforceable as to those lots.
Finding that the Township does not plan to use the LLCs’ two lots for the Township’s purported public purpose of open space—and that the Township had failed to articulate any valid public use of the condemned land—the Appellate Division also agreed with the Connell Foley team’s argument that the Township failed to demonstrate the statutorily-required public use of the LLCs’ two lots.
In a precedent-setting decision, the Appellate Division held that without an ordinance setting forth the actual proposed public purpose of the LLC’s lots—a requirement of the Federal and State Constitutions—the purported use of the lots as open space is pretextual.
A copy of the Appellate Division’s decision, which has been approved for publication, can be found here.