Vineland to take closer look at possible use of eminent domain
By JULIET FLETCHER Staff Writer, 856-237-9020
Published: Wednesday, August 27, 2008
VINELAND - Planners can go ahead with a study on the possibility of using eminent domain at the site of a major redevelopment project, City Council members voted Tuesday.
The intersection of East and Landis avenues was named a redevelopment zone in 2000, and has now become the site of a planned $45 million hub of commercial and residential development, centered on the planned renovation of the Landis Theater and known as the Four Corners project.
But city redevelopment staff urged City Council last week to approve a more in-depth look at whether the area counts as ‘blighted’ under state guidelines.
That review comes after recent legal challenges, most notably in Long Branch, Monmouth County, limited municipalities’ right to use eminent domain.
Redevelopment director Sandy Forosisky told City Council on Tuesday that those legal shifts had raised the bar of proof municipalities have to meet to classify an area as in need of redevelopment.
The city can seize properties in a redevelopment area, but Forosisky said last week that officials would consider that only as a last resort.
As long as the Four Corners site lies within a redevelopment area, the project stands to receive $14 million in tax credits, she said.
“We need to be proactive and make sure we have this clear,” she said.
With City Council’s backing via a resolution, Planning Board officials can now authorize a study that would look at blight on each block of the project site.
The possible use of eminent domain has also played a role in negotiations between property owners and the developer, Hans Lampart, Forosisky said.
Once city staff announced they were uncertain about whether eminent domain could be used should negotiations fail, Ray Marquez, who owns one of the sites slated for the development, complained that Lampart had not been willing to negotiate what Marquez considered a fair price for sale.
Forosisky said Tuesday that she had spoken since the weekend with Lampart.
“I told him he really needs to find a way to resolve this by negotiating,” she said. “Both sides have sort of dug their heels in.”