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May 19, 2006
New Jersey Public Advocate Says Municipalities Have Too Much Leeway to Seize Land
The NY Times
By David W. Chen
New Jersey's provisions to sieze private property via eminent domain seem just as abusive New York's.
New Jersey's laws allowing local governments to use eminent domain for private redevelopment are so broad that they are prone to misuse and often fail to protect the people and businesses that are displaced, according to a study released on Thursday by the state's public advocate.
Wading into one of the most contentious issues in the country, the public advocate, Ronald K. Chen, said that the use of municipal condemnation power has "expanded to the point where it provides virtually no limitation on taking private property for redevelopment, in apparent violation of the constitutional intent to limit this power." The law has become so permissive that no other state gives local government more leeway to interpret what constitutes a "blighted area," the legal basis upon which property can be taken, the report found.
NoLandGrab: The difference between NJ and NYC is that NYC Public Advocate Betsy Gotbaum has avoided the issue, even going so far as promoting the notion that eminent domain will not be used for Atlantic Yards, based upon personal assurances from Bruce Ratner.
Posted by lumi at May 19, 2006 7:38 AM