Eminent domain must be bridled
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/3/06
Lillian and Louis Anzalone have lived in their white bungalow on
Ocean Terrace in Long Branch, a block away from the beach, for 46
years. Frances T. DeLuca's family has owned homes on the same street
since 1918. Their residences are among 36 private properties Long
Branch wants to seize -- using its power of eminent domain, taking
property for public use - for redevelopment of the area into
oceanfront condominiums.
As highlighted in the Press' three-day series "Private
Property/Public Gain: The Battle Over Eminent Domain," which
concluded Tuesday, this property rights campaign is playing out most
forcefully in Long Branch. Mayor Adam Schneider calls the use of
eminent domain "a tool of last resort." But he says the area where
the Anzalones and DeLucas live is blighted, one of the criteria
under the state's developer-friendly redevelopment law. So, the city
is seeking to condemn the properties of 24 of the 36 homeowners who
have not agreed to sell to the developer of Beachfront North Phase
II.
The homes along Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue are
not blighted. It is an area of small, well-kept houses. It is
morally reprehensible for Long Branch to force the people who live
there out of their homes. They have stayed with the city through
good times and bad. Casting them aside is no way to say "thank you."
Schneider should renegotiate the city's contract with the developer
and see that the plan is redesigned so that the developer can
maximize his profits without interfering with this established
neighborhood.
Eminent domain should not be applied for economic development at the
expense of owner-occupied residences or businesses. It's not fair to
residents or merchants -- taxpayers all - who have devoted their
lives to the municipality.
The battle that pits property rights against economic development is
not isolated to Long Branch. It is a national issue. As detailed in
the series, it is also being fought along the Jersey Shore in Asbury
Park, Neptune and Neptune City.
In Asbury Park, Araxy Gokberk fears that her three-story house on
Sixth Avenue, which her parents bought 50 years ago, will be
targeted for the city's waterfront redevelopment project. It would
be just as wrong for master developer Asbury Partners to move
against her home as it is for Long Branch to try to displace the
Anzalones and DeLucas.
Development advocates have been heartened by the U.S. Supreme Court
ruling last year in a case from New London, Conn. That 5-to-4 ruling
extended the traditional definition of public use under eminent
domain -- generally roads, bridges, schools, hospitals -- to
anything serving the greater public good, improving the economy and
generating new tax revenue. That's far too broad.
The New London ruling has put eminent domain on the national agenda,
too. New Jersey is among 40 states that are considering or have
enacted legislative reforms of eminent domain laws. The House of
Representatives has passed a bill restricting federal funds to
states or towns that use eminent domain for commercial development.
New Jersey's Legislature must act to bring equity to the state's
redevelopment law. The definition of blighted land must be clear.
And the law must provide standards of "just compensation" to
property owners whose homes are already targeted and in those rare
occasions when eminent domain is justified.
The tool of eminent domain cited by Schneider is really a hammer
over the heads of the homeowners. Once their home is targeted, their
property value is frozen. All they can do is negotiate with the
developer based on the current use of the land. That, too, is
unfair. It's unlikely they can find a replacement home for that
price and they can't afford to buy one of the million-dollar condos
that would rise on their property.
For the Anzalones, the $304,000 appraised value of their oceanfront
home won't go far. "I could not build a garage for a bicycle for
that price," Louis Anzalone said, perhaps exaggerating to make a
strong point. For DeLuca, the prospect of condemnation is an assault
on the area's history. "You need to leave a little version of what
the Jersey Shore looked like before they turn it into Staten
Island," she said.
These and the other threatened families in Long Branch, Asbury Park
and elsewhere grew up there and deserve to remain there.
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