Belmar Restricts Its Own Eminent Domain Power
The Belmar Borough Council voted 4-1 on February 25, 2009 to ban the use of eminent domain to take real property within a designated municipal “redevelopment area” and to convey it to a private developer, even though New Jersey law permits such condemnations to occur. Borough Councilman Matthew Doherty, who was in favor of the limitation, stated: “It’s wrong to take private property and turn it over to a redeveloper for private gain.” Belmar had previously adopted an ordinance in 2007 prohibiting the use of eminent domain in redevelopment areas to take owner-occupied homes. The Borough’s recent action expands the ban to any type of property where the stated purpose of the taking is for municipal “redevelopment”. These bans do not apply, however, to the use of eminent domain for public purposes other than municipal redevelopment.
In February, 2008, a New Jersey appeals court invalidated a redevelopment designation by the Borough of Belmar for an area identified as the “Transit Village Study Area”, thereby removing the Borough’s power of eminent domain for those properties in the study area. McKirdy & Riskin’s Thomas Olson, participated in that appeal as condemnation counsel to the National Federation of Independent Legal Business Foundation. The recent ordinance represents a voluntary limitation on the use of eminent domain by the Borough.
