The Appellate Division’s recent decision in Borough of Glassboro v. Grossman, __ N.J. Super. ___ (App. Div.) (slip op., Jan. 7, 2019), merits considerable attention. In terms of redevelopment law, it is arguably the judiciary’s most significant calibration of the rights of property owners vis-a-vis municipalities since Gallenthin Realty Development v. Borough of Paulsboro, 191 N.J. 344 (2007). While breaking new ground on the one hand, on the other it rests entirely on a plain reading of the relevant provisions in the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 et seq. (LHRL). Thus, in a sense the decision can be seen as merely foregrounding a statutory construct that previously went overlooked by many practitioners (including this author).

Factual Background

In May 2000, Glassboro designated a sizeable portion of its downtown as an “area in need of redevelopment,” including defendants’ largely vacant parcel. Redevelopment activity followed, mainly confined to the area just off the campus of Rowan University. The subject property is about a block away but had nonetheless lain fallow since the blight designation. Defendants, who were relatively recent contract purchasers, asserted a desire to redevelop it (along with other nearby parcels they had acquired) as a mixed use facility with residential, commercial and retail components. For reasons not clear from the opinion, Glassboro perceived an immediate need for the property and negotiated with the defendants for its acquisition throughout much of 2017. Unable to reach mutually agreeable terms, the borough invoked its power of eminent domain in January 2018.

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