New Jersey is seeing a disturbing rise in eminent domain abuse and government overreach against private property owners.
In Cranbury, officials are trying to seize a 175-year-old, 21-acre family farm. Their justification is to satisfy NJ affordable housing mandates. The township has already begun condemnation proceedings to take 12 acres for the purpose of building 130 apartments—robbing a family of land they’ve stewarded for generations.
Toms River has backed off on its proposed ordinance to seize the 160 year old Christ Episcopal Church to create a public park and pickleball courts. Vocal public opposition has caused the mayor to remove discussion of the ordinance from the July 30th meeting until further polling of residents is completed.
In Perth Amboy, the city has declared a tire shop and a four family building as “blighted” to justify taking the properties. The properties are being labeled as “areas in need of redevelopment” for the creation of a warehouse. The Institute for Justice has filed suit against the city in June on behalf of the property owners.
In Evesham, the Pinelands Commission is looking to take away the development rights to 780 acres that adjoin the already preserved Black Run Reserve. They seek to change the designation of the private land from “rural development” to “forest area.” The developer was planning on building 270 single family homes on a portion of the property. No compensation at all is being offered for the taking to the owner of the land.
These cases expose a dangerous contradiction: in some towns, governments seize land to force more housing; in another, it blocks housing altogether. The common thread is coercion. Instead of working with property owners through fair, voluntary, and creative solutions, too many officials take the easy way out—by taking what does not belong to them.