In 62-64 Main Street, LLC, et al. v. The Mayor and Council of the City of Hackensack, the Supreme Court of New Jersey held that, in most instances, a municipality need not expressly find that deteriorated conditions on a property negatively affect surrounding properties, in order to declare the deteriorated
On March 10, the Supreme Court of New Jersey transferred the administration of affordable housing rules back to the courts, effectively stripping the “moribund” Council on Affordable Housing (COAH) of any power to regulate where and when affordable housing will be built in New Jersey. The much-anticipated decision opens yet
The New Jersey Assembly recently approved legislation that would require local governments and authorities to obtain a financing cost estimate from the New Jersey Environmental Infrastructure Trust (NJEIT) for certain projects. The NJEIT, which was first established in 1986, is an independent State financing authority that provides low interest-rate loans
In Minke Family Trust v. Township Of Long Beach, a New Jersey court recently addressed the authority conveyed to municipalities under the Disaster Control Act (DCA). The specific question raised in the suit is whether the DCA allows a municipality to record a deed of perpetual easement against a property
In Weinberger v. Township of Lakewood, Judge Vincent J. Grasso recently ruled that the Township of Lakewood’s zoning ordinances were null and void because the municipality failed to provide personal notice. While the municipality argued that it was exempt because it conducted a master plan review, the court rejected the
In Griepenburg v. Township of Ocean, the Supreme Court of New Jersey addressed the power of municipalities to zone property consistent with their Master Plan and Municipal Land Use Law (MLUL) goals. In addition to finding the ordinances at issue were not were not arbitrary, capricious, or unreasonable, the court
In a recent decision, the Appellate Division clarified who may be considered an “owner” of a dam for the purposed of compliance under the Safe Dam Act (“SDA”). Legal Background Upon enacting the SDA, the New Jersey Legislature noted “that the condition of many dams, lakes, and streams throughout the
The U.S. Supreme Court recently issued a decision in T-Mobile South LLC v. City of Roswell, which involved the city’s denial of a cell tower application. The Court held that the federal Telecommunications Act mandates that municipalities provide a written explanation when denying a request, and that the explanation must
