Beachfront North is seen looming above houses in the affected eminentdomain area of Long Branch.
Posted on 11/23/2008 4:51:33 PM PST by Coleus
After a bitter five-year legal fight, the city of Long Branch has suggested it will abandon its plan to seize more than a dozen modest homes to make way for an ambitious oceanfront development project. Mayor Adam Schneider, who has long contended the small neighborhood meets the "blighted" designation necessary for the use of eminent domain, said today he now wants to settle with the homeowners rather than fight them in court for several more years.
"The goal is to not use eminent domain," Schneider said. "I want this case settled. It's not going to settle if we use eminent domain." While he has not put the pledge it in writing, Schneider said he can no longer envision seizing the converted bungalows "unless there's a series of incredible demands" by the homeowners. "In my mind, that ship has sailed," Schneider said.
Lori Ann Vendetti, a leader of the homeowners' group, said she was "cautiously optimistic" a settlement could be reached and that residents would be able to remain in their houses. "This is a positive development," Vendetti said. "All along the city has said, 'We're going to take your properties,' and the mayor has said, 'You're not going to stay in your homes.' So this has never come out of his mouth before." A lawyer for the homeowners was decidedly more cautious, saying that if Schneider is serious, he should move for a voluntary dismissal of the condemnation complaint in court. "Why didn't he just do that?" asked the lawyer, Peter Wegener. "There's some reason he can't do that. It seems to me that something else is in play, and what else is in play is the fact that we don't know what the developer is saying."
(Excerpt) Read more at nj.com ...
Beachfront North is seen looming above houses in the affected eminentIncredible demands to remain in their home?
This guy is going to wait them out. If they sell, their will be only one person allowed to pay, the city
Time to get a new mayor.
Our daughter was born at the hospital in Long Branch! We were living in Freehold at the time, but my Ob-Gyn delivered at Long Branch.
I wonder how much of the pullback regarding the planned “ambitious oceanfront development project” has to do with the current collapse in the mortgage/housing market. Could this simply be a tactical shift, while waiting out the credit squeeze? Have the developers suddenly scaled back or scuttled future projects?
I grew up on the coast just a few miles north of Long Branch; when I visited there earlier this year, I was appalled at the massive, cheaply-constructed and overly expensive eyesores crowding the coast for block after block.
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