Eminent Domain - Courier - 4 of 6 - 'Renewal' is seen as the next big thing

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Courier News Online - Sunday, May 7, 2006

Renewal is seen as the next big thing
Already a big activity, souping up old areas promises to intensify

By KAREN SUDOL
Gannett New Jersey

For a long time, any mention of a redevelopment project in New Jersey tended to elicit a blank stare.

That's because much of the development centered on farmland that produced cookie-cutter subdivisions, according to George Hawkins, executive director of New Jersey Future, a statewide research and policy group that encourages "smart growth."

But with the state limiting development and encouraging municipalities to preserve open space and more people desiring to live in village-like, pedestrian-friendly areas, redevelopment of existing neighborhoods has become "the thing" over the last five years, Hawkins said.

Since June 2003, 80 municipalities have designated areas in need of redevelopment or rehabilitation under the redevelopment law, according to the state Department of Community Affairs.

In order to obtain a more comprehensive list, the department is conducting a survey asking each of the state's municipalities whether it has declared an "area in need of redevelopment" prior to 2003, said Susan Bass Levin, commissioner of the state Department of Community Affairs. So far, 320 towns have responded, with 115 saying they have areas that were designated in need of redevelopment before 2003, she said.

"I believe that the community wants to preserve as much open space as possible, but it's also cheaper and easier to build on a farm than to go into an older city and essentially recycle," Levin said. "We need to change that dynamic if we want to keep open space. We've come to realize how precious open space is, and once you use it up, you don't ever get it back."

She said the state encourages refocusing development on existing areas but with caveats -- one being that towns ensure that the process of declaring an area in need of redevelopment is open.

Redevelopment projects preserve open space, promote jobs and economic opportunities in urban and older suburban areas and bring "new life and vitality" to those areas, Levin said.

In a developed state like New Jersey, redevelopment is the wave of the future, according to the New Jersey chapter of the American Planning Association.

"We're likely to see more redevelopment, not less," said Carlos Rodrigues, president of the American Planning Association's New Jersey chapter, which represents planning professionals. The chapter supports redevelopment practices as an important tool but is making suggestions on how to improve the process.

Advocates for property rights, however, have criticized the use of eminent domain for redevelopment projects. Some are calling for a moratorium on using eminent domain in such projects.

The increased awareness of redevelopment projects and the permitted use of eminent domain that goes along with it has naturally drawn more attention to both issues.

"Eminent domain has been a tool out there for projects like this," said Hawkins, of New Jersey Future, "but there wasn't enough redevelopment going on that ever made it a big issue. The reason it's in the forefront now is because it's a reality. It's truly a relevant issue."

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