Borough of Seaside Park v. Shree Jyoti, LLC (Eminent Domain Ordinance Public-Use Disclosure Ruling)
In a 6-1 decision, the New Jersey Supreme Court held that neither the state's Eminent Domain Act nor its Local Lands and Buildings Law requires a municipality to state its intended public use inside the condemnation ordinance itself, resolving a four-year fight over Seaside Park's 2022 taking of the blighted Desert Palm Inn. Justice Michael Noriega wrote for the majority; Justice John Jay Hoffman dissented, invoking the state's 'square corners' doctrine because the Borough allegedly knew its reuse plans before condemning the property but declined to disclose them to the owner.
Why it matters
Forecloses a facial vagueness challenge to boilerplate 'health, safety, and welfare' language in New Jersey condemnation ordinances, a drafting practice used by municipalities statewide. Commercial owners facing eminent domain now have a narrower path — documenting a municipality's pre-ordinance planning and any refusal to disclose it — to mount a square-corners challenge instead, per Justice Hoffman's dissent, while municipalities gain confirmation they need not lock in a specific end use before condemning blighted or code-violating commercial property.
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