TOMS RIVER, NJ – Toms River officials are once again ready to open the township coffers to buy private land in the North Dover section of town in an attempt to curb overdevelopment in that region.
Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill is expected to invoke eminent domain to acquire two properties located at 1944 Whitesville Road and 133 Riverwood Drive. The town council has already approved a $4.2 million bond ordinance to acquire the land. On Wednesday, the town council will vote to purchase the two lots, totaling over 30 acres.
Toms River Mayor Maurice Hill said the township contacted the owners to purchase the land, but the landowners never responded. Now, he is seeking to condemn and purchase the properties under eminent domain.
This isn’t the first time Hill has threatened to use eminent domain. In 2018, the owners of the “Guttman property” sued Hill and the township, claiming their attempt to seize the property through the courts amounted to nothing more than trying to keep Orthodox Jews from developing privately owned land and settling in Toms River.
The developer of that project planned to build 100 townhomes and retail units.