Jackson Township officials say they want to stop overdevelopment. They have an Open Space Committee. Residents pay a dedicated open-space tax. The township has spent millions acquiring land to prevent development.
Here’s a chance to acquire a 17.6-acre parcel of property for pretty much free, and to stop a 100-unit high-density apartment project at the same time.
Win-Win, the interim mayor can use it to get re-elected and everyone’s happy, right?
Well, that’s not the plan, of course. The new plan is to have candidates bark loudly about this in videos on TikTok and Facebook, then push the hearing off until after the election to approve the property anyway.
That’s not what we were promised, was it?
So why, when a roughly 17.6-acre property reportedly owes approximately $3.5 million in delinquent municipal property taxes, is Jackson entertaining an application to dramatically increase the development permitted on that property instead of aggressively pursuing the taxes it is already owed and exploring preservation of the land?
That should be the question before Jackson officials right now. Who is making these decisions? They appear lost without my guidance on the back end these days, but that is not only their loss, it’s the entire town’s loss.
As Shore News Network reported this week, a contract purchaser is seeking permission to construct 98 additional residential units at Pleasant Gardens near the former McAuliffe Middle School. With 28 existing residences, the project would ultimately contain 126 units. Current RG-2 zoning allows approximately three units per acre, while the applicant is seeking density approaching eight units per acre and permission for market-rate townhouses that are not presently permitted on the property. Read the full Shore News Network report
Stop the madness. Why are we even talking about this when hanging over the entire application is that $3.5 million tax delinquency?
The Taxpayers Should Not Be the Ones Asked to Compromise
According to testimony before the Zoning Board, the contract purchaser does not want to complete the acquisition, satisfy the property’s enormous tax liability and then discover that Jackson will not approve enough housing to make the deal economically worthwhile.
Well, that’s the name of the real estate game, risk and reward. They should have to own the property before even wasting our time at hearing where we are paying $300 per hour lawyers and professionals to listen to their half-baked scheme.
That’s understandable from a developer’s perspective, but it makes absolutely no sense from the township’s standpoint.
But Jackson Township is not in the business of guaranteeing a private real-estate transaction is profitable. It’s in the business of being accountable to its residents, being fair, working for the best interest of of the community.
The zoning ordinance says what can be built.
Flat out, the answer should be “no”.
Instead the answer was, “Let’s just put this off until after the election because it’s not in our best interest to decide this tonight.”
If a prospective buyer cannot make the numbers work under the existing zoning because millions of dollars in unpaid taxes are attached to the property, that is not automatically a reason for Jackson to increase the property’s development potential.
The last thing the intersection of East Vets and Hope Chapel needs is a 100 apartments in addition to a consolidated high school, Jackson Crossing, Liberty Plaza, BMG, Cheder School, A warehouse project and another new development just south.
It’s the main connector road between Jackson and Lakewood. What are we thinking here?
In fact, a Zoning Board member correctly warned during the hearing that financial considerations are “shaky ground when you come to a zoning board.”
Exactly.
The $3.5 million delinquency should not become leverage for obtaining zoning concessions.
“We’ll pay that bill only if you approve this really terrible idea we’re selling you”
It should become a collection issue, a lien enforcement issues, a seizure issue, and an open space issue.
As Phil Murphy used to say, period. Full stop.
Jackson Already Has a Powerful Tax Lien
Technically, Jackson does not even need to “file” a new lien simply because these taxes are delinquent.
Under New Jersey law, property taxes constitute a continuous lien on the land, with subsequent taxes, interest, penalties and collection costs becoming part of that lien.
New Jersey’s tax-sale laws then provide mechanisms for municipalities to enforce those obligations. When a municipality holds a tax-sale certificate, state law permits it, after the applicable statutory period, to institute an action to foreclose the owner’s right of redemption.
Why hasn’t this been done yet? Who are we protecting here? It’s certainly not the people of Jackson.
That does not mean Jackson can simply show up tomorrow morning, change the locks and declare the property municipal open space. There are statutory procedures, notice requirements, redemption rights and protections for the owner’s remaining equity.
But $3.5 million is not a late water bill.
Jackson taxpayers deserve to know exactly what the township is doing to collect it.
Has a tax-sale certificate been issued?
If so, who owns it?
If Jackson owns the certificate, why hasn’t foreclosure been pursued, assuming the statutory requirements have been satisfied?
If somebody else owns it, what is the township’s plan?
How many years have these taxes been delinquent?
Those questions should be answered publicly before Jackson even begins discussing whether this property needs dramatically more favorable zoning.
I thought our mayor was a shrewd real-estate magnate with cold ice running through her veins when it came to people cheating our systems? Where is she on this?
The township should immediately direct its professionals and Open Space Committee to determine whether the undeveloped portion of this tract is a viable candidate for preservation.
We already know that answer, it is PRIME real estate for open space. In fact, it’s probably the best candidate for open space in the entire township.
There are several potential paths: negotiated acquisition, enforcement and foreclosure of municipal tax liens where legally available, or potentially acquisition through eminent domain for an actual public use with constitutionally required compensation.
Not sure what the value of the land is, but $3.5 million should cover much of the eminent domain sale price.
Which mechanism is appropriate depends on the property’s ownership, liens, value and legal status.
But doing nothing should not be the default.
Jackson Already Knows How to Use Eminent Domain
The timing makes the situation even more remarkable.
Just last month, the New Jersey Supreme Court decided Township of Jackson v. Getzel Bee, LLC, a case arising from Jackson’s attempt to condemn private property as part of a land exchange intended to obtain other property for open space.
Jackson lost. So, maybe it doesn’t know how to use eminent domain. I stand corrected.
The Supreme Court unanimously held that Jackson could not condemn one person’s property merely to hand that property to a private developer in exchange for different land that would serve the public purpose.
However, it can condemn the space for a park or open space, especially considering the huge delinquent tax bill.
The Court also reaffirmed the basic principle that preservation of open public space is itself a recognized public use. The problem with Jackson’s earlier transaction was that the land actually being condemned was going to a private developer rather than being preserved for the public.
Why the hell are we even paying Jean Cipiriani and Greg McGucken? I don’t have a law degree and I can advise the township on the right path here.
Collect the money…or take the property. This isn’t missing your latest inflated quarterly tax bill…oh ya, we just got those, crazy high, right? Well, thank delinquent property owners, because that $3.5 million could have gone a long way for the town, and lowered our ridiculously high “estimated” bills.
But face it, this isn’t about you or me; this is about fulfilling the mandate to overbuild our town and to roll out the red carpet for any developer with a suitcase full of campaign cash or a lawyer willing to max out donations.
There is an obvious lesson here.
If Jackson genuinely wants open space, acquire land for open space.
Don’t roll over and play dead when your developer friends want to build things that can’t be built under our existing laws.
And don’t bend existing zoning to make a tax-burdened private development deal financially feasible without first examining whether the taxpayers would be better served by preserving the land.
Put the $3.5 Million Question First
Before the Pleasant Gardens application returns to the Zoning Board on Dec. 2, Jackson Township should publicly disclose the complete tax status of Block 20901, Lot 3 and explain what collection actions have been taken.
The township should determine the status and ownership of any tax-sale certificate. They should move to enforce that lein.
I thought we were doing this already, but it seems certain properties, like this one were exempted.
It should determine whether foreclosure proceedings are legally available.
And Jackson’s Open Space Committee should formally evaluate whether the undeveloped property should be acquired and permanently preserved.
If the owner pays the $3.5 million and retains the property, fine. The property can then be developed according to the zoning laws that apply to everyone else, unless the applicant proves it is legally entitled to variances.
But Jackson should not allow millions of dollars in unpaid taxes to become a bargaining chip for higher-density development.
The taxpayers are the ones owed the money.
The taxpayers are the ones who have funded Jackson’s open-space program.
And the taxpayers are the ones who will live with another 98 housing units long after the current developer, property owner, elected officials and Zoning Board members are gone.
Jackson has spent years telling residents that it wants to preserve open space and control development. It has spent the past 10 months preaching to us about transparency, fairness, and accountability.
Here is an opportunity to prove it.
