Jackson, NJ – Jackson Mayor Jennifer Kuhn is placing responsibility for a New Jersey Supreme Court ruling over a controversial land acquisition on the township’s “previous administration”, despite voting in favor of the measure as a councilwoman when it came before the governing body and despite running on a ticket with former Mayor Michael Reina who she has routinely identified as the “previous administration”.
In a statement released Friday, Kuhn said the court found “the previous Administration improperly used eminent domain to acquire two small parcels of land from a Lakewood-based LLC as part of a much larger land swap agreement.”
Reina resigned in October 2025, but under Kuhn’s leadership, the township continued its legal battle to enforce the eminent domain process.
She emphasized that the ruling does not invalidate the broader land swap and pledged to pursue “every available legal option”, but apparently preserving the land swap deal, minus the previously illegally eminent-domained private land.
Council records show unanimous approval
Township records from January 13, 2023, show the ordinance received unanimous approval, including Kuhn voting yeson the final second vote.
The meeting minutes list affirmative votes from then-Council President Martin Flemming, Council members Nino Borrelli, Stephen Chisholm, Jennifer Kuhn, and Scott Sargent. No council members voted against the ordinance or abstained.
That vote occurred before Kuhn became mayor but while she was serving on the Township Council, with her campaign running mates Reina and Sargent, now deceased.
Supreme Court criticized township’s actions
The New Jersey Supreme Court ruled that Jackson improperly used eminent domain to obtain the two parcels as part of the larger land swap.
In its opinion, the court wrote, “Neither the statutes that govern condemnation proceedings, nor case law from the United States Supreme Court or this State, authorize the type of land swap that took place here — condemning someone’s land only to exchange it for property of another that would be put to public use.”
The opinion continued, “Further, the Township did not act forthrightly in dealing with the owners of the private land it condemned.”
Mayor says township will continue legal fight
In her statement, Kuhn stressed that the ruling affects less than one acre of the overall land involved in the agreement and reaffirmed her commitment to preserving open space.
“I have directed our Township legal team and officials to pursue every available legal option to protect these parcels and preserve every acre we can—not only on this property, but throughout Jackson,” Kuhn said.
While Kuhn is correct that the court addressed actions taken before she assumed the mayor’s office, the public record also shows she was part of the governing body that unanimously approved the ordinance advancing the land swap in 2022.
