Boro seeks support for redevelopment
Some question fact that plan would still allow use of eminent domain
BY MICHAEL ACKER
Staff Writer

Mayor Robert Szegeti is seeking a mutual agreement with South River property owners in the three areas that are targeted for redevelopment.

The borough’s once-controversial redevelopment plan is moving forward, as mayor and Borough Council have officially received the latest plan at its Nov. 27 meeting. The documents include maps of the three areas — the vacant Eckerd drugstore on Main Street, the 3.3-acre Witty’s Liquors site on Old Bridge Turnpike, and the old Lincoln School property on Prospect Street.

The plan includes a phrase that allows the municipality to acquire land by negotiating a price with the property owners, or by condemning the property, which would involved the use of eminent domain. The phrase does not sit well with some on the dais, and the underlying threat of eminent domain itself is what caused hundreds of borough residents and merchants to oppose an initial redevelopment plan earlier this year.

Councilman Anthony Razzano, a Democrat who joined the council in September and was elected in a challenged one-vote margin Nov. 7, supports redevelopment in the borough but said he will not vote for eminent domain.

“I made a motion to strike or remove the phrase ‘condemnation,’ so only negotiation would be left,” Razzano said. “The attorney said that this would be an inappropriate time, since we just received and filed it, so if it is not removed, I will make a motion again.”

While condemnation is sometimes used to acquire hazardous properties that are falling apart, Razzano said that is not the case with these properties.

“In this case, it is for eminent domain, and I will not vote for it,” Razzano said.

He noted that a friend of his lost his house to eminent domain when the New Jersey Turnpike was widened from six to 12 lanes.

“I saw what he went through emotionally, legally and financially, and I do not want to see anyone else go through that again,” Razzano said. “I think that negotiation is the way to go.”

The plan — revised in recent months to ensure that no residents would be displaced due to redevelopment — does not include specific proposals but states goals including maximizing economic benefits, bringing tax revenue to the borough, and improving the aesthetics of the areas in question.

It also allows the borough to select one or more redevelopers for the project.

Republican Councilman John Krenzel described the redevelopment plan as “underwhelming.”

“What I would like to know is where we are going with all of this,” Krenzel said. “Once again, if out of three properties, two owners do not want to do anything with this according to the plan, then why send this to the Planning Board? … Why are we harassing private property owners?”

The businesses that Krenzel is citing are the owner of the former Eckerd building and the Witty’s property owner. Krenzel said the owner of Witty’s has his own plans for the property that the borough’s Zoning Board will consider.

Republican Councilman Raymond Eppinger said he would like to hear the Planning Board’s thoughts on the plan, but feels that there is not enough detail in the plan thus far.

“My concern with the whole thing is the redevelopment plan and the resolution that we passed say that we are going to fulfill the state statutes … [but] the statutes allow for the use of eminent domain,” he said.

Eppinger said he appreciates Razzano’s effort to keep condemnation out of the plan, but he added that as long as the state statute allows for it, the borough can still use it.

“We can pass all of the resolutions we want to,” Eppinger said, “but it cannot be removed from the statute. The two owners are already on the record as not being in favor of it.”

Szegeti, a Democrat, said he wants to discuss a mutual agreement with the owners of the properties deemed in need of redevelopment.

“What I plan to do is set up meetings with several owners of the properties and we’ll go from there. The hardest thing was to wait to get the plan out, now I want to speak to the land owners,” he said.

It is too early in the process to say what those properties would eventually be used for, Szegeti said, noting that this is something that should be mutually agreed upon between the owners and the borough.

“I want to go in with an open mind,” Szegeti said, “and I hope that [the property owners] do the same.”

The mayor believes the redevelopment will help borough taxpayers by adding to the ratable base.

“What you are doing is utilizing more of the property,” Szegeti said, “and putting the building on the property will increase the value.”