BY ELAINE VAN DEVELDE
Staff Writer
EDISON — The township has done most of the legwork it needs to do to condemn two vacant lots on a one-mile stretch of Amboy Avenue, which is a designated redevelopment area.
The ordinances, which were approved by the Township Council on April 14, set up the process for condemnation, or taking of the properties in question by eminent domain, should the owner not be willing to sell. Through the process of eminent domain, a municipality, which must obtain a professional appraisal on the property in question, can condemn the property and purchase it at fair market value, which is set by the courts.
The mayor’s office was unable to provide information on the appraisal firm or the cost of the appraisal by press time on Monday.
"This is just a process we have to go through with the ordinances," Mayor George A. Spadoro said. "We need the parking lots in that area so that people do not park on residential streets abutting it. That would be detrimental to the public good. Having the lots would serve the good, necessary public purpose of keeping the cars off the residential streets.
"We really do not like to condemn property to acquire it. We don’t think we’ll have to do it, but if we do, the process is being followed properly. We will send a formal offer to the owner within the next month or so. If they don’t want to sell, then we will have to move forward with the condemnation. But we are actively negotiating with the owners. I don’t think we’ll have to condemn."
The properties are in residential/business zones, Spadoro said, where a streetscape beautification project was just completed.
Recently, Superior Court Judge James Hurley, sitting in New Brunswick, overturned Edison’s 2002 decision to condemn six pieces of property in the Oak Tree Pond area — another redevelopment site. An operational business sits on the parcels. The township wanted to buy the property and turn it over to a developer to build a Walgreens, which officials deemed a greater good to the public than the existing business, a bus company.
Spadoro did not comment on that issue or the recent decision, but stood by his belief that the condemnation proceedings were purely procedural and the township prefers not to condemn.
"They want to condemn everything and it makes me wonder," resident Anthony Russomanno said. "If everything is being done on the level, then why are the decisions being reversed? Something just isn’t right. I’m all for the betterment of the town, but you can’t just go around condemning people’s property to do that."
Sometimes negotiations just fail and a last resort is necessary, Spadoro said.
"We never like to condemn. But if the land is in an area in need of redevelopment and the owner refuses to sell, then we have no other choice but to resort to giving them fair market value to buy and improve the land," the mayor said. "It’s all about quality of life enhancement."