Township Council’s bid to sell several vacant lots to adjacent property owners stalled April 19 after one property owner objected to a provision preventing owners from building houses on the new lots.
By:Cara Latham Special Writer
Township Council delayed action on a proposed ordinance authorizing the sale of municipally owned vacant lots, after a Pennington man’s attorney hinted he might go to court if his client is prevented from purchasing three of the lots.
The proposed ordinance would allow Township Council to sell land that it owns on Lawn Park, Harding, Johnson, Arcadia, Eldridge and Hillcrest avenues to neighbors whose properties adjoin the lots. The lots would be sold with a deed restriction that says the land cannot be developed. Storage sheds but not houses could be built on the land.
But at Township Council’s April 19 meeting, the attorney for a Pennington Borough man who owns two vacant lots on Eldridge Avenue told the council that his client wants to buy three township-owned parcels on Arcadia Avenue and create one building lot. The Arcadia Avenue lots are adjacent to the Eldridge Avenue lots. Attorney Joseph Rocco of the Lawrence-based law firm of Stark & Stark, who represents Pennington resident John Habig, said his client cannot build a house on the vacant land he owns on Eldridge Avenue. The two vacant lots on Eldridge Avenue total 4,200 square feet less than the minimum 7,500 square feet required in the Residential-4 zone.
Mr. Rocco asked the council to amend the ordinance, so Mr. Habig could purchase the three lots on Arcadia Avenue, which total 6,300 square feet, he could combine them into one large lot that would exceed 7,500 square feet.
The lots that Mr. Habig owns on Eldridge Avenue are considered to be "isolated, undersized lots," Mr. Rocco said. Based on "well-settled case law," Mr. Habig could seek a variance to build on those lots, he said. The alternative is to put in an offer of fair market value for the three contiguous lots on Arcadia Avenue, he said.
But township Tax Assessor Geoffrey Acolia said Wednesday that he had not determined the fair market value for the Arcadia Avenue lots. They are assessed at a combined $9,800 for property tax purposes but the fair market value and the assessed value are not always the same, Mr. Acolia said.
Township Council wanted it that way because of its policy of maintaining open space throughout the township, Councilman Greg Puliti said.
"If it’s a vacant lot, keep it vacant," Mr. Puliti said. "Sell it to the (neighboring) property owner and keep it vacant."
Councilwoman Pam Mount agreed that the township’s goal is "to keep as much (land) open as possible." The reason for offering township-owned vacant lots to neighboring property owners is to allow the neighbors to legally own land that they have been using as their own on an informal basis, she said.
"It’s not a development idea," Ms. Mount said.
When Mr. Rocco said the purpose of the land-sale ordinance is to allow owners to develop the land, the five Township Council members disagreed and said the objective is to preserve land not develop it.
Mr. Rocco continued to argue that previous court decisions would allow the land to be developed. He also hinted that if Township Council introduces and adopts the ordinance with the deed restrictions, he might challenge it in court.
Municipal Manager Richard Krawczun suggested removing the Arcadia Avenue lots from the ordinance and revisiting the issue later, but Councilman Mark Holmes said he felt "uncomfortable" with that recommendation.
Municipal Attorney Kevin Nerwinski said he wanted to review the details before advising Township Council on the issue.
"I don’t see the need to move forward on these three lots without fully understanding all the issues policy and legal," Mr. Nerwinski said.
Mr. Holmes said the Township Council should not amend the ordinance.
"I think we should go ahead and research, come back and we should move on all of the lots," Mr. Holmes said. "That’s my stance. I want all of them in. If I can’t have that, then I’m against moving on any of them."
Staff Writer Lea Kahn contributed to this report.

