Another blow to property rights in NJ.
Another NJ government power grab. Not to completely go on a tangent, but I also find it suspicious that NJ residents are strongly opposed to raising the gasoline tax to replenish the transportation trust fund, so immediately they start inspecting and shutting down all the roads and bridges. It's basically extortion, and with the highest taxes in the country there's no way they should be out of money for fixing the roads.
The sense I got from the article is that the court ruled against the owners only because they hadn't yet pursued all their administrative options. It suggested that in order to prevail in an inverse condemnation claim they first have to exhaust the available administrative remedies, like applying for a zoning variance.
I suspect we haven't seen the last of the matter.
That may go to the SCOTUS.
The question decided by the court was whether the zoning ordinance was valid. The plaintiffs do still have the ability to claim inverse condemnation after administrative options are exhausted.
With ya there Jim. Half of what we do is try and educate our clients as to the rules and regulations we have to abide by. They do too, but many are just a bit more bone headed and stubborn and end up shooting themselves in the foot. We aren't magicians, but we do our best to help folks.
However, I'm not really much in favor of all these green zones, buffer zones, not in my back yard, etc philosophies that have been crammed down every bodies mouth the past few decades. How many people have bought nice property with privately owned adjacent land, only to find that the neighbor wants to build a nice place - thus blocking their view. Nothing against trees, lakes, mountains, even some dogs, but it does get out of hand as these power grabber zoners & planners exile people just trying to do something with their own land.
Then again, New Jersey is "The Garden State", so one would think they should consider that a plus before they decide to live there.
Some 'legger here has a signature along the lines of "...solve the problem, quit electing them..." I like that concept more than I like the regulations they put on us.
