Donovan Calls for Limits on Public Use of Eminent Domain

For Immediate Release: May, 15 2006

Contact Alan Marcus 201-902-9000

The taking of private property for so-called public purposes should be controlled by new state law designed to strictly limit the practice, according to Kathleen Donovan and her running mates in the June Republican primary.

Calling eminent domain "the twenty-first century version of the post Civil War carpetbaggers" Donovan said that, "eminent domain was created to make certain that important public projects including infrastructure and schools would not be unnecessarily thwarted. A mechanism was developed to protect property owners and make certain that they were treated fairly on the few occasions that condemnation of their property was required. Unfortunately, it has at times become the tool of politicians and profiteers whose concern is private and not public gain."

Joining Donovan in her condemnation of unnecessary use of eminent domain are Freeholder candidates Elizabeth Randall and Ed Trawinski and Jae Kim who is running for Surrogate on the Donovan Team.

"The United States Supreme Court has done nothing to prevent states from enacting strong laws to control the now unrestricted use of eminent domain. New Jersey should act quickly to put proper limits in place and avoid inappropriate use of this so-called redevelopment tool which provides little public benefit but serves to enrich politically favored developers."

Donovan, Randall, Trawinski and Kim said that in calling for new state laws that they would impose a county moratorium on the use of eminent domain for anything other than a necessary public purpose. "The County Planning Board and other regulatory agencies will carefully review all applications during a Donovan administration to make certain that the rights of private property owners are not being abused. Schools are a public purpose. Supermarkets are not. Taking someone's home or business just because it would generate increased tax revenues is not a public purpose," the candidates said.

Donovan also said that limits on using eminent domain would extend to county government as well. "We are not going to shift the property tax burden to local taxpayers by condemning buildings and taking them off of the local tax rolls. That's an irresponsible cost shift that we're not going to tolerate."