Court: Tenant can't fight redevelopment Lawson rules renter lacks standing to block sale of home BY CHRISTINE VARNO Staff Writer LONG BRANCH - The attorney representing a Long Branch tenant may appeal a recent Superior Court ruling that permits the condemnation of the oceanfront home he lives in. On Friday, Judge Lawrence M. Lawson denied a motion to dismiss the condemnation complaint served by the city on the Melrose Terrace property where Bill Nordahl resides. The motion, filed by Nordahl's attorney, Barbara J. Gonos, West Long Branch, further sought to prohibit the city from condemning the neighborhood in order to make way for a private condominium redevelopment project. In his ruling, Lawson said Nordahl does not have standing to challenge the city's use of eminent domain to condemn his home, because he is a tenant in a property that has already been sold to the city for redevelopment. "As I understand, the owners of his property consented to the city purchasing the property," Lawson said during the arguments in court. "Help me understand how your client has standing?" he asked Gonos, adding "The problem is, the owner of the property is not contesting. "[Nordahl] does not have standing in this court. When can a tenant contest to a property owner selling property?" he said. Gonos said Monday that she and Nordahl appeared in court last week in response to an order by Lawson to show cause as to why the city is not authorized to use its power of eminent domain. "And that is exactly what we did," she said. "But despite being invited for that purpose, we were told we did not having standing to do so." Gonos said she and Nordahl are currently discussing whether to appeal the decision. "We have a 45-day period [from March 1] to file an appeal," she said. "We are talking about it." In court, Gonos argued that Nordahl, 69, has "very unique issues" such as being a tenant in a redevelopment zone, as well as being a senior citizen. "His property interest in this case goes beyond an owner," Gonos said. "He is looking for his day in court." Nordahl has been a month-to-month rental tenant in the Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue neighborhood, known as MTOTSA, for more than 40 years. Plans for MTOTSA call for developer MM Beachfront North II - consisting of Matzel & Mumford, a division of K. Hovnanian, Middletown, and the Applied Cos., Hoboken - to raze the homes and construct luxury condominiums in their place. Approximately 22 property owners in Nordahl's neighborhood are currently appealing a June 22 decision by Lawson that permitted the city to use eminent domain to condemn the properties on the three streets for a private redevelopment project. "The court has already ruled that the city has the right to take the property [in MTOTSA]," Lawson said last week,. "That matter is already in the appellate division," he said. Before the June decision, Lawson said he spent time in the MTOTSA neighborhood. "The court was not oblivious to these homes," he said. "I went and visited the scene before writing my decision." Gonos said during her arguments that she did not plan to re-try the MTOTSA case and wanted to put new facts on the record, including the allegation that favoritism occurred during the redevelopment process. "There is a lot to the east of [MTOTSA]," she said, "It is the only area in [the MTOTSA redevelopment zone] that was allowed to stay. We are raising the issue of arbitrary [decisions]." According to Gonos, the six-unit Seaview Park Condominium complex at 152 Ocean Ave. was excluded from the city's redevelopment plans. She further argued that a resident of one of the units was also a member of Long Branch Tomorrow, a group formed in the 1990s to study the city's beachfront in order to undertake an examination of the area's potential revitalization. Attorney Paul V. Fernicola, of Red Bank represented the city in the Nordahl case and argued that the city is not seeking to have Nordahl vacated from his home at this point. "By the city allowing you to stay in the property during the length of an appeal, it can be used as a defense, [to remain longer if the city prevails in the appeal]" Fernicola said "We are not seeking to have Mr. Nordahl removed," he said, adding, "We recognize the he is a decades-long resident. We recognize the inconvenience and we want to minimize it." Fernicola also argued that the declaration of taking should not be dismissed because the owners of Nordahl's home and the city have reached a negotiation. Property owners Mark and Kathleen Suave sold their Melrose Terrace property, which has served as a home for Nordahl for more than four decades, to the city last month. As a city-owned property now, Nordahl can continue his month-to-month lease, paying rent to the city, according to Lawson. Gonos said although Lawson denied the motion, Nordahl had every right to his day in court. On Feb. 9, Nordahl was served with an eminent domain condemnation action, according to Gonos. If Nordahl did not have a proper right to take legal action, then the city would not have named him as a defendant on the papers, she said.