Chen delivers speech on eminent domain abuse State public advocate calls for reforms of blight designation laws State Public Advocate Ronald K. Chen discussed eminent domain abuse at two events this month, including the League of Municipalities conference held in Atlantic City. Ronald Chen Chen and his department have been investigating the use of eminent domain for private redevelopment throughout New Jersey towns, including Long Branch, for more than 18 months. "Based on this investigation, we have advocated in the courts in areas that we believe required renewed judicial attention, and we also strongly believe legislative reform is necessary to better protect the rights of tenants and property owners," Chen said in his speech given at the events. "In Long Branch, residents claim they were shown vivid mockups of the redevelopment effort that clearly indicated that their homes would remain untouched. "After the statutory time limit on their ability to appeal the blight designation had expired, the town began attempting to acquire those properties," he said. The speech was given at the League of Municipalities Nov. 14 and at the Policy Research Institute for the Region at Princeton University Nov. 9. "Towns have been gaining the power to use eminent domain for private redevelopment in areas where they should not have this power," Chen said in the speech. "Although the New Jersey Constitution limits eminent domain for private redevelopment to 'blighted areas,' the statutory definition of blight is too subjective and broad. "Reforms are still needed to make sure that [eminent domain] is used fairly and only under specific circumstances. The law must provide more protections both for property owners and also for tenants," he said. Chen filed an amicus curiae brief, also known as a friend of the court brief, in the Long Branch MTOTSA case in January to support the legal fight by residents of a beachfront neighborhood to block the city from taking their homes for a private redevelopment zone. The residents of Marine Terrace, Ocean Terrace and Seaview Avenue, whose neighborhood is known as MTOTSA, are appealing a June 22 Superior Court decision that affirmed the city's right to condemn their oceanfront properties. The case is in the appellate division of the state Superior Court. Chen was nominated to head the Department of the Public Advocate in January 2006 by Gov. Jon S. Corzine. When his office began operations on March, 27, 2006, Chen announced that its first major initiative would be to investigate the issue of eminent domain for private development. Since taking office, Chen and his department have issued two reports on the uses and abuses of eminent domain in New Jersey. The first report was issued on May 18, 2006, and analyzed current New Jersey eminent domain laws that permit municipalities to take property from one private owner and transfer it to another for redevelopment, according to Chen. A follow-up report was released by Chen in May documenting the widespread abuses of eminent domain in at least seven ongoing eminent domain cases in the state, including the MTOTSA case. In his speech, Chen said, "Our department supports redevelopment and believes eminent domain can be an important tool in that process." However, the law needs to be reformed to protect the rights of homeowners and tenants, he said. He added that his office believes a clearer and more objective definition of blight, as well as reforms that make the redevelopment process more fair and transparent, will make it easier for towns to successfully redevelop blighted areas. "Some have argued that such reforms would protect suburban homeowners at the expense of low-income urban communities in desperate need of redevelopment," Chen said. "We reject this notion on two counts," he said. "First, our experience has shown that it is very often low-income residents who need greater protections under the law. "Second, we believe stronger protections for tenants and property owners and effective redevelopment can, and must, coexist," he said. "In the next few weeks and months, I look forward to working with the Legislature in examining what further reforms are needed to achieve the overall goals about which there is little disagreement: providing for an affordable and pleasant living environment for the people of New Jersey, and at the same time, giving the proper respect to fundamental constitutional values," he said.