Trenton Leaders Should Stop Stalling on Appraisal Legislation
Senator Steven Oroho, Assemblywoman Alison Littell McHose, and Assemblyman Gary Chiusano (R-Sussex/Morris/Hunterdon) called on legislative leaders and the Governor to act on legislation before the summer recess to protect the property rights of landowners in the Highlands region whose property has been devalued as a result of the land use restrictions of the Highlands law.
S-1875 (Sarlo/Oroho) would extend the expiration date of the “special appraisal process” provided in law for State-funded land acquisitions throughout the State under the Green Acres and farmland preservation programs from its present June 30, 2009 expiration date until June 30, 2011. Senator Oroho is also sponsoring legislation, S-2306, that would extend the appraisal process an additional five years in the Highlands region.
Likewise in the Assembly, bi-partisan measures have been introduced to deal with the appraisal process. One bill, A-3197 (McKeon/McHose/Chiusano), extends the expiration date of the special appraisal process for Green Acres and farmland preservation programs from 2009 to 2014. It has already received unanimous passage in the Assembly Environment Committee and is awaiting a vote by the full Assembly.
“Proponents are touting the proposed $600 million Green Acres bond act as a continuing means to purchase valuable open space and farmland,” said Oroho. “Land preservation is very worthy, but we need to be equally concerned about protecting the value of the landowner’s property and paying its fair worth. I am particularly concerned about the Highlands region because landowners are suffering from lost equity as a result of the restrictions placed on their properties by enactment of the Highlands law. Extension of the special appraisal process will at least guarantee the value of these properties pre-Highlands.”
The special appraisal process for open space in the “Garden State Preservation Trust Act” was put in place to address the concern expressed by landowners and farmers that state government would take regulatory actions (such as Highlands land use restrictions) to devalue parcels of open space and farmland, and then use the monies available from the Garden State Preservation Trust to acquire them at a fraction of their true value. The special appraisal process ensures that lands for open space and farmland were valued at their pre-restriction levels.
“When government actions severely diminish the value of private property, fairness demands that those affected landowners be properly compensated,” stated McHose. “Extending the special appraisal process for Highlands’ landowners is extremely vital. Allowing the special appraisal process to expire will cause Highlands property owners to bear even more of a financial burden than they are already experiencing due to the Highlands Act.”
The legislators pointed out that the Governor called for an extension of the special appraisal process “of at least five years” when he issued an executive order last Fall after signing off on the Highlands Regional Master Plan.
“I have stated before that it is simply unfair that the State forced a small group of landowners to bear the lion’s share of the costs for a program designed to benefit the entire state’s ecology,” said Chiusano. “The Legislature needs to act now to pass these bills or else they are just rubbing salt in the wounds.”
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May 7, 2009
