Eminent domain begins in Montclair
“Montclair has moved in court Monday to seize private land next to the Montclair Police Department to park township police vehicles, using its power of eminent domain in a way some municipal officials say is unnecessary.
The filing of the lawsuit in Superior Court in Newark follows almost a year of failed negotiations to acquire the 9,500-square-foot space, used to store vehicles for the DeCozen Chrysler Jeep Dodge dealership in Verona.
During that time, municipal officials said they had sent letters to property owners Frank and Mary Ann Cerino of Cedar Grove and dispatched an appraiser to inspect the property with the couple. It was valued at $475,000, according to court documents. The township made an offer of that amount for the land but the Cerinos, believed to own the DeCozen dealership, rejected it in April, according to court papers.”
Herbst, Diane. North Jersey News 30 December 2013.