Municipalities withstood another attack on their broad powers under the Local Redevelopment and Housing Law, N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-1 to -49 et seq. (“LRHL”), last week while the rights of commercial tenants remained status quo. In Iron Mountain Information Management Inc. v. City of Newark, the Appellate Division held that a commercial tenant is not generally entitled to advance notice of a municipality’s consideration of a building as part of an area in need of redevelopment – unless its unit is noted in the tax assessor’s records pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40A:12A-6(b)(3).

The court specifically noted that the increased constitutional protections and explicit notice of potential use of eminent domain by a government agency mandated in Harrison Redevelopment Agency v. DeRose, 398 N.J. Super. 361 (App. Div. 2008), does not apply to commercial tenants and remains limited to property owners or others specifically entited to statutory notice under the LRHL. The court also found that the forty-five day period for bringing a timely appeal applies to commercial tenants of properties in designated redevelopment areas notwithstanding that the tenant did not receive individualized written notice of the redevelopment designation or the hearings leading up to the designation.