The following terms, as used in this article, shall have the
following meanings:
ABANDONED PROPERTY LIST
A list of properties identified by the public officer designated
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.5 to establish and maintain a list of
properties that contains the tax block and lot number, the name of
the owner of record, if known, and the street address of the lot,
pursuant to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 55:19-55.
INTERESTED PARTY
Any resident of the Township of Cranford, any owner or operator
of a business within the Township, or any organization representing
the interests of residents, business owners or otherwise engaged in
furthering the revitalization and improvement of the neighborhood
in which the property is located.
OWNER
The holder or holders of title to an abandoned property.
PROPERTY
Any building or structure and the land appurtenant thereto.
PUBLIC OFFICER
The Construction Official or other public officer designated
by the Mayor of the Township of Cranford, pursuant to section N.J.S.A.
40:48-2.4, or any officer of the Township qualified to carry out the
responsibilities set forth under the provisions of this article and
as designated by the Mayor.
QUALIFIED REHABILITATION ENTITY
An entity organized or authorized to do business under the
New Jersey statutes which shall have as one of its purposes the construction
or rehabilitation of residential or nonresidential buildings, the
provision of affordable housing, the restoration of abandoned property,
the revitalization and improvement of urban neighborhoods, or similar
purpose, and which shall be well qualified by virtue of its staff,
professional consultants, financial resources, and prior activities
set forth in this article to carry out the rehabilitation of vacant
buildings in urban areas.
Pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.5, the Township of Cranford Construction
Official is hereby designated and appointed as the public officer
to exercise the powers prescribed by this article.
The proceeds paid pursuant to §
255-97 shall be distributed in the following order of priority:
A. The costs and expenses of sale;
B. Other governmental liens;
C. Repayment of principal and interest on any borrowing or indebtedness incurred by the Township of Cranford and granted priority lien status pursuant to §
255-99;
D. A reasonable development fee to the Township consistent with the
standards for development fees established for rehabilitation programs
by the New Jersey Department of Community Affairs or the New Jersey
Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency;
E. Other valid liens and security interests, in accordance with their
priority; and
With respect to any lien placed against any real property pursuant
to the provisions of N.J.S.A. 40:48-2.3, 40:48-2.5, or 40:48-2.3a,
or any receiver's lien pursuant to N.J.S.A. 2A:42-114 et al., the
Township of Cranford shall have recourse with respect to the lien
against any asset of the owner of the property if an individual, against
any asset of any partner if a partnership, and against any asset of
any owner of a ten-percent interest or greater if the owner is any
other business organization or entity recognized pursuant to law.
The Township of Cranford may hold special tax sales with respect
to those properties eligible for tax sale pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-19
which are also on an abandoned property list established by the Township
pursuant to N.J.S.A. 55:19-55. Any such special tax sale shall be
subject to the following provisions:
A. The Township shall establish criteria for eligibility to bid on properties
at the sale, which may include but shall not be limited to: documentation
of the bidder's ability to rehabilitate or otherwise reuse the property
consistent with municipal plans and regulations; commitments by the
bidder to rehabilitate or otherwise reuse the property, consistent
with municipal plans and regulations; commitments by the bidder to
take action to foreclose on the tax lien by a date certain; and such
other criteria as the Township may determine are necessary to ensure
that the properties to be sold will be rehabilitated or otherwise
reused in a manner consistent with the public interest.
B. The Township may establish minimum bid requirements for a special
tax sale that may be less than the full amount of the taxes, interest
and penalties due, the amount of such minimum bid to be at the sole
discretion of the Township, in order to ensure that the properties
to be sold will be rehabilitated or otherwise reused in a manner consistent
with the public interest.
C. The Township may combine properties into bid packages and require
that bidders place a single bid on each package and reject any and
all bids on individual properties that have been included in bid packages.
D. The Township may sell properties subject to provisions that, if the purchaser fails to carry out any commitment that has been set forth as a condition of sale pursuant to Subsection
A of this section or misrepresents any material qualification that has been established as a condition of eligibility to bid pursuant thereto, then the properties and any interest thereto acquired by the purchaser shall revert to the Township, and any amount paid by the purchaser to the Township at the special tax sale shall be forfeited to the Township.
E. In the event there are two or more qualified bidders for any property
or bid package in a special tax sale, the Township may designate the
unsuccessful but qualified bidder whose bid was closest to the successful
bid as an eligible purchaser.
F. In the event that the purchaser of that property or bid package fails
to meet any of the conditions of sale established by the Township
pursuant to this section and its interest in the property or properties
reverts to the Township, the Township may subsequently designate the
entity previously designated as an eligible purchaser as the winning
bidder for the property or properties and assign the tax sale certificates
to that entity on the basis of that entity's bid at the special tax
sale, subject to the terms and conditions of the special tax sale.
G. The Township shall provide notice of a special tax sale pursuant to N.J.S.A. 54:5-26. The notice shall include any special terms of sale established by the Township pursuant to Subsection
B,
C or
D of this section. Nothing herein shall prohibit the Township from holding a special tax sale on the same day as a standard or accelerated tax sale.
With respect to any eminent domain proceeding carried out under
N.J.S.A. 55:19-56, the fair market value of the property shall be
established on the basis of an analysis which determines independently:
A. The cost to rehabilitate and reuse the property for such purpose
as is appropriate under existing planning and zoning regulations governing
its reuse or to demolish the existing property and construct a new
building on the site, including all costs ancillary to rehabilitation
such as, but not limited to, marketing and legal costs;
B. The realistic market value of the reused property after rehabilitation
or new construction, taking into account the market conditions particular
to the neighborhood of the Township of Cranford in which the property
is located; and
C. The extent to which the cost exceeds or does not exceed the market
value after rehabilitation, or demolition and new construction, and
the extent to which any "as is" value of the property prior to rehabilitation
can be added to the cost of rehabilitation or demolition and new construction
without the resulting combined cost exceeding the market value as
separately determined. If the appraisal finds that the cost of rehabilitation
or demolition and new construction, as appropriate, exceeds the realistic
market value after rehabilitation or demolition and new construction,
there shall be a rebuttable presumption in all proceedings under this
subsection that the fair market value of the abandoned property is
zero, and that no compensation is due the owner.
If a property, which an entity other than the Township of Cranford
has purchased or taken assignment from the Township of a tax sale
certificate, is placed on the abandoned property list, the property
shall be removed from the list if the owner of the certificate pays
all municipal taxes and liens due on the property within 30 days after
the property is placed on the list; provided, however, that if the
owner of the certificate fails to initiate foreclosure proceedings
within six months after the property was first placed on the list,
the property shall be restored to the abandoned property list.