07-17-07 A-5486-05T3
Plaintiffs are a homeowner's association and individual
homeowners in the City of Camden. They filed a legal challenge
seeking to invalidate an ordinance authorizing the City to
acquire property by eminent domain, under the authority of
N.J.S.A. 52:27D-325, of the Fair Housing Act.
We hold that under express language of N.J.S.A. 52:27D-325,
the City has the authority to acquire private property by
eminent domain without having to obtain a substantive
certification from the Council on Affordable Housing (COAH)
provided for in N.J.S.A. 52:27D-313. We nevertheless remand for
the trial court to conduct a fact-finding hearing to determine
whether the proposed land acquisition plan authorized by the
ordinance actually increases the number of affordable housing
units in the City.
