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Thursday, September 4, 2008
The New Jersey Appellate Division decided Rosen v. Plainsboro Township yesterday. In that case, the Plaintiffs argued that Plainsboro Township’s 2006 reassessment of their condominium units should be nullified because no compliance plan was submitted or approved. The Plaintiffs challenged the application of the remediation exception under the applicable regulation, N.J.A.C. 18:12A-1.14, which provides in pertinent part:
The Plaintiffs argued that “property remediation” in section (i)(3)(viii) should be read in conjunction with the preceding language “soil contamination” to except from the compliance plan requirement only property remediation undertaken in connection with contaminated soil, and should not include remediation that they contend amounts to “a concentrated catching-up on deferred maintenance.”
The Appellate Division agreed with the Judge Menyuk, judge of the Tax Court of New Jersey, who found that the remedial work was not simply deferred maintenance but effected physical changes at the conclusion of the remedial work that increased the value of the condominium units from the prior assessment, which reflected only partial improvements to the properties while they were in a state of ongoing remediation. Consequently, the Appellate Division affirmed that the substantial remediation of the subject properties constituted an exception to the requirement of a compliance plan stated in N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.
(i) Assessment maintenance: An assessor proposing to revise and update assessments because he or she has reason to believe that property comprising a part of a taxing district has been assessed at a value lower or higher than is consistent with the purpose of securing uniform taxable valuation of property according to law for the purpose of taxation, or is not in substantial compliance with the law, and that the interests of the public will be promoted by reassessment of such property, shall make a reassessment of the property in the taxing district not in substantial compliance....
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3. The following are the criteria to be considered by the county board and Division of Taxation in determining whether to approve a compliance plan.
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(viii) Assessed value changes due to clerical, typographical, transpositional, physical descriptive or mathematical errors, added assessments, omitted assessments, omitted added assessments, exemptions, demolitions, governmentally imposed restrictions, planning board, and/or zoning board of adjustment approvals, approved revaluations, site contamination, removal of contaminated soil and property remediation; and storm, cyclone, tornado, earthquake, fire, flood, hurricane, vandalism, or other casualty, qualified farmland, subdivisions, mergers and changes resulting from appeals or settlement agreements, do not require the filing of a compliance plan.
The Plaintiffs argued that “property remediation” in section (i)(3)(viii) should be read in conjunction with the preceding language “soil contamination” to except from the compliance plan requirement only property remediation undertaken in connection with contaminated soil, and should not include remediation that they contend amounts to “a concentrated catching-up on deferred maintenance.”
The Appellate Division agreed with the Judge Menyuk, judge of the Tax Court of New Jersey, who found that the remedial work was not simply deferred maintenance but effected physical changes at the conclusion of the remedial work that increased the value of the condominium units from the prior assessment, which reflected only partial improvements to the properties while they were in a state of ongoing remediation. Consequently, the Appellate Division affirmed that the substantial remediation of the subject properties constituted an exception to the requirement of a compliance plan stated in N.J.S.A. 54:4-23.
Labels: Court Opinions
