TOWNSHIP OF WASHINGTON, N.J.—Township officials expect, within weeks, to have in hand an appraisal of the 3.2-acre mostly wooded property at 450 Pascack Road—in hopes of purchasing it outright or using eminent domain to condemn and acquire it should negotiations fail.
Answering a resident’s question at the April 4 council meeting, Township Attorney Kenneth Poller said an appraisal was conducted at 450 Pascack Road and “we anticipate a few weeks before we get an appraisal.”
Poller previously said that the appraiser hired was done so because they could provide legal testimony about the appraisal. He told Pascack Press in early March that the Township believes it has “more than enough justification for condemnation.”
On April 4, Poller said “There’s a process for that to move forward once we get the appraisal” but did not elaborate. The township ordered an appraisal Feb. 16 by approving a $2,500 invoice for McNerney & Associates as part of its bills list.
No public discussion of the appraisal occurred then and officials have confined most discussion to closed sessions due to potential litigation.
Officials familiar with the process have told Pascack Press that the mayor and council will discuss the appraisal in closed session, due to it being a negotiation and potential litigation, and likely make an offer to the property owner.
Last summer, Lakos Construction Inc., owned by developer Nick Tsapatsaris, proposed a 48-unit senior complex on the property but withdrew its application, partly due to public opposition. In addition to Tsapatsaris, who is interested in developing the property, the property is also being marketed by STEAM Realty for $2.1 million on a build-to-suit basis.
Residents urging preservation of the tract have been calling council meetings regularly since last summer and recently stepped up calls for the appraisal to exclude any future development potential.
Tsapatsaris told Pascack Press on April 6, “We have not heard anything from the Township. At this point the property is still listed for sale as we weigh options. The residential market is very strong, especially for 3 acres and potential buyers are willing to pay for that in Washington Township.”
He also noted that Robert Morris, one of 450’s owners, said that he did not grant any permission or easement for utilities through his property and that a boundary survey and title search commissioned by Lakos Construction found no property easements.
The property—squeezed between Memorial Field and George Washington Elementary School and Ridgewood Boulevard East—includes an 1,800-square-foot home and structures in disrepair, and more than 700 trees, including 200 large mature trees, according to the town Green Team.
Most recently, resident Diane Ferrara has urged the council, via letters and public comments, to make sure that the appraisal will not be “unduly influenced” by Tsapatsaris or a speculative property valuation.
She said the appraisal should be based “solely on existing zoning law and lot constraints, and not on any speculative interests which Mr. Tsapatsaris may have in developing the property irrespective of those constraints.”
Ferrara frequently speaks out in favor of preserving 450 Pascack Road, along with several frequent Ridgewood Boulevard East callers. Her group, STOP—for Stop Township Overdevelopment Projects—repeatedly notes that the 450 site is zoned AA, which allows only single-family homes on half-acre lots.
Ferrara contends the property is not suitable for single-family homes due to its environmental and width constraints.
Questions about where potential funds to acquire 450 Pascack Road may come from have yet to be clarified, although no state/federal grants appear likely. The Township will receive $901,379 in federal stimulus funds in two payments. Details about how those funds may be spent are unclear as officials await state guidance.