Redevelopment in New Jersey

The Criteria

The Redevelopment Law sets forth a series of criteria which must be met in order to designate an "area in need of redevelopment." Each property included within the redevelopment area must meet at least one of the criteria, although properties that do not individually meet the criteria may be included if necessary to the successful redevelopment of the area of which they are a part. The criteria are as follows:

Unsafe, substandard, unsanitary, dilapidated or obsolete buildings
Discontinuance of use or disrepair of commercial, manufacturing or industrial buildings
Public or unimproved vacant land that has remained so for 10 years and is not likely to be developed due to:
- Location
- Remoteness
- Lack of means of access
- Topography
- Nature of soil
Buildings detrimental to the public health and safety due to:
- Dilapidation, obsolescence, or overcrowding
- Faulty arrangement or design
- Lack of ventilation
- Excessive land coverage
- Deleterious land use or obsolete layout
Lack of proper utilization due to diverse ownership or title issues
Areas >5 acres where improvements have been destroyed by fire or other casualty
The designation of the delineated area is consistent with smart growth planning principles adopted pursuant to law or regulation.