The New Jersey Supreme Court heard oral argument this week to decide whether the Highlands Act unjustly barred development of a 93-acre lot retroactively without providing out just and proper compensation.

According to the Asbury Park Press:

Landowners OFC, LLC received approval from Washington Township to subdivide the lot to build 26 homes in 1999 — five years before the Highlands Act, which aims to limit development to protect drinking water supplies, became law. But an error in approving a water supply permit by a township official delayed the application, resulting in the project’s final approval missing the development deadline set under the 2004 law.

While the Justices reserved decision, at least two members of the panel seemed sympathetic to the plaintiff’s claims:

Looking at how OFC’s permits were botched and TDRs were not available to them, Associate Justice Barry T. Albin said the totality of failure resulted in “a developer caught into this intricate governmental mess.” Albin earlier, however, said that while the situation may be unequitable, the company’s due process rights were not necessarily violated.

“I don’t care where you lay the blame, you certainly can’t lay it at the foot of the plaintiff because they had nothing to do with it,” added Associate Justice Roberto Rivera-Soto.

For the full article, click here.

For the Appellate Division opinion in OFP, LLC v. State of New Jersey, finding that the plaintiff failed to pursue a hardship waiver and, thus, failed to exhaust its administrative remedies, click here.