Legal Question in Real Estate Law in New Jersey

Denied access to easement by town

We purchased our house approx 2 yrs ago. The only access to the garage is thru an easement (?)/ right of way(?) shown on the survey as Rogers Avenue. It is paved, underneath about 2 feet of dirt. It runs along side a marina. I have pictures from the historical society showing the garage was there at least from 1920. When curbs were put in, no curb cut was made to access this ''avenue'' for vehicles. I think it was because you can not see the garage from the street and they just may have missed it. We got all necessary permits to tear down and rebuild the garage-it was in pretty bad shape. We also applied for and put up a bond to have the curb cut to allow us access. The zoning board approved it, the engineer approved it and 5 of the 6 town council members approved it with the exception of the attorney so it was denied. Now I have no way to access our new garage! He said he would want it to be paved which we are willing to do, but he said if it were paved, people would try to park there. We said we would put up signs. They said we're not allowed to put up signs. What can we do? They allowed us to spend thousands to put up a garage, never asked any questions about access. Can we fight this?


Asked on 7/26/04, 1:15 pm

1 Answer from Attorneys
Walter LeVine Walter D. LeVine, Esq.

Re: Denied access to easement by town

I do not know why a non-unanimous but 5/6 of the Board's approval means a denial. Do the municipality's ordinances require that approvals must be unanimous? Probably not. I seems you must take the denial to Court (Superior Court in the County where the property is located) and raise the issue as to your costs, the approvals granted, etc. Then ask the Court for relief. Maybe signs restricting parking would be allowed by the Court. It seems that the loss of access is tantamount to taking of the property for which you entitled to be compensated. Was the original "paper street" known as Rogers Avenue ever abandoned by the municipality? If so, it may have also terminated the easement/right of way. This should be checked so you can reference it in your suit against the town.

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Answered on 7/26/04, 2:06 pm


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