Strauss v. Township of Holmdel
New Jersey Superior Court
711 A.2d 1385 (1997)
- Written by Robert Cane, JD
Facts
Two subdivisions comprising 137 properties in the Town of Holmdel, New Jersey (defendant) were constructed over the years without connections to sewer lines because there were no sewer lines available for connection at the time. As a result, the houses in the subdivisions were built with septic tanks. Years later, the septic systems faced such serious problems that repair or reconstruction were impracticable. Consequently, Holmdel extended sewer lines to these subdivisions. To pay for the sewer lines, Holmdel levied a special tax assessment on the properties that needed to connect to the new sewer lines. The improvement of extending sewer lines to these subdivisions resulted in a benefit of $14,700 per lot. The total project costs were about $2.7 million. Worth mentioning, Holmdel had not levied special assessments to pay for sewer lines for past sewer-line projects, but the past projects cost a fraction of the cost of the most recent project because they were much simpler due to less complex topography and reduced size. Two of the past projects cost between $100,000 and $120,000. The property owners (plaintiffs) sued Holmdel, alleging the special assessments violated the Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution. Holmdel moved for summary judgment.
Rule of Law
Issue
Holding and Reasoning (Locascio, J.)
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