By Karen Bigwood

Special to the Times

My family moved to Mullica Hill more than 25 years ago after we were enchanted by the Victorian charm of Main Street and the surrounding countryside. Our home has a gorgeous acre of land behind it, with pretty farmland and sprawling woods.

When we first moved here, Mullica Hill and the rest of Harrison Township didn’t have many modern amenities. The closest we got to a grocery store back then was Mr. Rio’s old-time country store. Since there are many quaint specialty stores along Main Street, the town has been called “Antique Country.” Moving to Main Street has allowed us to think that maybe someday we could have our own store.

But now our block is threatened with destruction. In July, the Harrison Township Joint Land Use Board approved a blight study and recommended our neighborhood be labeled an “area in need of redevelopment.” That’s a sugar-coated way of saying we’re “blighted.” But the “evidence” cited in that redevelopment study in no way constitutes blight. Lots are criticized for “obsolete layout” or being “irregularly shaped,” while other properties are condemned for lacking parking spaces.

Even more outrageous, most of these properties are in the Mullica Hill Historic District. Of the 23 properties in “Block 64” (the name for this possible redevelopment area), 14 are on our charming Main Street. In addition to our home of 25 years, there’s also a grange building and a synagogue nearby.

How can a part of a historic district that has been preserved for generations now be considered “blight”? Main Street is the heartbeat of our town. Tampering with it will destroy the vital beauty and charm of our community. Sadly, not a single person on the land-use board stood up for our homes and our right to property.

Now that blight study will be voted on by the Harrison Township Committee on Aug. 19. If this committee approves the study, it will proceed with a redevelopment plan for my neighborhood, which can include the use of eminent domain.

Under the power of eminent domain, the township can forcibly acquire our property for redevelopment, even if we refuse to sell. That doesn’t sound like America. Yet, that’s been the fate for too many Americans all across the country.

But government bullying can lead to popular backlashes. Up in Hackensack, the planning board tried to unjustly seize properties after declaring them “in need of redevelopment.” But citizens there were outraged. So they organized and won a major upset in May, booting the entire city council from office.

Mullica Hill property owners will not give up their property rights easily. As hard-working residents living in the community, raising families and struggling to make mortgage and property tax payments, many of us feel the American Dream is being stolen from us. Development can take place without eminent domain.

To fight back against any abuse of eminent domain, we have created the Citizens Action Committee of Mullica Hill in order to save Block 64. Please come to the Aug. 19 township committee meeting at 7:30 p.m. in the municipal building and protest their “redevelopment” plot.

That blight study is a travesty and should be rejected. If this can happen to our properties, it can happen to yours.

Karen Bigwood is a member of the Citizens Action Committee of Mullica Hill. This article was supplied by the Institute of Justice (ij.org), a non-profit organization that assists private owners in property rights cases.