Publish Date: September 22, 2026
Ordinance No. 26-08
An Ordinance Authorizing An Exchange of Rights In Land Located
In The Township Of Mannington, County Of Salem And State Of New Jersey:
Block 19, Lots 12 And 27
Whereas, on September 16, 1988, the Township of Mannington sold a parcel of real property located along Mannington-Yorketown Road in Mannington Township, designated as Block 19, Lot 12, on the Mannington Township Tax Map (hereafter “Lot 12”), to Merton M. Coles, Jr., by deed made on that date, and recorded on September 23, 1988, in Salem County Deed Book 728, pages 34&c., which deed was made for consideration consisting of $840 and the following restrictive covenant of the said Merton M. Coles, Jr., as Grantee, to, and for the ongoing benefit of, the Township of Mannington:
Grantee as a part of the consideration of this conveyance hereby covenants for himself, his heirs and assigns that said land herein conveyed shall not be used for any use prohibited by any Mannington Township land use or development ordinance in effect at such time unless such use is a valid nonconforming use, nor shall any dwelling place or other structure be erected or established on said land unless said land, without any zoning variance, meets all lot area, lot dimension and road frontage requirement of any Mannington Township land use and development ordinances in effect at such time. For purposes of this covenant, adjacent land owned by the same owner may be included for establishing lot area, lot dimensions and lot frontage. The Grantee further covenants for himself, his heirs and assigns for the same consideration that no zoning variances as to use or as to lot area, lot dimension or road frontage shall be sought or obtained for said land. The foregoing covenants shall run with the land and shall be binding upon the grantee, his heirs and assigns but shall only inure to the benefit of the Township of Mannington, its successor and assigns which may enforce said covenants by Court proceedings for injunction relief or for damages. Violations of said covenants shall not result in reverter of title.
And Whereas, as of the time of such sale and covenant, the Grantee Merton M. Coles, Jr., was the owner of a parcel of real property designated as Block 19, Lot 27, on the Mannington Township Tax Map (hereafter “Lot 27”), which he had previously acquired by deed from David F. Grier and Elizabeth P. Grier, his wife, dated November 27, 1985, and recorded on December 2, 1985, in Salem County Deed Book 663, pages 649&c., which parcel adjoined (and continues to adjoin) the northern boundary of Lot 12, but which, other than by its adjoined common ownership with Lot 12, is “landlocked” without its own abutting frontage on any public road; and
Whereas, at the time of the sale of Lot 12 to the Grantee Merton M. Coles, Jr., the two lots (i.e., Lots 12 and 27) considered together as a single lot met all applicable zoning requirements for development and use as a single-family homesite; and
Whereas, the said Merton M. Coles, Jr., who is still the owner of Lot 12 and Lot 27, has, by letters dated May18, 2026, informed the Mannington Township Committee that the zoning requirements applicable to Lots 12 and 27 have changed since his purchase of Lot 12 from the Township in a manner that would preclude development and use of the two lots (i.e., Lots 12 and 27) without variance relief pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-70.c. of the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law (“MLUL”), and has in his letters requested the Mannington Township Committee to remove the above restriction so that he and his successors and assigns as the owners of Lots 12 and 27 can apply to the Mannington Township Planning Board (which exercises the powers of a zoning board of adjustment pursuant to N.J.S.A. 40:55D-25.c.(1) of the MLUL) for any variance or other approvals or relief that may be necessary or appropriate for development and use of Lots 12 and 27 pursuant to the MLUL; and
Whereas, N.J.S.A. 40A:12-16 of the New Jersey Local Lands and Buildings Law (“LLBL”) provides, in pertinent part, as follows:
The governing body of…any municipality, by ordinances may exchange any lands or any rights or interests therein owned by the…municipality…for other lands or rights or interests therein desired for public use. The…municipality may exact and receive a cash consideration in addition to such other lands or rights or interests therein when such exchange shall be authorized, and such governing body determines that the lands or rights or interests therein to be conveyed to such…municipality or such lands or rights or interests therein and the cash consideration to be paid are at least of equal value to, and their acquisition is more advantageous to, the…municipality for public use, than the lands or rights or interests therein to be conveyed by the…municipality, and that it is in the public interest that such exchange of lands or rights or interests therein be consummated.
And Whereas, the above provisions of the LLBL were interpreted by the court in Witt v. Borough of Maywood, 328 N.J.Super. 432, 450 (Law Div. 1998), which noted that “[t]he fundamental principle contained within this statutory provision is that there must be a substantial equivalency between what the municipality is giving up and what it is receiving”; “very often municipal action—sometimes direct and sometimes indirect—results in the ability of owners to better use their property. There is nothing inherently wrong or contrary to public policy by this result”; and “[t]he property rights to be evaluated for equity are only those conventional elements embraced within the parties’ bundle of rights to be exchanged…”; and
Whereas, the Witt court also emphasized the importance of municipal government “to effectively and efficiently conduct its governmental functions” in an N.J.S.A. 40A:12-16 exchange, and concluded that, “[o]verall, in the grand mix of benefits and burdens there [must be] substantial equivalency in what [a municipality] will give up and what it [will] receive” (Id. at 452-53); and
Whereas, N.J.S.A. 40A:12-27 of the LLBL, entitled “Construction of the act”, provides that “[t]he language and terms of this act shall be construed broadly, in order that counties and municipalities may have all of the powers necessary and incident to the efficient and economical execution of their public functions…”; and
Whereas, based on the foregoing, the Mannington Township Committee has determined that, given the initial objectives of the above cited 1988 restrictive covenant, and the change in zoning that has occurred since that time, it would be appropriate to release the restriction and allow the present and future owners of Lots 12 and 27 to apply to the Mannington Township Planning Board for whatever variance or other approvals or relief may be necessary or appropriate for proposed development or use of Lots 12 and 27, in exchange for the consolidation of Lots 12 and 27 to become an individual lot as intended by the restrictive covenant, with the understanding that such exchange would neither anticipate nor guarantee, nor constitute any endorsement or recommendation by the Mannington Township Committee of, any use or development approval, nor would it limit the ability of the Planning Board to grant further subdivision or other approvals relating to the consolidated parcel; and
Whereas, the Mannington Township Committee has determined that the formal consolidation of Lots 12 and 27 subject to the conditions set forth below would be more advantageous to the public good in Mannington Township than the restrictive covenant to be released, particularly given the zoning changes that preclude the Township’s and the landowners’ original intentions, and that it is in the public interest that such exchange be consummated as authorized by N.J.S.A. 40A:12-16 for Mannington Township to effectively and efficiently conduct its governmental functions; and
Whereas, the Mannington Township Committee has determined, consistent with the above cited opinion in Witt v. Borough of Maywood, that there is a “substantial equivalency” between what the Township is giving up and what it is receiving in this exchange, and that, although this exchange may result in the ability of present and future owners of the land comprising Lots 12 and 27 to better use their property, there is nothing inherently wrong or contrary to public policy by this result;
Now, Therefore, Be It Ordained, by the Township Committee of the Township of Mannington, in the County of Salem, State of New Jersey, pursuant to the authority conferred by N.J.S.A. 40A:12-16 of the New Jersey Local Lands and Buildings Law, that all rights of the Township of Mannington, and of the public and all others claiming through it in the above cited restrictive covenant are hereby authorized to be released and extinguished according to the following procedures and subject to the following requirements in exchange for causing the property currently designated as Block 19, Lots 12 and 27, to be merged, combined, and consolidated as a single parcel of land that cannot be sold, or otherwise transferred or owned in separate portions unless approved by the Mannington Township Planning Board:
A. The present owner of the aforesaid property currently designated as Block 19, Lots 12 and 27, or any person who is under contract to purchase the property, must prepare and submit a survey, certified to the Township of Mannington, all owners of the lots, and any other persons or entities as may be deemed necessary or appropriate in the discretion of the Mannington Township Solicitor, showing the two portions of the property so designated combined as a single lot, and a single metes-and-bounds description of that single lot based on the survey, to the Mannington Township Solicitor and the Mannington Township Engineer for review to confirm that the survey and description satisfy the above purposes.
B. After the survey and description have been approved by the Township Solicitor and Township Engineer pursuant to the foregoing paragraph, the Township Solicitor will prepare a deed for signature by the current owner(s) and the Mannington Township Mayor (or Deputy Mayor) and Clerk (or Deputy Clerk) (as authorized signatories for the Township of Mannington) as Grantors, and naming the current owner(s) as Grantee, along with any seller’s residency certifications or affidavit of consideration as may be necessary or appropriate in the Township Solicitor’s opinion, to accomplish the release and extinguishment of the above-cited restrictive covenant, and to cause the property designated as Block 19, Lots 12 and 27, to be consolidated and thus become a single lot as depicted and described in the approved survey, having a single numerical designation to be assigned by the Mannington Township Tax Assessor.
C. The exchange authorized by this Ordinance, and any deed by which the exchange is to be accomplished, shall neither anticipate nor guarantee, nor constitute any endorsement or recommendation by the Mannington Township Committee of, any use ordevelopment approval for the consolidated land currently designated as Block 19, Lots 12 and 27.
D. The exchange authorized by this Ordinance, and any deed by which the exchange is to be accomplished, shall not limit or constrain the ability of the Mannington Township Planning Board to grant land use and development approvals pursuant to the New Jersey Municipal Land Use Law, including but not limited to further subdivision approvals, relating to the consolidated land.
Be It Further Ordained, that:
1. All ordinances or parts of ordinances inconsistent with or in conflict with this Ordinance are hereby repealed to the extent of such inconsistency.
2. This Ordinance shall take effect upon final passage and publication in the manner prescribed by law.
3. If the provisions of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision, or clause of this Ordinance shall be judged invalid by a court of competent jurisdiction, such order of judgment shall not affect or invalidate the remainder of any section, subsection, paragraph, subdivision, or clause of this Ordinance.
Notice
Notice is hereby given that the foregoing proposed Ordinance No. 26-08 was introduced and passed on first reading by the Township Committee of the Township of Mannington, County of Salem, State of New Jersey, at a regular meeting held on September 3, 2026. A second reading and public hearing on the foregoing proposed Ordinance will be conducted by the Township Committee at a regular meeting to be held on October 5, 2026 at 5:30p.m., in the Mannington Town Hall, 491 Route 45, Mannington Township, New Jersey, at which time the proposed Ordinance will be considered for final passage
Attest:
/s/Brittany Vanaman
Acting Clerk, Township of Mannington
/s/Richard A. Eber, Jr.
Mayor, Township of Mannington